How is farming affected by weather?

Answer 1

Weather and climate are two of the biggest factors in growing conditions, along with soil type. They dictate what does and does not grow well in an area. Climate is pretty well established with weather being a big wild-card if you will. Different crops have different requirements as far as heat, moisture, etc are concerned.

For a few examples: cotton needs a lot of heat, so it does not grow well in northern states. Corn needs a fair amount of moisture, which is why very little is grown in the west. On the flip side most small grains do not need a great amount of heat or moisture in order to grow, although both are still beneficial.

Conversely having bad weather also hurts crops. This past year was a great example of this for corn in Michigan. A wet spring meant a lot of guys downstate couldn't get planted on time, which hurt. An early frost really hurt most people, and in my area having too much heat and moisture this fall led to all the ears molding causing a nearly total loss.

Climate also affects livestock. For example cattle do better in cooler climates (you would too if you were 1200-1600 lbs and hairy!) Which is one of the reasons that traditionally most dairy is in northern states, and production is a bit higher in these cooler areas. heat is stressful on cattle.

I could go on and on, but hopefully some of these examples help clarify it for you.

Source(s):climate dictates what we grow, and the weather is one of the big factors that make or break us each year.

Answer 2

Growth of crops is affected by weather (I.e. too much water can cause crops to rot, but too little water--like in a draught--kills crops and keeps new ones from growing) Weather can also affect machinery and people's ability to go out to do the necessary manual labor

Answer 3

Farming is highly dependent on the weather. If it's crappy outside (i.e., raining, snowing, storming, etc.) then not much field work, if any, can be done. If it rains during harvest time or haying time, no work can be done in the fields until it dries up. If there's not enough moisture and too hot and dry, then nothing will grow. Hail will damage or destroy crops. Lightning can kill livestock. Flooding can destroy a farm and/or a farmer's chances of getting any crops in.