Rise in California temperatures likely to affect crops

[bluesdave]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Of course, as farmers are aware of this possible problem, they could start looking into hardier strains for those particular fruits etc

They do, but that is not always possible. Grapes and avocados have a very long lead time time (up to 10 years), before they start producing reasonable fruit. Also it is not as simple as finding a hardier strain when you are growing food for the consumer market. It is also not always practical for a farmer to swap from one crop to another. They often have hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in their existing equipment. A new crop often means new equipment (or at least modification of their existing equipment and irrigation systems).

Having said that, there are people who insist on growing crops that are not suitable for their geographic area. They find out the hard way, I'm afraid. The growing of cotton and rice in the driest continent on Earth (Australia), has always irritated me. For those who do not know, rice and cotton require huge quantities of water.

You also have to take into account that many farmers have generations of history (ie. the same family owning the same land for generations). We have to convince them that the climate is changing, and that they must too. After some initial resistance, many come around to more sensible thinking. You can never convince 100% of people.