Crops
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The Southeast Farm Press reported earlier this month that the 2015 tobacco crop was a near disaster to producers. Fewer plants than usual were planted and the market was down, but the real culprit was bad weather in many of the tobacco-growing areas of Kentucky and North Carolina. Wet conditions followed by drought and a…
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The Packer reported this week that supplies of strawberries from California and Florida should be good going into Easter this year (link). In a separate article they also reported that although Florida’s supplies of early blueberries were limited due to poor winter weather, supplies of later blueberries, including those from Georgia, should be good (link).
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The Fruit Growers News reported this week that Alabama peach growers are concerned about the lack of chill hours this year. You can read the article at https://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/alabama-peach-growers-hope-for-cooler-weather/. Some of the problems with the lack of chill hours are a reduction in fruit set and a longer bloom period, which could mean that at harvest growers…
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The Great Falls Tribune reported this week on the results of a new study released by the Montana Farmers Union on how changing climate will affect ranching and farming in Montana in the coming years. You can read the article here or the full report here. The article says “The report projects a 20 percent drop in…
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Rome Ethredge reported in his blog today that they are starting to think about planting corn in southwest Georgia in areas where the soil is not too wet. Generally corn can be planted when the 2 inch soil temperature is consistently at 55 F or higher with no cold spell expected. Soil temperatures of 60…
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I was surprised to read today that NASA is experimenting with growing potatoes in a simulated Martian environment in Lima, Peru. If humans are ever going to colonize Mars, they need to find a crop that can grow in the harsh conditions there. Why potatoes? According to the story in Popular Science, “As Scientific American…
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Yahoo News published an article a few days ago on the importance of research on identifying new plants and seeds when dealing with land changes like droughts, forest fires, and changes in local climate. Restoration of the land will provide a home for native species and can also provide food for livestock. In the article…