On this week’s national drought monitor, central South Carolina continues to sink further into drought. Independent meteorologist Kyle Bridgers:
“Seems like the drought conditions have gotten a little worse for the Georgia and South Carolina border, as it was last week, and those conditions are working their way into central South Carolina.”
In North Carolina, it seems that there’s just enough rain to maintain moderate drought conditions, but according to Bridgers, the story changes in the western part of the state:
“For central and eastern North Carolina its true that we are getting just enough rain to stay status quo, bur for western North Carolina, they have seen a significant amount of rain over the past few days.”
March Temp’s Make Record Books
If it seemed like we had late spring in March, and now early spring in April, you wouldn’t be wrong, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration briefed reporters today on the nation's climate and its effect on agriculture. NOAA Climatologist Jake Crouch says March was one for the record books:
“It was the warmest March on record with an average temperature for the contiguous US of 51.1 degrees. That is about 8.6 degrees above average.”
Farmer Son of Warren Buffett Working to Feed the Hungry
Farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett is looking to recruit fellow farmers in a new campaign to fight hunger in rural America. Through his foundation, Buffett, the son of legendary investor Warren Buffett, is backing the "Invest an Acre" initiative. The program aims to encourage farmers around the nation to donate profits from the sale of 1 acre's crop to the charity Feeding America, which will use the money to support food banks in rural communities. Buffett says this is a new area for him as his foundation has devoted much its funding to other countries:
“We have an incredible problem in this country with hunger. That is one of the big challenges in that our society is not that tuned into it.”
Buffett is joining forces with agribusiness conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland in the effort to establish a nationwide reach.
Gas Prices in Retreat
Gas prices may be on the retreat, if the latest market activity is any indication. Gas futures prices are sliding off their highs from earlier in the year - down some 6-percent since the end of March. And if that's the case, we may see cheaper prices at the pump soon. Energy analyst Phil Flynn:
“We have already seen prices fall six to ten cents per gallon in some areas. I think they could actually accelerate in the coming weeks”
Storm May have Passed on LFTB
A rally in boxed beef prices of nearly $7 per hundredweight early this week lends support to the idea the media-led controversy over pink slime is subsiding. Leading into the peak grilling season, beef demand has been soft, fueled in part by the media firestorm over lean fine-textured beef, often referred to as pink slime by the national media. Ground beef sales, including trimmings, fell 11 percent during March, which is the smallest amount of ground beef sold during March for 10 years.
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