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New research recently published by a group of over 200 scientists shows that crops in southern African could increase by up to 500% if grown with more climate-smart methods, including terracing, new crop varieties, and better use of water. This could be crucial for countries in that part of the world that are often devastated…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that the areal coverage of drought decreased in all states due to recent rain. However, in eastern North Carolina, a new area of severe (D2) drought was added as those counties were largely missed by recent rain events. Most of the region except western Alabama are not…
Posted in: Drought -
I am pleased to announce that there is a new tool for fruit growers worried about the occurrence of anthracnose on their berries. It was previously available to folks in Florida but has recently been expanded to southern Georgia as well. You can find it at AgroClimate – Blueberry Advisory System. This allows you to…
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The latest freeze on March 13 caused a lot of problems for fruit and vegetable growers in Georgia, as I described a couple of days ago. This story from Southeast Farm Press describes similar conditions in South Carolina. Of course, farmers are still assessing the damage, which varied quite a bit across the state. You…
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The North Carolina State Climate Office has added a nifty new tool to their website–a growing degree day calculator that you can use to calculate GDDs for any location in the Southeast, not just North Carolina. The calculator can be found at https://products.climate.ncsu.edu/ag/gdd-explorer/. You start by entering your location, picking a way to calculate GDD,…
Posted in: Tools for climate and agriculture -
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 still plenty of light for…
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This week farmers and extension agents were hard at work across Georgia and other Southeastern states assessing the damage from the frost on Sunday, March 13. Here is a brief summary of the comments I have received from my colleagues and friends on what they have seen. Keep in mind that some frost damage, particularly…