Crops
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I had the pleasure last week to meet Jerry Adams, a satsuma farmer from near Bainbridge GA. Melissa Griffin, the Assistant State Climatologist for Florida, was with me. Satsumas are one of the most cold-hardy varieties of citrus, and one of several new crops that are being tried in Georgia, including olives. Jerry showed me…
Posted in: Crops -
Harvest Public Media posted a story online today about the “elusive” impacts that the California drought has had on Midwestern farmers. According to the story, so far benefits to the Midwestern farmers have been limited in spite of the four year drought in California because the CA farmers are mining ground water to keep their…
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The “mistral” is a local wind which affects southern France. It is driven by the circulation around high pressure. The flow forces air down from high elevations towards the coast. As the air sinks, it clears and dries up, helping to provide cloudless days and low humidity that are great for growing grapes in the region. VinePair has a short…
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Calvin Perry, superintendent of the University of Georgia Stripling Irrigation Research Park, posted their monthly newsletter today. Besides showing many of the projects at the park, the newsletter also provides links to a number of stories about how recent wet and dry weather have affected crops like pecans and corn in the Southeast as well…
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Rome Ethredge of Seminole County posted some pictures of the wheat harvest that is beginning in southwest Georgia this morning on his blog (link). He pointed out that some of the crop has been affected by fusarium head blight, which reduces yields. Dewey Lee, the UGA Extension agronomist, says that he has seen fields with…
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Slate.com posted an article this week on the dire state of water in Arizona as Lake Mead set a new record low level. Because of the way water is allocated in the West, Arizona farmers are arguably worse off than California farmers in terms of how their water may have to be cut this…
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It’s been a very dry May across the Southeast so far. I was driving back to Athens from Quincy FL today and noted the large plumes of dust behind the tractors out planting in the fields in southwest Georgia. The radar-based precipitation map from the National Weather Service shows that many areas have received no…