Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Day1: Monday July 6, 2009 " 8:30 AM: Welcoming statement by the president Scott Staggenborg " Introduction of the attendees (see the list above) " Advisor Mike Schmitts comments: His second year being involved with this project. Having read the other proposal he ranks this proposal to be a very good one. The atlas receives a special attention among the appropriating committee. He posed a question if we needed the appropriated money. If we do we need to determine how we need to spend it. The final report is due this fall (Later e-mail from Christina Hamilton, NCRA Assistant Director and NIMSS System Administrator, on July 16, 2009 indicated that the due date to submit the final report is March 31, 2010). Mike also indicated that the NC1018 is now NC-Temp1018. We have a new number designated for us which is NC1179. The NC1179 has a value in terms of mix of expertise in the participants. He explained how these multistate projects value institutional involvement. The more projects an institution is involved with the better it is for that institution in order to maintain federal funding. Most institutions use these involvements as a justification to maintain and get extra federal dollars to the state. " Regional Climate Centers: Ken Hubbard, High Plains Regional Climate Center. Ken talked about the National Climate Services. It passed the house and is becoming more reality with a new climate program structure. RCCs are writing a white paper. He also talked about the following topics: o ACIS (Applied Climate Information System). It is synchronized across the nation. ACIS allows you to write your own program. o Paperless WxCoder III (Weather-coder 3). It adds coop data in-real-time. o Ag-ACIS: Specifically designed data access for agricultural community such as NRCS. o HCN-M: Modernized Historical Climate Network. It proposes 1000 automated weather network in the country paired with the existing HCN stations. " Break " State Reports: o Kansas Report (Scott Staggenborg): He talked about the following topics: § Modeling Soil-Carbon § Cellulosic biomass removal § Simulating Soil-Carbon § Kansas Mesonet Plan " Groundwater Management Districts " K-State " NWS " Stations configured similar to NRCSs SCAN (Soil and Climate Analysis Network) § Coupled Model taking into account: " Crop Model " Ground Water (Irrigation Water) " Economic Model (Crops Chosen for a year) " Crop Model § Ongoing research o New York Report (Robert Seem): He gave information about the Vineyard Site Evaluation web site: www.nyvineyardsite.com which is a collaborative project of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University and the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technologies with funding from the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. He explained how to use this interactive web site for decision making. The web site contains the following main pages: § Educational information " Climate " Soil " Topography " Proximity to water § Data Layers " Climate Layer " Lake Erie Layer " Finger Lakes Layer § Information Resources (Such as NRCS, Cornell Coop Extension, and other helpful links) § Tutorial (How to use the site) o Missouri Report (Pat Guinan): Pat talked about the following topics: § Getting MO-Mesonet into near-real-time. § Network Evolution § Mesonet specification § 7-Variables: hourly and daily § Supplemental variables: " Soil moisture " Pressure " Fuel moisture " Leaf wetness § Data delivery: AgEBB-Agricultural Electronic Bulletin Board (http://agebb.missouri.edu/) § Data QC § Sustainability ($3000/year per station to be shared equally with AgEBB) § Real time web template: http://agebb.missouri.edu/weather/realtime/mizzou.asp § Benefits to real time: " Spray application " Planting decision " Heat stress and wind-chill " Control fire burns " Flood assessment " MADIS (Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System): http://www-frd.fsl.noaa.gov/mesonet/ " Damaging wind " Energy distribution " Icing potential o South Dakota Report (Dennis Todey): Dennis talked about the following topics: § Statewide temperatures (Average Weather) § Soil moisture (Hydra probe) at 11 locations § 37 stations in the network (South Dakota Automatic Weather Data Network): http://climate.sdstate.edu/awdn/archive/daily.asp § GDD until freezing module § Research: " Irrigation forecasting " Disease forecasting " Mycotoxin occurrence on corn " Lawn watering " Climate impact on grape growing in SD " Trend analysis in winter and spring for various locations for various temperature thresholds in SD o Florida Report (Clyde W. Fraisse): Clyde talked about the following topics: § Agro-Climate web site: (http://agroclimate.org/) " Climate forecast " Ag tools " Decision aid tools " Adaptation strategies § Long-term database § Soil, DSSAT ready files § FAWN Database § Application of risk assessment tools (crop-yield-disease) " ENSO specific yield composites for different applications: o Peanut o Potato o Tomato o Blueberry o Peach o Strawberry o Forage and livestock " Chill accumulation hours " Strawberry disease tool " Modeling leaf wetness o Penman-Monteith o RH