Climate and Ag in the news
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Here is something that never occurred to me before but should have. Irrigation is made up of long metal poles and equipment that is out in the field and can be frequently hit by lightning because it is often the tallest thing in the field. I did not realize that it can hold a charge…
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Forecasts for La Niña continue to show that we are likely to get a third year in a row of La Niña conditions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This means that our next winter could be warmer and drier than normal again. Some of the longest-range models are showing this already. As I have learned…
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Do you have a lawn at your home? If so, how do you maintain it? Many things that you use to take care of your lawn contribute to climate change by emission of carbon dioxide or reduction of uptake of CO2 by removing trees in favor of grass. Fertilizer can also contribute because manufacturing fertilizer…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The dry weather has had many impacts on our Southeast farmers this year. One of the consequences is that while disease pressure has been fairly low, the pests are out in full force. This is true for almost every crop. This story by Clint Thompson in Specialty Crop Industry discusses how the drought is affecting…
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You might think that summer is warmer than winter because the earth is closer to the sun. But in fact, the earth’s orbit takes us farthest from the sun in summer, on a date called the aphelion. This year’s aphelion is today, July 4. EarthSky posted an interesting story from 2018 with a photo that…
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Lenny Wells of the University of Georgia posted an interesting story in his Pecan Blog a couple of weeks ago on the impacts of heat on pecan trees when temperatures were so warm. It turns out that pecans can do well in very high temperatures as long as they have the right amount of water.…
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Those of you who are interested in history might enjoy taking a look at this interactive timeline of agriculture in the United States at https://growinganation.org/. It provides a list of agricultural innovations and societal changes and events that affected growing crops in the U. S., broken into five different eras from 1600 to the present.…