Can the American Midwest Agricultural System Just Switch from Corn to Wheat As the Climate gets Hotter or am I Misunderstanding Something Here?
I'm having a bit of trouble trying to reconcile two articles that seem to say contradictory things.
This article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09085-w
Specifically this bit here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09085-w/figures/2
Seems to suggest that climate change will have a negative impact on wheat production across the majority of the food producing regions.
Whereas, this article:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4974
Seems to suggest that climate change will directly and significantly BENEFIT wheat production.
Initially, I thought it was because the first article is talking about wheat production relative to projections in zero emissions scenario and the second is talking about real terms. However, according to my reading of it, both articles are discussing crop yields relative to the zero emissions.
This article:
https://ourworldindata.org/will-climate-change-affect-crop-yields-future
Specifically the first graph in the article, explicitly states that the hotter the world gets the better it is for wheat which I'm sure directly contradicts the Nature findings.
Is there something I'm missing here or do these articles contradict one another? And if so, which one is correct?
I realise this is a very technical question but I've been trying to square it for a few hours so any help is massively appreciated. Thanks very much.
Posted Aug 12, 2026, 8:21 PM UTC