Climate and Ag in the news
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Allison Floyd of Growing Georgia reported today that peach season has started in Florida. Here’s the link. Using new varieties that require less chill hours than traditional peaches, Florida farmers are starting to grow peaches as an alternative to citrus, which is being hampered by citrus greening and other problems. According to the story, only…
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Today’s EDEN (Extension Disaster Education Network) blog has a great entry on lightning and weather safety. Since the weather is warming up and thunderstorms are becoming more common, it’s a good time to review your lightning safety rules. They provide a number of links to resources like the National Weather Service and others. Check out…
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Now that spring has sprung, farmers are starting to get busy in the fields. Here are some recent stories about impacts of climate variability on crops around the country. The Packer reported that due to the record-setting warmth in California this winter, broccoli and cauliflower crops are up to two weeks ahead of schedule. Unfortunately,…
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March is the month for annual recruiting efforts for the CoCoRaHS precipitation network, in an interstate competition dubbed “March Madness”. North Carolina has one of the largest networks in the country, with over 900 active observers. In this week’s blog, they discuss the history of CoCoRaHS and the variety of people who use the rain…
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The Weather Underground blog published an interesting story today on the unseasonably early decrease in the Arctic sea ice (link). Normally March is when the maximum extent of sea ice occurs, at the end of the long winter season. However, this year satellite observations of sea ice extent show that the sea ice already appears…
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Recently AgFax.com published an article by UGA scientist Lenny Wells on the current status of peaches and pecans in Georgia. You can read the article here. In the article Wells discusses the chill hours needed by peaches and notes that because of the cold winter the peaches have received plenty of chill hours this year.…
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As the window on the wet season in California starts to close, there are signs that the drought affecting the area is likely to continue and perhaps even to grow over the coming year. The Western Governors’ Association released a report this week stating that snowpacks in the mountainous areas are far below normal after…