Title: Climate Information and Agricultural Risk Management
1Climate Information and Agricultural Risk
Management
- A Systemic Approach to Understanding Farmers
Decision-Making
T. A. Crane, C. Roncoli, N. E. Breuer, J. O.
Paz, K. T. Ingram, K. Broad, G. Hoogenboom
University of Georgia, University of Miami,
University of Florida
2Outline
- Research methods and setting
- Interactions with weather and climate information
systems
- Potential adaptive strategies
- Challenges to forecast use
- Farmers suggestions for usability
3Methods and Research Setting
- Sample 38 farmers
- Sites 21 counties in South Georgia
- Methods Semi-structured interviews
- Weather and climate information systems
- Climate variability and risk mgmt. strategies
- Potential adaptations
4Methods and Research Setting
- Sample 38 farmers
- Sites 21 counties in South Georgia
- Methods Semi-structured interviews
- Mixed production systems
- Avg. 2 per operation
5Weather Climate Info Sources
- Daily use, often accessed multiple times
- Spraying
- Planting
- Irrigation
- Confidence low beyond 3-5 days
- Wives children are often internet users
information gateways
6Weather Climate Info Sources
- Passive exposure to climate forecasts
- 90-day forecasts not used in agric. decisions
- Conversation piece
- Peace of mind
- Collective credibility
7Adaptive Management Options
- Cropping strategy
- Corn or cotton ?
- Dry land corn ?
- Soil crop forecast ?
- Forward contracts ?
- Planting schedule
- Dry year pine planting ?
- Late frost risk ?
8Adaptive Management Options
Forecast Use Irwin County Spring 2006 forecast f
or summer drought ? widespread shift from long-
to short-cycle peanut variety
9Non-Climate Variables as Management Drivers
- Agronomic requirements
- Commodity prices
- Insurance constraints
- Input prices
- Credit options
- Policy environment
- Price supports
- Trade policies
- Immigration laws
Relative uncertainty of forecasts compared to
non-climate variables competition as mgmt.
driver
10Challenges to Farmers Use of Forecasts
- Discrepancy in scales of forecasts decisions
- Temporal
- Spatial
- Inexperience with climate forecasts
- Unawareness of potential
- Skepticism of accuracy
- Discrepancy in understandings of key concepts
- Probability
- Accuracy
11Challenges to Farmers Use of Forecasts
- Difficulty in processing additional information
- Time
- Mental energy
- Inflexibility of highly-capitalized operations
- Indebtedness
- Infrastructural investments
- Large acreage
- Potential for actors to leverage info over
farmers
- Lenders
- Insurers
- Brokers
12Facilitating Appropriate Use of Climate-Based DSS
- Create recognizable identity for DSS
- Show the people behind it
- Association with land-grant university
- Communication
- Use lay-users language
- Show you understand what it means to be a
farmer
- Layer information for different users
- Cultivate habitual reference to site
- Regular outreach
- Keep information updated
13Facilitating Appropriate Use of Climate-Based DSS
- Enable users to evaluate forecasts
- Publish forecast history
- Publish forecast performance records
- Explain probability upfront
- Integrate users feedback into product
development and assessment
14Questions?
www.agclimate.org
http//secc.coaps.fsu.edu/
This research was supported by funding from NO
AA
USDA-RMA USDA-CSREES