drought 2012

The 'Big Tree' beckons

Peggy Lowe — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:47:01 +0000

The first day of spring doesn’t feel that way as John Sam Williamson and Chris Starbuck meet up on a county road outside Columbia, Mo.

Temperatures are below freezing and a cold wind is whipping along the flat land here on the Missouri River bottoms. Williamson, a farmer whose family has owned this land for six generations, tugs at the bill of his John Deere cap and Starbuck, a retired University of Missouri plant scientist, pulls his Arborist Society stocking cap further down over his ears.

MU gets USDA grant to help farmers build resilience to drought

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:22:58 +0000

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will announce that it will fund a University of Missouri project focused on building drought resiliency through soil health.

Snowfall and rain reduce drought's impact

Associated Press — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:01:22 +0000

Climatologists say recent rain and snowstorms are slowly easing the grip of the worst U.S. drought in decades. But the wet weather also is creating some potential headaches.

Missouri ethanol plant to be idled due to high corn prices

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:56:54 +0000

Seventeen ethanol plants nationwide have been idled since last June because of a scarcity of affordable corn due to the drought and a weak market for the corn-based fuel. On Friday, a plant in Macon, Mo., took the hit — and brought the number to 18.

Corn, soybean production took hit in 2012

Abbie Fentress Swanson — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:21:33 +0000

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service released its end-of-year Crop Production 2012 Annual Summary Friday.

Not surprisingly, the report revealed that corn and soy production took a beating last year due to the drought that is still ravaging farms all over the Midwest.

2012 was record warm year in much of Missouri

Associated Press — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:01:49 +0000

If you're a Missourian and felt hot under the collar last year, there is good reason.

The National Weather Service says 2012 was the warmest year on record in St. Louis and Columbia, and was among the warmest in other cities.

St. Louis recorded an average temperature of 61.2 degrees for last year, a full 1.1 degrees higher than the previous mark set in 1921.

In Columbia, the average temperature of 59.4 degrees topped the 1938 record.

Field Notes: The year's top stories in agriculture

Abbie Fentress Swanson and Peggy Lowe — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:37:20 +0000

This is the latest installment of Harvest Public Media’s Field Notes, in which reporters talk to newsmakers and experts about important issues related to food production.

For this edition of Field Notes — our first in 2013 — we decided to take a look back at last year’s biggest stories in agriculture.

Holiday storms have limited impact on US drought

Associated Press — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:02:00 +0000

Holiday storms that pounded much of the nation with snow and rain did little to ease the overall grip of the worst U.S. drought in decades.

The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows that about 61 percent of the continental U.S. remained in some form of drought as of Tuesday, down less than a percentage point from the previous week. That number has been above 60 percent largely since July.

More than 21 percent of the lower 48 states are in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories. That's down slightly from the previous week.

Drought Puts The Squeeze On Already Struggling Fish Farms

Kristofor Husted — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:48:00 +0000

This year's drought delivered a pricey punch to US aquaculture, the business of raising fish like bass and catfish for food. Worldwide, aquaculture has grown into a $119 billion industry, but the lack of water and high temperatures in 2012 hurt many U.S. fish farmers who were already struggling to compete on a global scale.

At Osage Catfisheries, about one mile off the highway in rural, central Missouri, there are dozens of rectangular ponds with rounded corners.

Turkey, quail and bees fared well in Mo. in 2012

Marshall Griffin and Marsh — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:40:48 +0000

2012 was a rough year for Missouri farmers battling severe drought and extreme heat, but some species of wildlife did well – specifically, turkeys, bobwhite quail and honeybees.