Climate and Ag in the news
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The Southeast Farm Press posted a story this week by Brad Haire on a long-lived alfalfa plot growing in south Georgia at the Sunbelt Ag Expo Darrell Williams Research Farm. Contrary to popular belief, alfalfa can not only grow but thrive in the region, especially as new varieties adapted to local conditions come to market.…
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NASA reported that during the time period from 2002 to 2016, the continent of Antarctica lost 125 gigatons of ice as measured by the GRACE satellite instrument. The sea level rise from this ice loss amounts to 0.35 millimeters per year according to their report. While this might not seem like much, ice loss is…
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EarthSky posted a short article this week about the top five questions meteorologists get asked about tornadoes. While many parts of the US experience their peak tornado season in May or June, in the Southeast we can and do get tornadoes any month of the year, so it is especially important to know what to…
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As a meteorologist, I hear frequent jokes about having a job where you can be wrong most of the time and still get paid. It might surprise you to know that weather forecasts have improved dramatically in recent years due to a combination of more observations (mostly from satellites), larger and improved computer models, and…
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While I don’t often talk about politics in this blog, after this week I think it is important to address climate change and its impacts on agriculture and why so many scientists are so worried about what is going to happen to our climate in the future. I know from experience at many meetings that…
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As summer temperatures across the Southeast continue to rise as they have since the 1970s, exposure of outdoor workers to conditions favorable for heat stress is also increasing. If you have workers that spend a lot of time out in the heat, you are most likely already encouraging them to take breaks in the shade,…
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Here’s an interesting story about how apple production has changed due to changes in how the trees are grown using new dwarfing rootstocks. The example is from Washington State, but I’m sure that this change in management style is occurring all over the US. You can read it at NPR here.