Crops
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Here’s an interesting story about Dr. Brenda Ortiz, a colleague of mine at Auburn University who studies the impact of weather and climate on crops like wheat and corn. She has a new project with several other scientists in the Southeast to study the expansion of irrigation in Alabama. As the article points out, “In…
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Those who live in northern areas of the region should be watching carefully over the weekend as a blast of even colder air than this morning’s chilly breezes comes through the area. This is likely to bring freezing conditions to some areas. Tender plants and low-lying areas are most likely to feel the effects of…
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Cotton Grower magazine noted this week that Texas cotton growers in the Panhandle are worried about their cotton yields this fall after a cool summer reduced the heat units needed for development. Because of the delay in reaching maturity, they are now worried about the impact of fall frost, which could come as early as…
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Business Insider had an interesting story earlier this year about how domestication changed five different popular foods from something barely recognizable to something delicious. Check it out and see what your favorite food looked like before scientists and farmers worked their magic at https://www.businessinsider.com/common-foods-before-and-after-domestication-2016-2.
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The last two winters in the Southeast have been fairly mild, and extension specialists in Georgia have linked this to an onslaught of whiteflies during the last two growing seasons. If winter is mild, more whiteflies are able to survive the winter and add to crop woes in the next growing season. With a La…
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Bob Kemerait, Extension specialist at UGA, posted an interesting discussion looking back on the 2017 growing season and its challenges and what impacts weather and other factors had on crop yields. You can read it in the Southeast Farm Press here. Dan Fromme from Louisiana posted a similar discussion on cotton yields there in AgWeb…
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While the wildfires in California are still burning, we are starting to see some assessments of the toll that it is taking on California agriculture, in particular on the wineries. The California Climate & Agriculture Network posted a story earlier this weekend on some preliminary estimates of costs to crops, livestock, cannibis and wine grapes…