Nov. 11, 2014

Program Topics

Overview of Climate Services in Nebraska and High Plains Region — Martha Shulski, director of the High Plains Regional Climate Center Climate

Outlooks for Agricultural Decision Making — Al Dutcher, Nebraska State Climatologist

Mobile Tool to Monitoring Soil Temperature — Kenneth Hubbard, professor and climatologist, School of Natural Resources

U2U: Climate-Based Decision Support Tools for the US Corn Belt — Tapan Pathak, Extension educator in climate

Variability Agri Tools: Nebraska-Specific Climate Tools for Smartphones — Tyler Williams, Extension educator

Management Options to Minimize Climate Risks — Roger Elmore, professor and agronomist, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture

How could weather and climate information be used in making farming decisions? — Steve Hu,  professor in the School of Natural Resources

Drought Resources – National Drought Mitigation Center — Mike Hayes, professor and director of National Drought Mitigation Center

Crop Climate: Web-based Decision Support System — Guillermo Baigorria, assistant professor, School of Natural Resources

"Climate Resilient Agriculture: Tools and Resources for Agricultural Decisions" will betake place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Nov. 19 at the Phelps County Ag Center. The workshop is primarily funded by the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

"This is the first workshop of its kind specially focused on how to utilize weather and climate resources to make short- and long-term agricultural decisions," said Tapan Pathak, Extension educator for climate variability and climate change.

The workshop will showcase applied climate tools and resources relevant to the agricultural community, some of which were developed by university faculty.

"This workshop not only shows how to access these tools, but also provides examples on the types of ag decisions one can make by using these tools," Pathak said. "Anyone who is interested in learning more about incorporating climate information and tools into agricultural decisions or guiding producers who make those decisions should attend this workshop."

Registration for the workshop is required. Register by calling Phelps County Extension office at 308-995-4222, or by emailing Extension Educator Tyler Williams at tyler.williams@unl.edu or Pathak at tpathak2@unl.edu. Additional workshop information is available at http://go.unl.edu/944j.

"There are so many credible climate resources out there and sometimes it is overwhelming to find out how one can utilize those resources to make my decisions on a farm," Pathak said. "Our idea is to showcase some of the important resources that we have at UNL to make the agricultural community aware. Our hope is that participants find significant value in this research-based, unbiased information and utilize it to make informed decisions."