Crops
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On this date 39 years ago, bitterly cold weather swept south through the Florida peninsula, causing incredible damage to Florida’s citrus industry and providing a few snow flurries as far south as Miami, although only a trace was reported in the official records. The Miami Herald describes it in an article here. “The snow and…
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The Southeast Farm Press had a short article today discussing the effects of the cold air that has finally filtered into the Southeast on young rapeseed. Because of the warm December, the plants were growing more actively than usual for this time of year, and the recent cold has done some damage to the plants.…
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It’s a weekend and pro football playoffs are on televisions across the Southeast (at least in my household). So naturally, thoughts may turn to beer. Well, NCEI has anticipated this with a blog post this week about the relationship between climate and beer. You can read it at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-beer. One of the ways in which climate…
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The Fruit Growers News had an interesting article today on the impacts of pruning on the cold hardiness of fruit trees such as peaches and apples. To me, the effects were surprisingly complex and depend on when and how much the trees are pruned. In addition, the reduction in cold hardiness can affect the tree…
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There have been a number of stories in the news lately linking bad weather or climate to decreases in crop yields. Here is a sampling of them. The Packer reported here that volumes of tomatoes from Florida has been significantly reduced due to a combination of rains in excess of 14 inches plus record high…
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While a strong El Niño continues in the eastern Pacific Ocean, farmers are looking ahead to the next growing season, which may feel the impacts of the opposite atmospheric oscillation, La Niña. AgWeb posted an article yesterday talking about the impact of a La Niña on crop prices next year, particularly the impact on…
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A study recently published in Nature magazine shows that in the time period from 1964 to 2007, global crop yields were reduced by up to 10 percent from drought and extreme heat. Floods and extreme cold did not appear to have a similar effect. A surprising result from the study was that crop yields in developed…