Crops
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When we talk about climate change, most often we are talking about the changes in temperature, cloud cover and rainfall that are occurring due to increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases across the globe. But climate also changes locally, and many of these local changes are due to other human causes such as…
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There has been a wealth of stories related to climate and/or agriculture in the past few weeks. Here are a few that have caught my eye. I hope you will find one or more useful to you. Bloomberg Businessweek: The Fighting Has Begun Over Who Owns Land Drowned by Climate Change New Haven Register: One…
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Scientific American posted an article earlier this week describing how bats are migrating earlier than in previous decades. Because of the earlier arrival, they may be having trouble finding enough insects to eat when they arrive at their destination, which could lead to reductions in population which could hurt bats’ ability to eat insect pests…
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The Southeast Farm Press posted a useful article on the importance of monitoring wind conditions when you are applying herbicides and other agricultural chemicals earlier this week. This is especially true when you have a temperature inversion which can trap air near the ground, concentrating the chemicals there. When that happens, the herbicides can migrate…
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Winter weather and drought have hit the wheat crop of the Central Plains particularly hard this year, with an exceptional drought causing terribly dry conditions and frequent freezes and snowfalls stunting or injuring the young plants. According to a story this week in AgWeb,”U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest crop progress report is painting a grim…
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Rain and frost have hurt the supply of artichokes from California this year according to The Packer last week. First a heavy frost hit, and that was followed by rain which caused the artichokes to look frosted and reduced yields just ahead of the Easter season, when artichokes are often promoted. However, unless they get…
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This is one of the more unusual stories I have read about the relationship between agriculture and climate. A set of new rivers has appeared in Argentina, due to a combination of factors that includes land use changes associated with growing soybeans and a rainier climate. The rivers are rapidly eroding farmland, leaving behind deepening…