This is an exciting time for U2U as we start developing and piloting our decision support tools. This year's extreme rains and flooding following last year's drought are reminding us of the importance of our task - developing tools to help corn producers adapt to an increasingly variable climate.

We recently had over 40 team and advisory committee members gather in Davenport, Iowa to inventory last year's progress and outline this year's activities. After three days with this dynamic and diverse group I feel energized by the excellent progress made on decision tool development, crop and climate modeling research, and stakeholder engagement.

I'm also encouraged by the growing level of interest that local farmers and ag advisors are showing in our climate tools. At a recent focus group one participant asked "how soon can we start using this?" We've also been invited to speak at several upcoming events with Extension educators, CCAs, and conservation specialists. Direct interaction with the ag community is essential for building usable tools that actually get used, so we are always on the look out for opportunities to interact. Thanks for your continued interest in our project!

Sincerely, 

Dr. Linda Stalker Prokopy, U2U Project Director

Quarterly Progress Report

Year 3 of the U2U project is now officially underway!

The Objective 1 Working Group has completed historical yield simulations for 20 locations using 3 crop models, and they're now running simulations on a gridded domain across the entire Corn Belt. Research is also underway to quantify the costs of adapting Midwestern agriculture to predicted climate change impacts.

In Objective 2, a network analysis is in progress looking at communication patterns between farmers and their advisors in two Michigan watersheds. Other Objective 2 and 3 updates are highlighted below in "Catching Up."

Our progress timeline is a great way to stay up-to-date on upcoming project milestones. Click on the graphic to download a full-size PDF.

Farmers and Advisors Get a Sneak Peak at U2U Tools

During February, we hosted six focus groups with farmers and agricultural advisors in Indiana and Nebraska to showcase two new decisions tools, one providing access to historical climate data and crop yields and another focused on applying Growing Degree Day (GDD) information to cropping decisions. We received valuable feedback on improving tool function, and our stakeholder groups have been invited to re-evaluate these tools during our upcoming summer focus group series. 

New Survey of Ag Advisors

During March 2013, the Objective 2 Working Group surveyed agricultural advisors about their use of climate information, concern about climate impacts, and beliefs about climate change. This study replicates last year's U2U advisor survey (see Prokopy et al. 2013), which was conducted prior to the 2012 drought. Together, these surveys provide a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the drought on climate-related attitudes and risk perceptions. Preliminary analysis shows that the 2012 drought heightened concern for some climate impacts, but it did not affect beliefs about climate change. Additional results will be available later this year.

Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems CAP (CSCAP) is a USDA-funded initiative seeking to increase resilience and adaptability of Midwest agriculture to more volatile weather patterns by identifying farmer practices and policies that increase sustainability while meeting crop demand. 

The U2U team has worked closely with CSCAP members over the past few years on a number of occasions. Our most notable collaboration was on the 2012 corn producer survey, an unprecedented look at cropping decisions and use of climate information in the Midwest (see Arbuckle et al. 2013). We are also working with a team of CSCAP extension educators to pilot our decision tools and share them with a wider audience. 

In a new development, discussions are now underway to develop a jointly managed blog where farmers and scientists across the Corn Belt can learn about and discuss cutting-edge farm management strategies, weather and climate conditions/impacts, and much more. Watch for this blog to become available later this summer. 

For more information about CSCAP please visit http://www.sustainablecorn.org/. 

Dr. Jim Angel has been the Illinois State Climatologist since 1997. He began working at the Illinois State Water Survey in 1984 and received his PhD in Geography from the University of Illinois in 1996. His areas of interest include drought, extreme rainfall events, Great Lakes storms, past and potential future climate change, and climate tool development. As state climatologist he works with a wide range of users, including farmers, teachers, engineers, state and local officials, and the media. One thing he has learned over the years is that there's never a dull moment in Illinois when it comes to weather and climate.

As a U2U co-project director, Jim participates in developing agroclimate decision support tools and conducting focus groups with farmers and agricultural advisors in the Midwest. He also lends his expertise on various climate and crop modeling activities.

Growing up in Missouri, Jim was always interested in the weather. He came from a long line of farmers from western Illinois so the weather was always a topic of conversation in the family. Another family tradition that he continues is gardening. He is a history buff, partially inspired by growing up a few miles away from the site of a small Civil War battle. Jim lives with his wife in Champaign, Illinois and has two grown sons in town as well.

You can follow Jim, and keep up-to-date on Illinois weather and climate, on his blog: http://climateillinois.wordpress.com/.

By Dennis Todey, South Dakota State Climatologist, U2U team member

After very serious drought issues throughout the Corn Belt during the 2012 growing season, the opposite issue has impacted much of the region this season. Planting and development were delayed compared to average in central parts of the Corn Belt because of wet and cool fields.  Drier areas in the western and eastern Corn Belt allowed for better planting progress despite cooler temperatures. The planting progress, while delayed, seemed even worse compared to the record early planting progress for corn in the spring of 2011, when warm and dry conditions pervaded the Corn Belt from March onward. 

Much of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri as well as western Indiana, southern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin received over 150% of average precipitation during the spring.  Embedded in some of these areas were spots with over 200% (more than double) of average precipitation.  State rankings of precipitation were top 10 wettest from North Dakota across to Michigan and extending south to Iowa and Illinois. Iowa had the wettest spring on record.  

Rankings of spring temperature (March-May) were top ten coldest from the Dakotas to Wisconsin, though Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and eastern Corn Belt were not as extreme. Areas of eastern Indiana and Ohio actually had near average temperatures. 

If there is any consolation, it could have been worse. If this spring had happened after a particularly wet fall where soil moisture profiles had been completely refilled, conditions (and flooding) would have been more problematic.  Because of the dryness last year there was ample storage in the soil moisture profile and in surface water bodies especially in western parts of the Corn Belt.

Additional Resources:

Current Corn Belt precipitation maps can be found at: http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/maps/current/index.php or http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/watch.htm. State and division rankings can be found at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/maps.php.