1. Assistant Professor/Grain Markets Specialist
Adaptive Strategies for Maximizing Profit While Reducing the Impact of Climate-Related Risks
AAEA Meetings
Seattle, WA
August 13, 2012
Chad Hart
Assistant Professor/Grain Markets Specialist 1 1

2. Useful to Usable (U2U) Project
Overall Goal: To improve the usability of climate information for the agricultural community and lead to more sustainable farming operations
3 Major Objectives:
Research biophysical, climatic, and economic risks on crop production and farm profitability
Evaluate and assess information needs and methods for agricultural producers
Create decision support tools that address agronomic, climatic, and economic issues for agricultural producers

3. U2U Team

4. https://drinet.hubzero.org/u2utools
Current Resources

5. Current Resources

6. 1st Year Goals
Identify impacts of climate and management decisions on crop production and profitability
Utilize several crop simulation models to create a database on crop-climate interaction
Historical data:
Broad coverage across the Corn Belt
Data links climate, soil conditions, and crop productivity

7. Decisions Targeted Crop rotation choice
Seed purchases and seeding rates
Fertilizer purchases and timing
Pesticide purchases and timing
Crop insurance selection
Fuel purchases for irrigation or drying
Cover crop usage
Tillage timing

8. Information Currently Used%

9. Decisions That Could Be Affected%

10. Crop Modeling 3 crop simulation models Use models to examine:
Hybrid-Maize
Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and CERES-Maize
Integrated Science Assessment Model (ISAM)
Use models to examine:
Yield variability and the influence of climate and soils on it
Early planting season moisture patterns and fieldwork opportunities
Timing of fertilizer applications and leaching potential

11. Target: Decision Support Tool
Example: Tool for fertilizer application
Producer inputs farm location and fertilizer type
Tool draws on data, based on producer inputs, to address:
Climate projections
Expected field days
Yield projections and patterns
Market information and projections
Output presents possible production and profit results with uncertainty measures

12. Here’s the team! http://www.AgClimate4U.org
Purdue University: Linda Prokopy (Lead), Corinne Alexander, Larry Biehl, Otto Doering, Bruce Erickson, Ani Elias, Sajeeve E.M., Patrick Freeland, Ben Gramig, Olivia Kellner, Xing Liu, Amber Mase, Dev Niyogi, Paul Preckel, Carol Song, Melissa Widhalm, Lan Zhao
Iowa State University: Roger Elmore, Chad Hart, Jean McGuire, Lois Wright Morton, Gene Takle, Adam Wilke
Michigan State University: Gopal Alagarswamy, Jeff Andresen, Jim Hilker, Mike Holp
South Dakota State University: Dennis Todey
University of Illinois: Jim Angel, Beth Hall, Steve Hilberg, Atul Jain
University of Michigan: Yun-Jia Lo, Maria Lemos, Jennifer Perron
University of Minnesota: Tom Bartholomay, Whitney Meridith
University of Missouri: Pat Guinan, Ray Massey
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Juliana Dai, Tonya Haigh, Cody Knutson, Tapan Pathak, Martha Shulski
University of Wisconsin: Tom Blewett, Rebecca Power, John Kriva
This project is supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

13. Thank you for your time.