Water and Drought
Dealing with Drought
A significant drought in the Southeast severely affected planting of summer annual crops in spring 2007. As the drought continued and the recommended planting window narrowed, peanut producers began to consider not planting and falling back on crop insurance as a safety net. With the possibility of planting only 300,000 acres of peanuts, the U.S. peanut industry anticipated severe problems because Georgia accounts for about 45 percent of the U.S. acreage and production. The UGA Peanut Team members began to work with county Cooperative Extension agents and Federal Crop Insurance representatives to determine the best economical solution for producers and the peanut industry. They conducted several meetings with producers to discuss planting options and coop insurance options. They also provided day to day information on the UGA Peanut Team website, so county agents would have access to breaking news on weather conditions and crop insurance issues. The primary information in these reports included physiological and environmental impacts on peanuts when planting under severe drought conditions and economic implications of planting versus not planting. Although a much higher percentage than normal of the Georgia peanut crop was planted after the last day of the recommended planting window, timely rain in the late summer resulted in a state-wide average yield potential of nearly 3,000 pounds per acre. This is exceptional considering the severe drought early in the season. (2007)
Sources
| Name | Department | |
| John Beasley | jbeasley@uga.edu | Crop and Soil Sciences |
| and six other UGA faculty | ||