Crops
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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…
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The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee announced that the official start of the Vidalia onion season this year will be on April 20 at 8 am. This compares to last year’s start on April 12 and 2016’s start on April 25. This year’s winter has been somewhat warmer than 2016 but…
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This time of year farmers are chomping at the bit to get out into the fields and start planting their crops for the season. I’ve seen a number of comments online that planting of corn is well underway in southern Georgia already. But this article from AgWeb points out that planting when the soil is…
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The Packer noted this week that due to almost ideal weather conditions in February, Florida tomatoes are looking very good and should provide a bountiful harvest this year. Weather problems earlier in the winter reduced production but the warm weather in recent weeks has caused them to ripen quickly. You can read the article here.
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Drovers’ Newletter posted an interesting story today about the impacts of severe weather on forage quality and quantity. Flooding, drought, and high humidity all played a role in affecting forage production in 2017. This is a timely topic for me since I spoke today at a short course on forage and hay in Burke County,…