Pam Knox
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AgWeb published an interesting article on August 6 discussing the changes that farmers have seen in their local climates and how they are adapting to them. As the Midwest has warmed, farmers are planting corn an average 0.4 days per year earlier than were back in 1981, and soybeans 0.49 days per year earlier (this…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The Washington Post had an article this week on another long-term trend in the Southeast that will affect agriculture: the growth of cities and the potential development of a megalopolis that will stretch from as far as Birmingham AL to Raleigh NC along the Piedmont. This article, based on a report from the US Geological…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The National Weather Service has a new interactive web site which will allow you to look at radar-estimated rainfall over a variety of time scales. You can zoom in and out, add county lines, and download data. Check it out at https://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Precip/
Posted in: Sources of weather and climate data -
This map of satellite-based temperature anomalies from July 27 to August 3 shows the strong temperature gradients that have occurred across North America due to the large ridge of high pressure on the west coast of the US and the deep trough of low pressure in the east. Areas in blue are unusually cold and…
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Bloomberg reported today that the drought in the North China Plain, the second biggest corn producing area in China, has reduced corn yields in that country. This is the first time that corn yields have decreased since 2009. However, this decrease is only down slightly from last year’s record-setting crop. You can read the story in…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
Yahoo News published an article from Reuters yesterday which noted that many people under the age of 30 have never lived in a world with temperatures below the 2oth century average. The last time that the earth experienced a month with below the long-term average temperatures was February 1985. To read the article, click here. Changes…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
AgWeb had an interesting article last week on the importance of proper microclimate conditions for maximizing yield in soybeans. A microclimate is a very small climate zone that has distinct characteristics. For example, the sunny and shady sides of your house may have different microclimates which are influenced by differences in direct sunlight, water availability,…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news