Climate and Ag in the news
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Earlier this week, Weather Underground published a fascinating story about wild horses and their dependence on snow for water at high elevations. They have adapted to the harsh local conditions and have learned to eat snow for their water in the winter months. They migrate up and down the slopes as the snowpack comes and…
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Weather Underground posted a story today describing how hot October has been in many parts of the US. As they note, there is no end in sight before the end of the month, so it will not be surprising if some locations set record temperatures. You can read their story at https://www.wunderground.com/news/record-warmth-west-central-south-late-october?__prclt=5I9uJ9AB.
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The Packer reported this morning that in spite of some losses from Matthew to green beans and other vegetables, most crops are doing well and should provide plenty of produce for markets this fall. Planting was delayed in some areas and the wet conditions added some stress to newly planted seedlings, but most of those…
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The latest US Forest Service monthly newsletter was released this week. It contains links to a number of interesting stories, including a video on how fire benefits forests and how climate change will impact forest hydrology. You can view the newsletter here.
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Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and one that has been linked to farming in several ways. Ruminants produce methane as part of the digestive process, rice paddies release methane through fermentation, and clearing land by burning forests or draining wetlands can all produce methane. But the amount of methane being released into the atmosphere…
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Today WunderBlog has an interesting story on Mount Washington, the highest weather observatory anywhere on Earth. I’ve never been there but friends who have tell me that the winds and snow can be extreme. Temperatures there have gone below zero every month except June, July, August and September. You can read more about this fascinating…
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Earlier this week Al Jazeera published an interesting story about a new facility in southern Australia that grows 15 percent of the entire production of tomatoes in that country without using soil, fresh water and fossil fuels. According to the story, Sundrop Farms explained its sustainable growing methods this way: “Tomatoes are grown hydroponically in…