Crops
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A strong hailstorm in southern Georgia on May 3 caused damage to almost 400 acres of watermelon, according to Growing Georgia today. The hail was hit or miss, with some farmers receiving just light damage and others completely devastated. Lighter damage just punched holes in the watermelon plants, making them more susceptible to pests and…
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A new study that was published recently in Geophysical Research Letters shows that “Emissions from farms outweigh all other human sources of fine-particulate air pollution in much of the United States, Europe, Russia and China, according to new research. The culprit: fumes from nitrogen-rich fertilizers and animal waste combine in the air with combustion emissions…
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Business Insider posted a story this week describing the current drought in Ethiopia, which is one of the worst in the last fifty years. But unlike previous droughts, the worst impacts have been blunted by smarter methods of managing the land. The key to improvements: slowing down runoff so that it does not erode valuable…
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The Southeast Farm Press noted this week that North Carolina has had a disappointing wheat crop this year, due in part to poor weather which affected yields. They noted that “Wet weather this year has lowered nutrient uptake in wheat and increased disease pressure. Due to a soggy February, Pythium root rot and crown rot…
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The Southeast Farm Press reported this week that a frost which hit the Tobacco Belt in mid-April caused damage to some young tobacco transplants this year. Initial concerns were for a significantly reduced crop, but most fields have recovered with little loss, it appears. The report states that “The damage seemed worse on the light/sandy…
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While this weekend will be dry across the Southeast, starting by mid-week we should return to a wetter pattern, and we could see up to two inches of rain in some areas by Friday. A few locations could see even more. This appears to be a shift to wetter conditions overall, according to maps from…
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The latest Southern SARE newsletter is now available. You can view it here. It lists a variety of workshops and other activities in sustainable agriculture, including livestock and cover crop workshops, that might be of interest.