Climate and Ag in the news
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The headline above sounds sensational, and some people claim that it is, but the warning comes from a respected NASA scientist. He says “As our “wet” season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions. January was the driest in California…
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This week marks the annual celebration of agriculture known as National Ag Week, March 15-21. The week is hosted by the Agriculture Council of America and recognizes–and celebrates– the importance of agriculture and farmers in our everyday lives. Some facts about National Ag Week can be found here.
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Now that spring is here and warmer, more humid air is entering the US, severe weather and tornado chances are increasing across the country. There is an excellent animation that shows how the region of severe weather occurrence moves around the country at the NOAA Storm Prediction Center at https://www.spc.noaa.gov/new/SVRclimo/climo.php?parm=anySvr. The area of most likely…
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Two cyclones (or hurricanes, as they are known in the Atlantic) in the western Pacific Ocean may be combining forces to enhance the development of a budding El Nino. The circulation around Bavi in the Northern Hemisphere is counterclockwise, while the circulation around Pam in the Southern Hemisphere is clockwise, leading to enhanced winds from…
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Sorghum, also known as milo, was one of the few crops that survived the blistering 2012 drought in the Midwest. A story this week on Yahoo News highlighted the grain, which is also gluten-free and is used for animal feed and methanol in the US but is a subsistence crop in sub-Saharan Africa. Sorghum is increasingly…
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The latest newsletter of the Southeast Climate Consortium is now available on their website here. The SECC is one of the groups that helps support this blog and is a multi-university consortium of scientists interested in looking at climate variability, water and agriculture in the Southeast. The newsletter this month features our new web page…
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Farmers are starting to plant corn in southern Georgia and other areas of the Southeast. Rome Ethredge, in the Seminole Crop E News blog (link), pointed out that corn needs about 100 GDD to emerge from seed to seedling, and that areas in his county are reaching that now. In fact, in spite of the…