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| This Week's Titles: |
| Pollen
Season Arrives In February |
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Vidalia Onion Crop Makes
Comeback |
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| Concerns
About Fungi And Health Problems |
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| Higher
Beef Cattle Market Prices Coming |
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| High
Fuel Prices Could Pinch Farmers |
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| Pollen
Season Arrives In February |
1:30 |
Georgian's should get ready
for a lot of pollen in the coming weeks. |
In late February yellow
pine pollen began sprinkling down on cars and patios in South
Georgia. Mel Garber, a horticulturist with the University of
Georgia Extension Service says people in Central and North Georgia
should began seeing pollen in late March. He adds cold weather
in January was a major factor causing pollen to begin appearing
in late winter. "Yes it does and basically most of the plant
parts have a requirement for cold temperatures in the winter
and we've had, you know, a good number of hours, more than we've
had in recent years." Mel Garber with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. The university scientist goes on
to say it's still too early to really tell if a large amount
of pollen will appear during the spring of 2003. If warm temperatures
move in and stay without significant cool snaps, you should
expect to see a lot of pollen. However, a cool, wet March and
early April could help reduce the pollen, and the allergy problems
that come with it. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Vidalia
Onion Crop Makes Comeback |
1:31 |
Georgia's Vidalia onion crop
may be the comeback crop for the winter of 2003. |
Many growers feared the
extreme cold in late January had damaged the crop beyond recovery.
But a horticulturist with the University of Georgia Extension
Service says despite the deep freeze, the crop has done remarkably
well, and made quite a comeback. He adds Georgian's who love
the sweet crop should find plenty in grocery stores in the coming
weeks. "They should do very well this year and there should
be plenty of onions for consumers. They probably should be looking
to see them in the stores maybe the second week in April thereabouts."
That was George Boyhan with the College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences. There has been some disease problems
in a few fields, primarily botrytis neck rot, and the recent
heavy rains have prevent growers from fighting back with fungicide
applications. Despite these problems, there should be plenty
of sweet Vidalia onions for shoppers at reasonable prices this
year. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Concerns
About Fungi And Health Problems |
1:45 |
Many people are concerned that
certain fungi are causing health problems. |
There has been some anxiety
over the fear that inhaling mycotoxins produced by some species
of fungi can cause a lot of health problems. But a recent study
conducted does not support the theory that human health has
been adversely affected by inhaled mycotoxins in the home, school,
or office environment. Jorge Atiles, a housing and development
specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service
says when people don't know what causes allergy symptoms, they
assume inhaling certain mycotoxins are the reason they are suffering.
"People can react to many things, for example chemicals like
formaldehyde that used to be present in carpets, but is still
present in draperies and furniture could make people react and
there's no microtoxin associated with that ." Jorge Atiles with
the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Results from the
study also indicated there must be a pathway for exposure to
a susceptible person, for mycotoxins to have an effect on health.
The toxic dose must also be absorbed over a short period of
time. Also, the concentration and duration of the dose must
be sufficient to deliver a toxic dose. John Harrell, University
of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Higher
Beef Cattle Market Prices Coming |
1:32 |
Market prices for cattle are
looking up in 2003. |
Cattle numbers in Georgia
are up four percent from 2002. However, across the nation overall
beef cattle numbers will be down one percent from last year.
Curt Lacy, an agricultural economist with the University of
Georgia Extension Service says these numbers, plus a slight
drop in red meat and poultry production should mean higher market
prices for the state's beef producers. "So overall demand is
expected to remain steady for this coming year. Decreased production
with steady demand should give us higher cattle prices for this
coming year and for the next several years as it looks like
it's going to be a while before the herd rebuilds to where it
was in previous years." Curt Lacy with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, who adds with high protein diets
increasing in popularity, the demand for steaks and other red
meats should remain strong, and possibly increase in the coming
months. This means beef cattle farmers in Georgia and the U.S.
will enjoy a diet of higher prices in 2003. John Harrell, University
of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| High
Fuel Prices Could Pinch Farmers |
1:42 |
High fuel prices could pinch
farmers when they fill up their farm vehicles. |
Georgia farmers will soon
move into fields to plant corn, cotton, and peanuts. This means
they will make frequent trips to the fuel pump with their tractors,
trucks, and other machinery. With prices for gasoline and diesel
continuing a steady increase, farmers will also notice the higher
prices, according to an agricultural economist with the University
of Georgia Extension service. "But when you're a farmer and
you go out there and you put two, three, or four thousand gallons
of diesel fuel in a tank, and instead of paying last year's
price of maybe eighty-five, ninety cents, you're looking at
$1.40, $1.50, yeah, it's a big jump and this extra money is
going to take away from farmers profits." That was Bill Givan
with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
, who adds the costs of some farm fertilizers and chemicals
go up as crude oil prices increase, which would further cut
into an already small margin of profit in farmers paychecks.
John Harrell, University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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