Crops
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Another question that has come up a lot this week is how the heavy rain from last weekend affected the soil fertility in the areas that got the most rain. Here is an excellent article that describes some of the considerations you should use if your area experiences flooding rain on spring crops from the…
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Reports of damage from the storms of Saturday, April 24, are continuing to come in. In addition to the very heavy rain across the area, numerous reports of damaging hail and strong winds were reported in southern AL and GA and in northern FL, leading to crop damage and outright losses there. I have received…
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With the heavy rain this past weekend in southern Georgia along with large hail in some southwestern counties, Georgia farmers are reeling. I have seen a number of pictures showing fields washed out by the rain, causing damage that could take thousands of dollars to repair. I have also heard some reports of hail damage…
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Southeast Farm Press had an interesting story this week about a South Carolina farmer and how he improved the soil on his farm with intensive use of cover crops. They increased the organic matter in the soil, reduced the need for fertilizer and herbicides, and improved soil moisture. They also helped provide food for beneficial…
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In just a few minutes, a hail storm can reduce a beautiful crop to shredded greenery, destroying whatever yield it might have had or seriously reducing it. But some hail damage only slows the crop down and much of the initial loss can be recouped by later growth. Farm Progress this week described some research…
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The Southeast Farm Press posted a story this week about the unique challenges corn growers in the Southeast have when trying to produce a crop compared to the Midwestern Corn Belt. For one thing, in our region they have to deal with more pests and diseases that are not a problem for Iowa farmers. The…
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In recent years, climatologists have been hopeful that careful management of farm fields, including the use of cover crops, decreased tillage, and addition of manure, might allow carbon to be sequestered in the soil. This would be an advantage for farmers, who might be able to monetize the trapping of carbon as greenhouse gases in…