Brubaker corn harvest THE ISSUE The drought and heat of this past summer seem to have affected the yields of some Lancaster County farmers who grow corn for their dairy cows. While weather is not climate change — weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns — the weather this summer offered an indication of what’s to come as our planet warms due to carbon emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. First, the good news. Lovers of all things apple- and pumpkin-flavored can rejoice: Today is the first day of autumn. But it is not yet sweater weather, as we understand sweater weather to be, based on a famous “Saturday Night Live” sketch. And it may not be for some time because, as LNP | LancasterOnline’s Elizabeth DeOrnellas reported last week, local meteorologists forecast that Lancaster County’s fall will be warmer than normal. This follows a period during which the Millersville University Weather Information Center recorded its hottest-ever May-to-July stretch in 110 years. “Four heat waves — at least three consecutive days of temperatures in the 90s — hit Lancaster County as summer arrived: June 18 to 23, July 4 to 10, July 13 to 17 and July 31 to Aug. 3,” DeOrnellas noted. The scorching weather left its mark. As DeOrnellas also reported, the dry heat waves that we saw in July coincided with growing season for Lancaster County corn. As a result, Mike Brubaker of Brubaker Farms in East Donegal Township said he was anticipating the worst corn crop the farm has seen in “many, many years.” Significantly low corn yields will force farmers such as Brubaker to buy supplemental feed for their dairy cows and file crop insurance claims. Farming is a business that often operates […]