Crops
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If you are an extension agent or producer in the Southeast, you might find these guides on hurricane preparation and recovery from the USDA Southeast Climate Hub to be very useful. There is a guide for each state in the Southeast but also a separate guide for each commodity, not just the regular commercial commodities…
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After a very dry June followed by a rainy and cloudy July and August producers are happy to see sunny skies and no rain to help prepare their crops for harvest. Cotton and other crops have been hampered by the lack of sunshine which has delayed crop development and the wet, humid conditions have caused…
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While it has not been too hot here in the Southeast, that is not true in other parts of the world. For example, the extreme heat in California and surrounding states has caused significant damage to crops such as lettuce, browning the edges and making them unsellable because of cosmetic damage or just killing them…
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While we have had quite a bit of rainfall this summer across most of the Southeast, especially since the beginning of July, other parts of the country have not done nearly so well. This is taking a huge toll on farmers, especially those with smaller farms that are less resilient to lack of water because…
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In previous blog posts, I have discussed the recent heat wave and drought in Europe. But there is another area of extreme heat and drought as well in China. According to Reuters, China has issued its first national drought alert of the year as authorities battle forest fires and mobilize specialist teams to protect crops…
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One of the ways that producers might be able to adapt to the changing climate is by producing new crop varieties that are more resistant to drought, since drought is expected to increase in the future as temperatures get warmer and evaporation and evapotranspiration increase. Plant breeders are looking for plants that have characteristics that…
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While most farmers this year have been grateful for the transition to a rainier pattern after a dry June, it has caused some problems for farmers. Hot temperatures and saturated soils meant an early end to pollination and the early end of the squash and cucumber seasons. The wet soil also hindered harvest of some…