Crops
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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…
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The heat wave that has been affecting Europe for the last few weeks has had very bad impacts on crops and farmers in the region. In addition to the heat, they have experienced extremely dry conditions there (of course, the two are related), with France experiencing its driest July on record. Here is a recent…
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When I lived in Wisconsin and the summer weather turned exceptionally hot and humid, we always blamed the cornfields in Iowa for the high humidity. In fact, we were right! The Corn Belt puts a lot of water into the air as all those corn plants transpire water into the atmosphere. In fact, if you…
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The Specialty Crop Industry newsletter posted a story this week by Clint Thompson describing some of the negative effects of the recent heat wave on vegetable crops in Alabama (and by extension, most of the rest of the Southeast as well). Sunscald was seen on some watermelons, and the high temperatures sped up the tomato…
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As you probably know, the multi-year drought in the Southwestern U. S. has had profound negative consequences for farmers there. The folks who control water supplies are making cuts to irrigation water that are decreasing or stopping water deliveries to some farmers, leaving them with no irrigation for their crops. The scarce water has to…
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Farm Progress posted a story based on some new research that shows the relationships between cloudy conditions and reductions in corn yield based on growth stage that corn growers might be interested in. It can also affect stalk quality and strength. Even though rainfall and temperature are both important, the amount of sunlight that the…
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Grain farmers across the world this year have taken a hit from war, drought, and severe weather. This article from Reuters discusses recent challenges that French and Italian farmers have had with their wheat crop at a time when supplies of wheat are quite low due to the bottleneck in Ukraine and bad weather in…