Pesticide use has changed considerably over the past five decades. Rapid growth characterized the first 20 years, ending in 1981. The total quantity of pesticides applied to the 21 crops analyzed grew from 196 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients in 1960 to 632 million pounds in 1981....

In a letter to the editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Meerburg et al. argue that the predicted yield decreases from climate change in the United States in our earlier study are too pessimistic. They raise two major concerns: First, the authors argue that farmers in...

Extreme heat is the single best predictor of corn and soybean yields in the United States. While average yields have risen continuously since World War II, we find no evidence that relative tolerance to extreme heat has improved between 1950 and 2005. Climate change forecasts project a sharp...