Threshold " Number of fungicide applications required to control Anthracnose based on ENSO phases " Drought monitoring " Carbon footprint of Ag. Operation " Outreach and education " Begin discussion of milestones for the new project: We discussed the objectives of the project starting from Objective 1, which is to enhance the understanding of crop-climate-soil interaction on a regional scale We discussed Objective 1-a which is to enhance existing database by developing new agro-climatologically variables for risk assessment of crop production in the region. We talked about what additional variables that we can consider adding. Among the list, we talked about the following variables: " Dew point temperature i. Discussion: It is available at county-based NC108 data set " Snow depth (CoCoRaHS even though not all observers are reporting this variable) " (Soil) Organic matter " Solar radiation " Soil moisture i. Discussion: We talked about how we can improve the soil moisture network. One option is modeling it. The other is to measure. Someone pointed out the NRCSs SCAN (Soil and Climate analysis Network). Pat G. mentioned that 3 out of 4 SCAN sites in MO are not working. Scott questioned whether if measuring at 5 depths is necessary. " Leaf wetness (hours of wetness derived from Penman-Monteith) " Wind speed (needed for evaporation) i. Discussion: observation height of 10m is safer to use than trying to estimate it from 10 " MRCC database was discussed. It is grid-based for the entire US. Ken suggested we contact Steve Hilberg, Director, HPRCC, to see if we can acquire the database for NC1018. " We also discussed what the format of the data (i.e. grid vs. county base). Grid based data has advantage over county in terms of describing variability within a county. However, county based data is desirable in terms of making political decision for a county. ACTION 1: Dennis will work with Steve H. and Ken H. to see if MRCC database can be acquired. ACTION TEAM: Dennis Todey and Ken Hubbard to complete ACTION 1 ACTION 2: Dennis will work with Pat G. and Ken H. to determine what additional variables can be added to the database. (Milestone 2010) ACTION TEAM: Dennis Todey, Ken Hubbard and Pat Guinan to complete ACTION 2 " Scott questioned where the data currently resides. Dennis answered that it resides in multiple places. He also said that the data is available on-line. " We also discussed the Objective 2 which is the application of risk assessment tools, including the existing NC-1018 database, for the crop-climate-soils interface on a regional scale. We did not identify any action item for this objective at this time. " We looked at the Atlas and asked ourselves whether if we should expand the coverage to the entire US. Mike Schmitt reminded us that the Atlas receives a special attention (in the appropriation committee). " Continued discussion of the detailed milestones for the new project: We discussed the objectives of the project starting from Objective 1-c, which is to enhance current NC-1018 database with climate data that will be developed based on climate change projection models. Chris Anderson (Iowa State University) said Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Inter-comparison (PCMDI), daily archived data is available to public and therefore to us to utilize. Jeff said coarse gridded data is sometime not usable for local analysis. Downscaling could be a method to remedy this problem but it is not reliable. Chris said the decision tool that models provide a wide range of scenarios or a middle scenario for the end-users to select. He added that he prefers the farmer, the end-user, should be able to decide what probability level they would like to be confident by selecting the risks they would like to take. Scott said he would like to see what this group is going to decide with the climate change projection models. Chris suggested that there is a model out there by University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) that incorporates 121 scenarios. Chris is currently working on a RISA proposal that will deal with climate change adaptation. He offered to share the downscaled data regionally. He expects to get funded in the coming fall. He added that we can use the UCSB model right away. " Continued discussion of the detailed milestones for the new project: (2009): Develop a framework for testing or creating a new climatology based on climate change prediction scenario. Scott asked a question: Should we talk about it now or should we pull the trigger next year? ACTION 3: Scott will contact UCSB, Rich will contact NOAA to pursue completing the 2009 milestone (Develop a framework for testing or creating a new climatology based on climate change prediction scenario) ACTION TEAM: Scott Staggenborg and Rich Grant to complete ACTION 3 ACTION 4: To pursue fulfilling Objective 1-c which is to enhance current NC-1018 database with climate data that will be developed based on climate change projection models. ACTION TEAM: Scott Staggenborg, Rich Grant, Jeff Anderson, Garret Hoogenboom, Chris Anderson to complete ACTION 4 ACTION 5: Meet Tuesday afternoon with as many participants as possible to