Climate and Ag in the news
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Is the sun getting you up earlier and earlier? That is because we are near the summer solstice, the period of time when the sun is the farthest north in the Northern Hemisphere sky, rises the earliest and sets the latest. It also marks the start of astronomical summer. June 20 is this year’s summer…
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The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a historical period and climatic phase that overlapped with the late-medieval and early modern periods, and was characterized by a cold climate that is often associated with a reduction in solar activity. The LIA increasingly interests historians – academic and popular alike, and they have tied the LIA to the…
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A couple of weeks ago I posted a link to the UGA Blueberry Blog describing the impact of the unusual weather this spring on flies in blueberries. This week they posted another story which showed a different impact on the berries–fungal diseases such as fruit rot. The berries have also suffered from splits which have…
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By this time of year it’s usually pretty hot in the Southeast, and humidity is high too. Fortunately, for the moment we are experiencing fairly cool weather, and no one I know is complaining. But when the heat returns, it will not only put stress on us, but also on our livestock. A recent story…
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A “blocking” weather event is a persistent area of high pressure which can sit over an area for a long time period, blocking or shifting the movement of weather systems through the area. This commonly results in hot, dry weather in the area of blocking high pressure but can also result in catastrophic flooding in…
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A friend of mine posted this article from Fee.org this week and made me think. There is no doubt that the Dust Bowl was precipitated (or maybe in this case, non-precipitated) by an extreme climate event which caused a multi-year drought and hot conditions. But there is also no doubt that human policies on how…
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As climate changes, trends towards warmer temperatures and variable rainfall are expected to have impacts on crops and on crop diseases, including fungal diseases. Overall the earth is getting wetter, and those areas are particularly likely to feel the influences of higher humidity, although there are certainly areas that are getting drier too. This article…