The Impact of Climate Variability on Monoculture Productivity
Monoculture farming dominates global grain, fiber, and oilseed production because it streamlines mechanization, simplifies pest management, and aligns with subsidy structures. Yet the same homogeneity that lowers short-term costs also narrows the genetic and phenotypic buffer against temperature spikes, rainfall anomalies, and the increasingly volatile timing of seasonal transitions. Climate variability—both year-to-year swings and the…