discuss finalizing the text in the Atlas. ACTION TEAM: Everyone who can be there in the afternoon after the meeting is adjourned (See Tuesday afternoon minutes) to complete ACTION 5 " Adjourned for the day Day2: Tuesday July 7, 2009 " North Dakota Report (Adnan Akyüz): Adnan gave an historic perspective of the about the Fargo flood of 2009 and his services that he provided during the flood. He talked about the following specifics: " Historic Red-River crests at Fargo location " 2008-2009 weather season in Fargo and how it led to the flood " Satellite coverage of the flood before and after " Historic comparisons " Prelude to the flood " 2009 timetable " Aerial photos " Flood fight " Anatomy of the Red River Valley " Nebraska Report (Ken Hubbard): Ken Hubbard also reported on behalf of Nebraska as well as the regional climate center. He talked about the following topics: " Solar and dew-point expansion " Seasonal bias on estimated data: Ken and Steve Hu created a better r² " Bio-fuels: a graduate student identified bio-fuel locations of the state " Soil moisture: 60 sites were accessorized with Hydra-Probe. 4 Layers were sampled. " NE Carbon sequestration project " ET project: It has not been published yet " ENSO Composites with various climate variables in Nebraska " Michigan Report (Jeff Anderson): Jeff talked about the following specifics of his current projects: " Weather and climate risk management in agriculture " Historical and projected future trends " Impacts of weather/climate on agriculture " Landscape change and regional climate change " Wind energy " Enviro-Weather (http://www.enviroweather.msu.edu/ ) i. Weather based pest, natural resources and production management tool ii. Irrigation Scheduler V4.0 iii. Influence of land use and land cover change on climate (CLIP Project) in east Africa. " Missouri Report (Gene Stevens): Gene was the second participant representing Missouri. He reported on the following topics: " Rice growth and irrigation " Degree-day 50 " Herbicide timing " Insect scouting " Nitrogen rates " Flood draining " Arkansas irrigation scheduling model " Business Meeting " Adding names to the list " How to become a member of the NC108 participant " Web site: Who will host and maintain. Current Climate Data site: http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/GIS/apps/nc1018/fe.phtml ACTION 6: Dennis will talk to Daryl to see if he can add the atlas, the proposal and the minutes to the web site ACTION TEAM: Dennis Todey to complete ACTION 6 ACTION 7: Adnan will type and distribute the minutes within 60 days of the meeting ACTION TEAM: Adnan Akyüz to complete ACTION 7 ACTION 8: Project (termination) report needs to be submitted by March 31, 2010 (per Christina Hamilton, NCRA Assistant Director and NIMSS System administrator, e-mail on 7/16/2009) ACTION TEAM: The Secretary of the NC1179 to complete ACTION 8 " Discussion: Officer Election every 2 year vs. 1 year. Garret brought up the discussion. He point out that waiting 2 years might hurt those faculties who are in the tenure track. Scott mentioned that we decided to elect officers every 2 years because 1) we have such a small group and 2) it takes a year for an officer to get comfortable with the duties. Ken motioned that we reduce election frequency from once every 2 years to every year. Garret seconded the motion. " Bob nominated Adnan be the chair next year. Garret was nominated to be the secretary. No one objected the nominations and the officer lineup for the coming year is as follows: i. Chair: Adnan Akyuz, ND State University ii. Secretary: Garret Hoogenboom, U of Georgia " Next years meeting time and place i. Several time options we discussed. Fiscal calendar was an issue ii. Clyde volunteered to host the meeting in Florida during spring break so that the teaching faculty would be able to come to the meeting without missing a class. " As a closing remark Mike Schmitt reminded that there is a $6000 fund available to be used in printing the atlas. We need to communicate with the budget office to let them know if we will use the money. " Meeting adjourned at 11:30 AM Day2 (Afternoon): Tuesday July 7, 2009 (Atlas Group Meeting) " The atlas group met at lunch after the regular business meeting " Participants: i. Adnan Akyuz ii. Scott Staggenborg iii. Dennis Todey iv. Pat Guinan v. Ken Hubbard vi. Jeff Andresen " Dennis asked if we need to continue with the atlas and the group responded with Yes. " Steward has the original version of the maps and the program. Dennis said he will talk to Steward and Steve Hollinger to see if they are willing to complete the atlas. We have some money to pay them for their service. Jeff reminded that the new climatological averaging period will start in 2011. It will look bad to release 1971-2000 averages this late. " PeT and the Trend are the only 2 variables that (still) need to be calculated. " Jeff suggested to add the trend along with 11-yr running mean ACTION 9: Ken will talk to Steve Hilberg to see if MRCC would be willing to provide continues data feed to NC1018 database ACTION TEAM: Ken Hubbard to complete ACTION 9 ACTION 10: Jeff will talk to Steve Hollinger and Dennis will talk to Stew and Daryl to see if they would be willing to continue service to complete the Atlas. ACTION TEAM: Jeff Anderson and Dennis Todey to complete ACTION 10

