Greg Page, the Chairman and CEO of Cargill, this week joined former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer in releasing a report called “Risky Business” that warns of the potential harm of climate change to the U.S. economy. The report, which echoed findings in earlier studies, said that productivity gains in Northern-tier states from shifting agricultural patterns and crop yields will likely be offset by losses in the Midwest and South. Page urged the agricultural industry to move beyond the policy fights over climate change and invest in ways to adapt to climate change despite uncertainty over the precise impacts.

According to reports from Congressional Quarterly and others, in a conference call with reporters, Page emphasized the ways in which agriculture could adapt to and benefit from a warming climate, saying that Cargill is adapting lessons it has learned from its operations nearer the equator, including their poultry production in Thailand. In addition, Page said Cargill is looking at ways to remodel a swine breeding operation in Texas to protect the animals from the higher temperatures projected in climate forecasts, and Cargill tries to, “learn from the places where we already practicing agriculture today” under conditions “that could potentially become more prevalent here in the U.S.” Page reportedly expressed confidence that crops such as corn could adapt to hotter conditions, noting that farmers can get 160 bushels an acre of corn at the equator.