The HAT Soil Health Podcast: What Historical Data on Climate and Weather Means for Indiana Farmers in the Future

Well, what’s the weather look like? It’s more than just small talk for farmers.
“Farmers are excellent keepers of climate and weather data because their whole industry relies on the weather.”
Austin Pearson serves as climatologist for the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, or MRCC, based at Purdue University.
“My father-in-law grew up on a farm, and there’s times where I’ll sit here and talk with him. He’ll remember stuff that happened in ‘82.”
In the latest HAT Soil Health Podcast, Pearson talks with Hans Schmitz, lead agronomist for the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, about the resources you can use for making decisions related to precipitation, drought, and more in the coming year.
One of those resources is the MRCC.
“We look at climate data and then try to help people make informed decisions. We primarily focus on agriculture and water resources.”
On the MRCC website, you can look at historical data, climate calendars, and maps.

southwest-indiana-rains-for-web
Standing water in a southwest Indiana corn field.

He and Schmitz also discuss the effects of recent weather events and the impact that more days of extreme precipitation events have had on Indiana.
“We’ve had several instances where we’ve had 10-inch plus rains in short periods of time, massive flooding events, loss of life, especially in southeast Indiana where floodwaters practically came up overnight and swept a home away. Just tragic stories that you hear after that.”
Throughout the conversation, Schmitz provides insight into actions you can take for greater climate resilience for your farm.
“The one thing that you would not want to do is nothing because we’re going to keep seeing droughty conditions and torrential downpours.”
Click below to hear the full conversation with Austin Pearson and Hans Schmitz on the latest edition of the HAT Soil Health Podcast, supported by the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative.

Recommended Posts

Loading...