During the past year, this group continued to accomplish activities related to modeling and weather data collection and dissemination. Biotic system models have been used to investigate soil carbon dynamics, the performance of cellulosic biofuel crops, and the impact of biomass removal on soil quality and soil erosion. The coupling of a crop model, a soil drainage model and an economic model resulted in initial evaluations of crop selection and irrigation practices on recharge in the Ogallala Aquifer. Crop models have been used to determine the impact of irrigation scheduling and the value of irrigation in the region. Activities related to disease forecasting in corn and determining grape yields and winter survival in several northern states. In Florida, work regarding the impact that ENSO activities have on crop yields and fungicide applications have continued. One area of significant accomplishment occurred with the revelation that leaf wetness can be modeled with greater accuracy and with less expense than attempting to measure it. Related to these simulations, work continues to supplement older climate data sets with estimated solar radiation and dew points. In regards to weather data collection and dissemination, mesonets expanded in Kansas and Missouri with new stations being deployed and in Nebraska and South Dakota with soil moisture sensors being deployed on a selected set of stations within each state. The addition of these sensors will expand the soil moisture monitoring efforts that were initiated several years ago. From a weather data dissemination perspective, Cornell and other organizations in New York have developed and launched a web site to assist grape growers in evaluating potential vineyard sites. This GIS based website www.nyvineyardsite.com aims to reduce winter damage to grape vines. The system uses GIS layers of climate, soil, topography, and proximity to water. Missouri continues to be a leader in collecting and providing real time weather data from their network of stations to the public. Their website is open to the public http://agebb.missouri.edu/ . They also have demonstrated the ability to sustain their weather stations through local sponsors. Other data dissemination products include a GDD to freeze calculator, disease prediction applets many other products that add value to weather data collected in many states. These applications extend the value of weather data farther into the public realm. The group published over 35 refereed journal articles, developed countless new web pages, made a wide range of outreach presentations and served as advisers to a wide range of group during weather episodes throughout the region.

Publications Akyüz, F. A., T. Scherer, D. Morlock, 2008: Automated Irrigation Scheduling Application of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network. International Conference on Soil Fertility, Land Management, and Agroclimatology. Preceedings, p 3. Kusadasi, Turkey. October 29-November 1, 2008. Akyüz, F. A., B. Mullens, D. Morlock, 2008: Agricultural Application of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network. International Conference on Soil Fertility, Land Management, and Agroclimatology. Preceedings, p 104. Kusadasi, Turkey. October 29-November 1, 2008. Akyuz, F. A, M. Ewens, R. Carcoana, and B. Mullins : 2007. NWS frost depth observation with liquid-in probes performance: Two-year review. Journal of Service Climatology. In-review, 2007. Anothai, J., A. Patanothai, K. Pannangpetch, S. Jogloy, K.J. Boote, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Reduction in data collection for determination of cultivar coefficients for breeding applications. Agricultural Systems 96(1-3):195-206. Anothai, J., A. Patanothai, S. Jogloy, K. Pannangpetch, K.J. Boote, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. A sequential approach for determining the cultivar coefficients of peanut lines using end-of-season data of crop performance trials. Field Crops Research 108:169-178. Bannayan, M., and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Predicting realizations of daily weather data for climate forecasts using the non-parametric nearest-neighbor re-sampling technique. International Journal of Climatology 28(10):1357-1368. Bannayan, M., and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Weather Analogue: A tool for lead time prediction of daily weather data realizations based on a modified k-Nearest Neighbor approach. Environmental Modeling 23(6):703-713. Baumhardt, R.L., S.A. Staggenborg, P.H. Gowda, P.D. Colaizzi, and T.A. Howell. 2009. Modeling Irrigation Management Strategies to Maximize Cotton Lint Yield and Water Use Efficiency. Agron. J. 101:460-468. Berkheimer, S.F., J.K. Potter, J.A. Andresen, and E.J. Hanson, 2007. Flower Bud Mortality and Salt Levels in Blueberry Fields Adjacent to Michigan Highways Treated with Deicing Salt. HortTechnology 16: 508 512. Ben-Asher, J., A. Garcia y Garcia, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Effect of high temperature on photosynthesis and transpiration of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. rugosa). Photosynthetica.46(4):595-603. Boken, V.K., G. Hoogenboom, J.H. Williams, B. Diarra, S. Dione, and G.L. Easson. 