Scientists studying crop production in the nation’s Corn Belt, an area stretching from Indiana to Nebraska, are worried. In the region, which produces more than a third of the world’s corn, selective breeding and genetic engineering were once believed to be responsible for a sustained increase in yields for more than a decade. Turns out, that may not be the case, reports National Geographic. According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it’s climate change, not human ingenuity, that’s been the main driver of that 15-year corn boom. The current reality of longer growing seasons and mild weather spurred by climate change is favorable to corn production. But that could change in the not-so-distant future, with conditions becoming hotter, drier and more storm-ravaged. —Safiya Charles
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