Tag Archives: Georgia

Cover Crops to prevent erosion

Sarah Uttech writes that Cover crops reduce erosion, runoff:
Cover crops may be more effective at reducing soil erosion and runoff after maize harvest than rough tillage, according to scientists from the Université Catholique de Louvain, in collaboration with the Independent Center for the Promotion of Forage (CIPF).

The three-year study, supervised by Charles Bielders and conducted by Eric Laloy, measured erosion and runoff losses from silt loam and sandy loam soils in continuous silage maize cropping. The research revealed that cover crops reduced erosion by more than 94% compared to bare soil during the intercropping period. Cover crops and reduced tillage appeared equally effective in reducing runoff and soil loss between cropping cycles, despite the fact that the cover crop development was very poor.

The results were reported in the May/June 2010 edition of the Journal of Environmental Quality, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

This study was done in Belgium, but Tifton A soil we have around here is a sandy loamy soil. And as we know from research done in Georgia, around here we also need to manage the mutant pigweed, and for that a combination of plowing and winter cover crops works best.

-jsq

Managing the Seedbank by Plowing

Roundup has bred quite a few mutant weeds, such as marestail and ragweed that haven’t yet made it to Georgia. But the king of mutant superweeds everywhere is Palmer Amaranth: pigweed.

About pigweed, Georgia Extension weed scientist Dr. Stanley Culpepper says:

Economic survival will depend on managing the seedbank!!!!
That’s on page 30 of a 46 page presentation at the 2010 Beltwide – Consultants Conference, after discussing how rapidly Roundup-Ready seeds have been adopted:

And how the value of advice on weed control during that period rapidly decreased as a direct correlation: Continue reading →

Farmland for Food, Wildlife, Flood Control, Air Quality, and Agrotourism

Gretchen found this one, too (think I can get her to blog?). Judi Gerber writes about Why Saving Farmland Is So Important:
…without local farms, there’s no local food, or, as the American Farmland Trust (AFT) puts it: “No Farms, No Food.”.

And it’s not even just food:

Farmland is green space, even though most people don’t think of it that way. It is a significant contributor to environmental quality. As AFT states, “Farm and ranch lands provide food and cover for wildlife, help control flooding, protect wetlands and watersheds, and maintain air quality. They can absorb and filter wastewater and provide groundwater recharge. New energy crops even have the potential to replace fossil fuels.”

And there’s more:

Farmland provides fiscal stability to local governments and boosts the economy. It does this by contributing to a community’s infrastructure and helps a local economy through sales, job creation, and support services or businesses.

One of the most unique of these support services is tourism, or more specifically, agri-tourism. There are plenty of places that people visit to see rural scenery or to enjoy the food or drink of a specific region including the wineries in California’s Napa Valley, or popular farm stays like those found in Italy, and increasingly, here in the United States.

There are some plans afoot about agrotourism in Lowndes County.

-jsq

VDT on Farmers

Gretchen noted this VDT Editorial for 12 July 2010: What We Think: Thankful for our farmers:
Here in South Georgia, we are blessed with an abundance of farmer’s markets, both large and small, that enable us all to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables at low prices. Families, restaurants and schools all benefit from the local farms and markets year round, not just during the summer months.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy, inexpensive, and an essential part of any diet. Take advantage of nature’s bounty that surrounds us and visit the markets. Take your family to one of the peach sheds and spend an afternoon picking your own and enjoying fresh ice cream.

Be thankful that the farmers are still willing to work hard on the land and be thankful you live in an area that encourages farmers and supports agriculture.

Here’s one of those farmers’ markets, in Hahira.

-jsq

Agents on the Case of the Korean War Marker

Having found for the widow Joyce Feazell a tombstone noted by her late husband, John Feazell, on a propaganda pamphlet dropped by the North Koreans in Korea about 1952, Agent John and Agent John are happy with their sleuthing:

Picture of John N. Feazell Jr. and John S. Quarterman by Gretchen Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 June 2010.

Here is a picture of my father, David S. Quarterman, Jr. (1914-2005), with his friend, John N. Feazell, Sr. (1930-2008): Continue reading →

Let’s See the Marker from the Korean War

The widow Joyce Feazell wanted to actually see a tombstone noted by her late husband, John Feazell, on a propaganda pamphlet dropped by the North Koreans in Korea about 1952, Previously we discovered it was real and where it was likely to be.

Joyce called in a field agent to go find it: her son John N. Feazell, Jr., who lives near Savannah. Joyce reported back on 5 June 2010:

It is in the Cemetery you referred to. John went and found the marker and took this picture so it is for real.

Picture of the marker in Gravel Hill Cemetery, Bloomingdale, Georgia, by John N. Feazell, Jr., 5 June 2010.

As I remarked to Joyce:

You can see how PFC Horner’s daddy might have been upset, having already lost every other immediate relative.

Too bad the North Koreans used it in their propaganda.

She agreed.

Roll credits.

-jsq

Searching for a Marker from the Korean War

Continuing the search commissioned by the widow Joyce Feazell for a tombstone noted by her late husband, John Feazell, on a propaganda pamphlet dropped by the North Koreans in Korea about 1952. Previously we determined the tombstone was real. So where is it?

Remember the front of the pamphlet gave a location for the tombstone. A bit of work with google maps showed the highway between Bloomingdale and Pooler would be US 80. So far, so good. Let’s try to narrow it down.

The deceased’s last name was Horning, and there is something called Horning Memorial Cemetery near Bloomingdale. But that’s not on US 80; it’s on US 17 between Bloomingdale and I-16.


View Larger Map

That might be the right location, but even though google maps has pretty good resolution there for both satellite and streetview images, the stone doesn’t appear to be there.

Ah, but the book

Continue reading →