Crops
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Since it is fall, it is not surprising that stories about this year’s harvest are filling agricultural newsletters. Many of those stories link this year’s harvest conditions to the climate of the past growing season. Rome Ethredge noted in his Seminole Crop News blog that cotton harvest is well underway. The crop looks pretty good…
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The pawpaw is a fruit that is native to the Southeast along with other areas of hardiness zones 6a to 8a. It grows on a shrub in shady conditions but can also do well in full sun. Very few people have ever tasted a pawpaw (myself included) because they have a very short shelf life…
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A recent study published by the University of Florida shows that soils in the warm and moist conditions of Florida and the Southeast can sequester extra carbon from the atmosphere, helping to reduce greenhouse gases. Carbon is pulled out of the air by crops, mesic upland forests, pine lands and areas converted from pine forests…
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Bloomburg Businessweek published a map this week that caught my attention. It shows the results of a recent research project by German scientists which predict changes in suitability for agriculture in the period 2071-2100 compared to the present under modeled changes in climate. The map shows that the Southeast is an area which is predicted…
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We often talk about negative impacts of drought, but for some people it has positive impacts as well. For construction companies and golf courses, dry conditions mean more days to get work and play done, increasing income. In agriculture, a story this week in Growing Georgia highlights one benefit that the recent dry conditions have…
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Last week I mentioned that some Georgia farmers were looking to grow pomegranates as a new crop in the Southeast. Georgia Farm Monitor released a video on this subject a few days later, explaining how growing pomegranates mesh nicely with blueberries because they ripen at different times of year. You can watch the video by…
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The latest release from the National Agriculture Statistics Service shows that 79 percent of subsurface soils are short on moisture, according to Growing Georgia. This continuing lack of rainfall has caused crops like soybeans, cotton and peanuts to fade and pastures to stop producing grass. Even crops that were going to be baled for filler…