Sudden Drought Carries A Heavy Potential Impact On Crops In The Southeast

Feb 22, 2023

By Pam Knox

An ongoing study funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is being conducted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia is developing methods for identifying and quantifying the effect of flash drought with each university focusing on different strategies. Flash drought is often not captured by the US Drought Monitor, but its quick progression causes tremendous problems for thirsty crops, especially at growth stages where extra water is needed. For this project, smart irrigation apps for cotton, corn and forages are being used to identify periods when soil moisture becomes dangerously low under rain-fed conditions. These apps take into account the variable needs of crops over time and use current weather observations (including observations from the UGA Weather Network) to determine whether irrigation is needed to sustain the crops. You can read more about the project at Irrigation Today

Source : uga.edu

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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