A November 18 article by Atlanta News First (ANF) claims that climate change is affecting Georgia’s farmers and the restaurants that depend on local produce. This is demonstrably false. Empirical data of temperature and crop yields refute the claim.
The article written by Abby Kousouris, titled “Georgia farmers, restaurant owners say climate change threatens way of life,” pushes the narrative that climate change is uniformly warming the planet and adversely affecting agriculture. This claim, though often asserted by climate alarmists, is specifically debunked by regional climate and crop data.
Contrary to the widespread assertion that global warming is causing uniform temperature increases, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate that the Southeastern United States has experienced a cooling trend over recent decades. This phenomenon, often linked to the polar vortex, has led to colder winters in the region, defying the generalized warming narrative. As reported by Forbes, “Defying Climate Change, Southeast U.S. Is Getting Colder Instead of Warmer via Polar Vortex.” This cooling trend challenges the premise that warming temperatures are responsible for agricultural difficulties in Georgia.
The article suggests that climate change is threatening Georgia’s peach industry. Yet, in 2024, Georgia experienced one of its most successful peach harvests to date. According to the Georgia Peach Council, growers anticipated shipping approximately 3 million boxes, or 75 million pounds, of peaches, marking a 25% increase over a typical crop. This substantial yield contradicts the claim that climate change is detrimentally impacting peach production in the state.
A sharp decline in Georgia peach production in 2023 came in the aftermath of a late-season freeze, the very type of weather event that is projected to become more infrequent as the planet modestly warms.
Strangely, just 6 months previous to the present article, ANF ran a video article titled Georgia farmers say 2024 peach crop is best ever. Apparently ANF doesn’t pay attention to its own news reports when it comes to producing scary climate change stories.
While peaches are culturally significant in Georgia, their economic impact is relatively modest. Agricultural data from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension notes that peaches account for only about 0.58% of the state’s agricultural economy, with Georgia producing between 3% and 5% of the U.S. peach crop. This context is essential when evaluating claims that climate change is harming or poses a threat to Georgia’s agricultural sector.
Looking at the broader farm market, the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and the state’s Cooperative Extension updated its report, “Georgia Farm Gate Value Report 2022,” in August of 2024, which determined, despite the typical yearly ups and downs of different crops, the state’s agriculture sector has done well over the past 20 years.
“The data speaks to the fact that agriculture in Georgia is consistent,” said Jared Daniel, data coordinator in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. “The ag industry is important and here to stay.”
Not every farmer, every year, in every region does well or equally well as his or her peers, but in Georgia the agricultural sector as a whole, has prospered during the recent period of modest warming.
Media outlets like ANF often amplify narratives that align with the prevailing climate change narrative that climate change is causing everything bad, often at the expense of presenting an accurate view of long-term weather and economic trends. The emphasis on climate change as a primary factor affecting agriculture can overshadow other critical variables such as market dynamics, government farm policies, technological advancements, short-term weather events, and adaptive farming practices. This skewed representation misleads the public concerning the actual challenges farmers face and ongoing positive production and yield trends in the agricultural sector.
A thorough analysis of regional climate data and agricultural outcomes in Georgia reveals that there is no evidence climate change is altering weather patterns in Georgia for the worse or harming the state’s agriculture sector. The Southeastern United States has experienced a modest cooling trend in recent decades and Georgia’s peach industry, contrary to the impression given in the ANF article, achieved record yields in 2024. These facts underscore the bogus nature of ANF’s article.
