Livestock
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Recent weather events have caused a number of impacts on livestock in the Southeast. Here are a couple of recent news stories about some of the impacts. Earlier this week National Public Radio ran a story about the effects of both drought and flood on Texas cattle ranchers. The whipsaw from drought to the recently…
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While we’ve been dry here in the Southeast for the last month, areas farther to the west have seen massive rain and flooding. This has caused a number of problems for livestock producers across the area. This article from AgWeb describes problems in Arkansas with diminished hay and increased disease, including an increase in “hardware…
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The very wet April followed by the very dry May have caused a variety of agricultural impacts in the Southeast. Here is a sampling of what I have seen in news stories. The Southeast Farm Press noted that the dry conditions in early May came at a bad time for pre-applied herbicides to activate. Weeds…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news, Crops, Drought, Extension agent outreach, Livestock, Uncategorized -
AgWeb posted an interesting story from Bloomberg Businessweek on the history of agriculture in California which explains why they grow so much alfalfa there, even though it is a very water-intensive crop. Milk is the #1 agricultural commodity produced in California, edging out almonds and grapes. Much of it is consumed in-state, but quite a…
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You may have read the news about the extreme flooding that is occurring over the central part of the United States. In Sunday’s post on climate data sources I showed a precipitation map from the Oklahoma mesonet; some stations reported more than 20 inches in the last 30 days! You can read one story about…
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AgWeb posted an article this week on changes in the dairy industry across the US. California is still the number one dairy producer, but dairy production has remained flat in California due to the 4-year drought. Growth in other states has been significant, particularly in places where processing capacity has increased. Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Michigan and Indiana are…
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California’s four years of drought is now having another agricultural impact on farmers besides the shortages of water for irrigation in some areas. Livestock producers are starting to find their springs and wells drying up, sometimes for the first time since their families purchased the properties back around 1900. This makes it more difficult to…