Here’s a story from back in December that discusses the advantages of combining solar farms with agriculture, which could include either crops or livestock, to produce multiple benefits, including shading and cooler temperatures for the livestock and cooler soils for the crops. Even though there is some shading, there is…
Read More
While we don’t have large amounts of snow here in the Southeast, it does happen on occasion, especially if you are in North Carolina or Virginia. You might be interested in this story from Dairy Herd Management on how livestock farmers in New England have to prepare for snowstorms and…
Read More
Like many ecological disasters, there is not a single cause of the disaster. I was intrigued and saddened to read this story about the loss of many livestock in Mongolia due to a combination of extreme and more frequent drought and heavy winter snows coupled with overgrazing. The combination leaves…
Read More
The incredible rainfall that they have had in the Pacific Northwest has cut off parts of British Columbia, leaving dairy farms having to deal with lack of transportation for milk and supplies. Many animals also had to be rescued from the flood water, leaving farmers exhausted. The floods have also…
Read More
This is not primarily a post about agriculture and climate, but I did get this question last year so thought other people might wonder about the answer too. The short answer is that, like my cat, cows like routine in their mealtimes, and they don’t read clocks. For a more…
Read More
If you’ve followed the tropics for the past few years, you know how many recent hurricanes and tropical storms have hit the Louisiana coast. The agricultural devastation has been sobering. Here is a long story from AgWeb about a farm couple who live and work about 20 miles from the…
Read More
I was recently featured in a story by Yale Climate Connections about how livestock farmers in the Southeast are protecting their animals from heat stress using shade structures, fans, misters and other techniques. Fortunately, it has not been much of a problem this year, but in future years it could…
Read More