Climate and Ag in the news
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The Boston Globe had a long but interesting article today about how changes in climate in Maine are causing a variety of problems for foresters, lobster fishermen, and farmers. Increases in temperature over the past few decades have lengthened the growing season, which could allow for a greater variety of crops, but also increases the…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
This was the headline of a story (click here) posted earlier this week by Climate Central, indicating that El Nino-like conditions have returned to the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This echoes comments made by Dr. Klaus Wolter earlier this week at the ACF basin webinar on Tuesday. However, an El Nino is not officially declared until…
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Modern Farmer had an interesting story this week about agricultural statistics–the counts of acreage, farm size, crops planted, and other measures of agricultural production. In the story, the author points out that from one census to the next changes in how the counts are made can make it look like tremendous changes have occurred in…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The Southeast Regional Climate Center posted a link to this interesting story about college football and Hurricane Hugo on their Facebook page today. The past two weeks have marked the anniversaries of several major hurricanes that hit the Southeast, including Hugo, Ivan and Katrina. Here is an impact that you might not have considered. Not…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
Clint Thompson reported this week in Growing Georgia that the number of kudzu bugs in soybean fields this year has been drastically lower than the past few years. Wayne Gardner, a UGA entomologist from Griffin, attributes this to the cold weather we had across the Southeast this winter. A tiny Asian wasp may also have…
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AgWeb published a story today on new temperature trend maps that were recently produced by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). These maps show long-term temperature trends for each state for 1895 to the present. You can look at both average temperature and maximum and minimum temperature separately. The graphs are also divided into seasonal…
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Two stories in the news this week highlight potential advantages growers have in choosing a crop that not only matches the local climate but also takes advantage of market potential. The Modern Farmer released a story this week which described the growing peony crop in Alaska. This hardy plant can survive temperatures up to 60…