Tag: apple

Georgia’s apple farmers concerned over months-long drought’s impact on upcoming harvest

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close up of withered apples on a branch

In Gilmer County, at the foot of Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, fourth-generation farmer Joshua Aaron is worried about the upcoming fall apple season. Aaron’s great-grandparents started Aaron Family Orchards decades ago, so he’s seen a lot of times, both good and bad. But during the midst of the state’s months-long drought, the future is beginning to look bleak. Apple orchards are feeling the heat, and it’s already showing signs of impacting the upcoming harvest season. In Ellijay, known as the Apple Capital of Georgia, the air is fresh, and the skies are blue, but those blue skies have been around for far too long and are now leading to growing problems at Aaron Family Orchards.

“Whether it be U-pick or going to schools or here in the market, we’re really watching how much rainfall we’re getting to make sure that we’re not going to have a large crop fall or have some kind of delay or hindrance in size of the crop,” Aaron said. Meanwhile, the apples are just beginning to pop up on the trees, but so is anxiety in the voices of local orchard owners like Aaron. “Luckily in North Georgia, we’ve actually gotten a little bit of rain, a lot more than the rest of the state, but even with the rain that we’ve gotten, we’re still in a severe drought,” Aaron explained. While it could be even worse, the impacts of the deepening drought are starting to show. As the trees shield themselves from additional drying under the searing summer sun, curled-up leaves are beginning to appear as the added stress builds.

Just like with humans, when the trees are under stress, they’re more susceptible to disease. Over time, bacteria can get into their blooms. That can kill an entire branch and possibly even the whole tree.

Source: Georgia’s apple farmers concerned over months-long drought’s impact on upcoming harvest – CBS Atlanta

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
Romans 15:2

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RED FLAG: FBI says these apps let China suck up your personal data

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a warning sign on the cliff

Centralized smartphone app storefronts, like Apple’s App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android, make apps feel like they all come from the same safe place online, but the developers behind these apps are spread out all over the world. This month, the FBI brought attention to international developers, warning that installing apps built by foreign nations could pose a major threat to user privacy and security. Are they right? Let’s find out. Do you use these popular Chinese apps? On the final day of March, the FBI issued a warning “to highlight data security risks associated with foreign-developed mobile applications (apps) frequently used in the United States.” The FBI was especially critical of apps developed in the heart of China. Although it didn’t go out of its way to list some of the most dubious offenders, you may have heard of these popular candidates:

TikTok, before its USDS joint venture, was made and owned wholly by ByteDance in Beijing.

Temu and Shein, two popular online discount stores, are Chinese-owned with the former belonging to PDD Holdings Inc. in Shanghai and the latter founded by Chris Xu, who moved his company’s headquarters from China to Singapore earlier this decade, though there are talks that Xu may relocate back to the mainland for an IPO.

CapCut, a popular mobile video editing app, is also developed by ByteDance, especially to help users create more engaging TikTok videos.

RedNote (aka Xiaohongshu), a TikTok alternative that briefly garnered public attention in the USA after TikTok’s USDS joint venture launch, is also based in Shanghai.

Tencent, a technology giant out of Shenzhen, owns the popular texting app WeChat. The company also invests in many U.S.-based game companies, including Epic Games (makers of Fortnite), Larian Studios (the group behind Baldur’s Gate 3), and FromSoftware (the developers of Elden Ring).

Needless to say, Chinese companies — and by extension, the Chinese government — have their hands in many apps and games that U.S.-based users enjoy daily.

Source: RED FLAG: FBI says these apps let China suck up your personal data | Blaze Media

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14