How Warmer Winters Affect Producers

As the prairies experience a warmer than usual winter, our producers are seeing some positive effects. Farm production extension specialist Shawn Cabak outlines the changes a warmer winter associated with climate change provides.

 

"Some of the weather trends that we're seeing across the prairies are less snowfall, warmer winters, a little more precipitation, and summer temperatures staying similar. Now, when we look at increase in greenhouse gases such as CO2, that's a benefit to crop production. Crops require CO2 for growth. With some of the warmer temperatures we might see higher yielding crops grown, such as corn and soy beans."

 

Cabak notes it could lead to more farmland.

 

"We could see a northward push and expansion of suitable cropping area, improved water-use efficiency because of higher CO2. So, there are a lot of benefits to climate change. There are also some negatives. We could see more severe droughts; we could see poorer rainfall distribution; we might have more pests, because colder weather actually is beneficial for insect disease and weed control."

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.