SALT LAKE CITY — The number of wildfires has increased across North America over the past several years. Currently, the Yellow Lake Fire in Utah has burned nearly 20,000 acres with only 10% containment.
Intense smoke from these fires can travel hundreds of miles and linger for longer periods of time. So FOX 13 News looked into a side effect of that smoke that researchers are just beginning to consider, reduction in our food crop supply.
According to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, the value added by agriculture amounts to almost $7 billion in Utah's economy and supports nearly 80,000 jobs. "I think a lot of people underestimate how much rural Utah really depends on agriculture. So when it's impacted like that, it can have very long, lasting consequences," explained Caroline Hargraves, the Director of Marketing and Economic Development with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. "We've heard of a couple of farmers who had to delay their corn for the season, but this has been the first year that we've even heard of that..."
That economic impact is why researchers are starting to study how much smoke really impacts crops here in Utah and across the country. Dr. Matt Yost is the agroclimate extension specialist at Utah State University. His team's research helps inform state planning, policies and programs, and their studies are shared across the globe.
"Smoke acts kind of like clouds, right? When we get a lot of clouds, it shades, it blocks sunlight, which can affect plants, crops, ability to photosynthesize and to capture sunlight and turn it into plant material," stated Dr. Yost. "So there's a lot of a negative there."
Dr. Yost says it's a one-to-one loss on corn and wheat. A 15% increase in shading equals 15% yield loss and on very smoky days he says you can see a 50% reduction in solar radiation.
"... there might be some potential looking at different crop types, different crop genetics, as a way to better handle the negative impacts of smoke," explained Yost talking about how different corn hybrids have been identified that could do better with moderate shading.
Yost says as wildfire seasons are worsening even in these past two wetter years, they are still identifying the full effects on crops. "It's good to bring it up and talk about it, because now I've got lots more questions about what we can and should look at to study it more," Yost explained.
One major problem, having smoky days right as the corn is producing ears, as it needs the most sun to generate the energy the plant needs to produce a good yield. And that happens during the season when we've been seeing the most smoke.
