Hurricane Florence Damage Protocols

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By Breanna Kendrick As Hurricane Florence is knocking on the Carolinas’ doorstep, Tom Dobbins, director of Cooperative Extension Service for Clemson University, has some information to share with South Carolina farmers: “Our agents are prepared to go out and assist the farmers who experience damages from Florence,” he says. Agents will assure proper documentation of hurricane damage is recorded. “It’s …

Tropical Storm Strikes Coastal Pecan Crop

Web AdminIndustry News Release, Pecan, Top Posts, Weather

Source: Alabama Farmers Federation A once-promising pecan crop bore the brunt of wind gusts and torrential rain from Tropical Storm Gordon, which downed trees, limbs and ripe pecans when hitting the Gulf Coast Sept. 4. In Baldwin County, the storm dropped nearly 9 inches of rain. Across the bay in Mobile County, rain totals were lower, though wind damage was …

UF Launches One-Stop Resource for Disaster Prep, Recovery

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Floridians preparing for the next Hurricane Irma can visit the University of Florida’s (UF) new disaster website for quick tips, videos and more on how to deal with a natural disaster. Experts encourage users to bookmark the new site, disaster.ifas.ufl.edu, for quick access. “We’ve integrated all our disaster resources so people could find everything in one place, …

Improving Information Collection After a Natural Disaster

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By Breanna Kendrick Alan Hodges, an Extension scientist in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), believes that natural disaster recovery systems must be upgraded. Hodges serves as Extension coordinator in the department and as director of UF’s Economic Impact Analysis program, which conducts sponsored projects for industry organizations …

Beware of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens in Increased Rainfall

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By Breanna Kendrick Nicholas Dufault, assistant professor and Extension agent in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Florida, researches management of diseases affecting vegetable crop production in Florida. “With all the rainfall, the biggest thing we want to pay attention to is the movement of fungal and bacterial pathogens,” said Dufault. “Fungal and bacterial pathogens will be a …

Taking Precautions for Increased Rain

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By Breanna Kendrick With widespread rain in Florida for the past week and a half and another week of rain forecasted, growers are becoming concerned about what this might mean for their crops. For the past seven days, rainfall has ranged from 1.20 to 9.43 inches in Florida. Depending on location, the rain has either been devastating or vital for …

Post-Irma Root Rot Concerns in Georgia Peaches

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Most of the nation is aware that the Florida citrus industry suffered greatly when Hurricane Irma made landfall in September 2017. The storm resulted in approximately $760 million in citrus damage. In addition, the Florida fruit and vegetable industry sustained about $180 million in loss. By the time Irma reached Georgia, it had weakened substantially, going from a hurricane to …

Cold Snap Threatens Georgia Peaches

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A warm February and unexpected cold snap could mean trouble for Georgia peaches. Dario Chavez, assistant professor and peach research Extension specialist at the University of Georgia, says although concrete data has not yet been collected, damage was done. Chavez says that early varieties of peaches were pretty developed before the cold snaps within the first couple weeks of March. …

Cool Temperatures May Pose a Threat to Southeastern Ag

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Southeastern regions experienced some cold temperatures this past week, and it appears the cold is sticking around throughout next week. These temperatures pose a big threat to blooming fruit crops. After seeing high temperatures in February, some 10 degrees higher than the average, crops like blueberries and peaches may have some freeze damage as temperatures continue to drop next week. …

When Can Growers Expect to Receive Relief Funds?

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Florida growers can now breathe a sigh of relief since disaster funding is coming their way. On Feb. 9, a relief package was passed to help the United States following the array of natural disasters in 2017, which included approximately $2.4 billion dollars specifically for U.S. agriculture. However, the big question on everyone’s mind is, how and when will growers …