Research BriefingPublished: 18 September 2026Nature Climate Change (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved researchAnalyses of four decades of data show that genetically engineered varieties of corn, soybean and cotton raised average yields, reduced year-on-year yield variability and blunted the climate-driven northward drift of crop production. These findings indicate that biotechnology is an under-recognized instrument of climate adaptation.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess options Access through your institutionAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 print issues and online access269,00 € per yearonly 22,42 € per issueLearn moreBuy this articlePurchase on SpringerLinkInstant access to the full article PDF.39,95 €Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutFig. 1: GE varieties slow down the shifts of crop cultivation areas.SubjectsAgricultureEconomicsReferencesCho, S. J. & McCarl, B. A. Climate change influences on crop mix shifts in the United States. Sci. Rep. 7, 40845 (2017). This article establishes that although climate has driven the shifts in US crops,it only explains less than half of the observed movement.Article CAS Google Scholar Barrows, G., Sexton, S. & Zilberman, D. The impact of agricultural biotechnology on supply and land-use. Environ. Dev. Econ. 19, 676–703 (2014). This work links biotechnology adoption to crop supply and land allocation.Article Google Scholar Just, R. E. & Pope, R. D. Stochastic specification of production functions and economic implications. J. Econ. 7, 67–86 (1978). This article presents the mean-variance production function thatenabled us to estimate GE crop effects on yield stability and level.Article Google Scholar Schlenker, W. & Roberts, M. J. Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to U.S. crop yields under climate change. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 15594–15598 (2009). This article describes the nonlinear temperature damage function for US crops.Article CAS Google Scholar Klümper, W. & Qaim, M. A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops. PLoS ONE 9, e111629 (2014). This meta-analysis of the agronomic and farm income benefits of GE crops represents the yield-centred view of biotechnology.Article Google Scholar Download referencesAdditional informationPublisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.This is a summary of: Dong, C. Y. et al. Genetically engineered crop adoption support yields and cultivation under climate change. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02737-3 (2026).Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article