Climate and Ag in the news
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With the swings in temperature we have seen this past winter, fruit farmers have experienced a lot of ups and downs in thinking about their crop this year too. A cold November was followed by a very warm December, leading to fewer than average chill hours. Then January and February were cooler again, allowing chill…
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According to an article in the Kansas Farmer, “At the height of the 1930s Dust Bowl, the federal government invested $13.8 million to establish more than 200 million trees and shrubs in windbreaks throughout the Great Plains. Today, those important conservation tools are in decline, due to age and climate challenges…” The windbreaks helped keep…
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As a follow-up to a post earlier this week, here is some more information about our station in Byromville. The National Weather Service did a post-storm survey of the location and found that due to the wind speed of 129.3 mph measured on our station along with damage to grain bins near the site, this…
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The mid-March freeze in 2022 hit the growers of many crops hard. One of these is Georgia’s production of greens. Clint Thompson posted a story in Specialty Crop Industry talking about how much their crops of turnip and other greens were affected by the low temperatures and brutal winds. You can read it at https://specialtycropindustry.com/march-freeze-wipes-out-georgia-farmers-greens-production/.
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If you live in the Southeast, you know that today, April 5, 2022, was a day that had a lot of severe weather action. I watched the radar and our University of Georgia weather network today to keep an eye on what was happening. I noticed in late afternoon that our station southeast of Byromville…
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While most of the Southeast is not currently in a drought, dry conditions and drought are a natural part of climate, so it is not surprising that droughts are currently affecting other parts of the world now. Here are some recent stories on drought I have read that may interest you. National Geographic: The drought…
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Increases in temperature over time have many different impacts on plants and animals. Flowering plants and trees are blooming earlier, which may cause problems for commercial fruit production because the early bloom makes the plants more vulnerable to a late frost, for one example. This is a problem when one change, such as the migration…