Natural Resources, School of

 

Climate Forecasts for Corn Producer Decision Making

Eugene S. Takle, Iowa State University
Christopher J. Anderson, Iowa State University
Jeffrey Andresen, Michigan State University
James Angel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Roger W. Elmore, Iowa State University
Benjamin M. Gramig, Purdue University
Patrick Guinan, University of Missouri
Steven Hilberg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Doug Kluck, National Weather Service Central Region
Raymond Massey, University of Missouri
Dev Niyogi, Purdue University
Jeanne M. Schneider, USDA-ARS
Martha Shulski, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dennis Todey, South Dakota State University
Melissa Widhalm, Purdue University

Document Type Article

Copyright 2014 The Authors.

Abstract

Corn is the most widely grown crop in the Americas, with annual production in the United States of approximately 332 million metric tons. Improved climate forecasts, together with climate-related decision tools for corn producers based on these improved forecasts, could substantially reduce uncertainty and increase profitability for corn producers. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint climate information developers, climate information users, and climate researchers with an overview of weather conditions throughout the year that affect corn production as well as forecast content and timing needed by producers. The authors provide a graphic depicting the climate-informed decision cycle, which they call the climate forecast–decision cycle calendar for corn.