It's hard to imagine anyone thinking more about the weather than farmers, but then again, there's Chief Meteorologist Mark Brusberg of USDA’s agricultural weather and assessments group. This week, Lindsey talks with Mark about the ways that drought, extreme weather, and the changing climate are impacting farmers and agricultural production globally and here at home. Mark also talks about "the blob," building farm weather resilience, and how farmers can keep track of it all.
Mark Brusberg
https://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/2018/bios/Mark_Brusberg.pdf
US Drought Monitor
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
Tropical Tidbits
https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/
The Blob
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob_(Pacific_Ocean)
Weather Underground
https://www.wunderground.com/
NOAA Weather
https://www.weather.gov/
Introduction
Lindsey: This is the Young Farmer’s Podcast. I’m Lindsey Lusher Shute. First, a quick announcement. If you’re in New York State or care about state policy, I want you to know that NYFC just released a report about New York’s high farmland prices and policy strategies to keep that land affordable for future generations. Check it out at youngfarmers.org. Onto the pod. Most farmers i know are obsessed with the weather, and for a simple reason. The weather is tightly linked to how profitable and successful a farm will be in any season. On our farm, for example, we had a short-lived but major hail storm that knocked out nearly all of our crops this spring. And our western farmers, many of them are dealing with a deep drought and are trying to make it through the season. Today I’m talking to Mark Rosberg who serves as the chief meteorologist at USDA’s Agriculture Weather and Assessments Group, a component of the World Agricultural Outlook Board. He talks to us about the weather across the country and how farmers can keep track of it all.
Dustin Stein: Hi I’m Dustin Stein, ranch manager at Stubborn Farm and Bert Beef in Mancos, Colorado, where we raise grass fed and finished beef. I’m also a leader of the Four Corners Farmers and Ranchers Coalition. I’m a member of the National Young Farmers Coalition, because it’s extremely important for young and first generation producers to have a voice at our nation’s capital. For 35 dollars a year, you too can join. In addition to being part of a bright and just future for agriculture in the United States, you’ll also get discounts like 16% off earth tools , walk behind tractors, and 5% off of Felco. To join, please visit Youngfarmers.org.
OG Weather Nerds
Mark: My name is Mark Rosberg. I'm the chief meteorologist here at USDA's office of the chief economist. I'm physically located in Washington D.C. in the USDA south building.
Lindsey: What is the office of the chief meteorologist like?
Mark: Well, we're a staff of five meteorologists. We cover global weather, uh, to provide whether intelligence to USDA’S monthly supply and demand estimates report. So you have one meteorologist monitoring weather in the United States. The other four are monitoring global conditions. I personally happened to be the South America weather analyst amongst other areas, you know, Canada and Mexico. So if there's a drought in, for example, there was a drought in Argentina last year, I provided weather information and helped us try to determine exactly what the what the condition of the corn and soybean crop was.
Lindsey: And where does your weather data come from?
Mark: It’s primarily through our agreement with National Weather Service
Lindsey: And the National Weather Service, it has its own worldwide network of weather stations.
Mark: Well, they get the data from other countries through an agreement through the World Meteorological Organization. That's a United Nations, uh, agency. So the weather bureaus of other countries have signed an international agreement where they promised to give a certain amount of data from their countries.
Lindsey: I see. I, you know, just with all of the conversations these days arou