2008. Monitoring peanut contamination in Mali (Africa) using AVHRR satellite data and a crop simulation model. International Journal of Remote Sensing 29(1):117-129. Deng, X., B.J. Barnett, G. Hoogenboom, Y. Yu, and A. Garcia y Garcia. 2008. Alternative crop insurance indices. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40(1): 223-237. Evert, S, S.A. Staggenborg, B,L.S. Olson. 2009. Soil Temperature and Planting Depth Effects on Tef Emergence. J Agron. And Crop Sci. 195:232-236. Fang, H., S. Liang, G. Hoogenboom, J. Teasdale and M. Cavigelli. 2008. Corn yield estimation of remotely sensed data into the CSM-CERES-Maize model. International Journal of Remote Sensing 29(10):3011-3032. Garcia y Garcia. A., L.C. Guerra, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Impact of generated solar radiation on simulated crop growth and yield. Ecological Modeling 210(3):312-326. Getter, K.L., D.B. Rowe, and J.A. Andresen. 2007. Quantifying the effect of slope on extensive green roof stormwater retention. Ecological Engineering 31:225-231. Guerra, L.C., G. Hoogenboom, A. Garcia y Garcia, P. Banterng, and J.P. Beasley, Jr. 2008. Determination of cultivar coefficients for the CSM-CROPGRO-Peanut model using variety trial data. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 51(4):1471-1481. Isard, S.A., R.J. Schaetzl, and J.A. Andresen, 2007. Soils Cool as Climate Warms in the Great Lakes Region, USA: 1951-2000. Annals Assoc. Am. Geographers 97:467-476. Lin, S., J.D. Mullen, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Farm-level risk management using irrigation and weather derivatives. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40(2):485-492. Olatinwo R.O., J.O. Paz, S.L. Brown, R.C. Kemerait, A.K. Culbreath, J.P. Beasley, Jr., and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. A predictive model for spotted wilt epidemics in peanut based on local weather conditions and the tomato spotted wilt virus risk index. Phytopathology 98(10):1066-1074. Phakamas, N., A. Patanothai, K. Pannangpetch, S. Jogloy and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Dynamic patterns of components of genotpye x environment interaction for pod yield of peanut over multiple years: a simulation approach. Field Crops Research 106(1):9-21. Phakamas, N., A. Patanothai, K. Pannangpetch, S. Jogloy and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Seasonal responses and genotype-by-season interactions for the dynamic growth and development traits of peanut. Journal of Agricultural Science 146:311-323. Phakamas, N., A. Patanothai, S. Jogloy, K. Pannangpetch, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Physiological determinants for pod yield of peanut lines. Crop Science 48(6):2351-2360. Prabhakaran, T.V., and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Evaluation of the weather research and forecasting model for two frost events. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 64:234-247.Putto, W., A. Patanothai, S. Jogloy, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Determination of mega-environments for peanut breeding using the CSM-CROPGRO-Peanut model. Crop Science 48(3):973-982. Presley, D.R., P.E. Hartley, and M.D. Ransom. In press. Mineralogy and morphological properties of buried polygenetic paleosols formed in Late Quaternary sediments on upland landscapes of the Central Plains, USA. Geoderma. Schmitz, Hans F. 2008. Physical Processes of Soybean Rust, M.S. Thesis, Purdue University, May, 2008. Major Professor: Richard H. Grant. Shank, D.B., G. Hoogenboom, and R.W. McClendon. 2008. Dew point temperature prediction using artificial neural networks. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 47(6):1757-1769. Shank, D.B., R.W. McClendon, J.O. Paz, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Ensemble artificial neural networks for prediction of dew point temperature. Applied Artificial Intelligence 22(6):523-542. Soler, C.M.T., N. Maman, X. Zhang, S.C. Mason and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Determining optimum planting dates for pearl millet for two contrasting environments using a modeling approach. Journal of Agricultural Science 146(4):445-459. Staggenborg, S.A., K.C. Dhuyvetter, W.B. Gordon. 2008. Grain Sorghum and Corn Comparisons: Yield, Economic, and Environmental Responses. Agron. J. 100. 1600-1604. Suriharn, B., A. Patanothai, K. Pannangpetch, S. Jogloy, and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Yield performance and stability evaluation of peanut breeding lines with the CSM-CROPGRO-Peanut model. Crop Science 48(4):1365-1372. White, J.W., M. Herndl, L.A. Hunt, T. S. Payne and G. Hoogenboom. 2008. Simulation-based analysis of effects of Vrn and Ppd loci on flowering in wheat. Crop Science 48(2):678-687. White, J.W., G. Hoogenboom, P.W. Stackhouse and, J. M. Hoell. 2008. Evaluation of NASA satellite- and assimilation model-derived long-term daily temperature data over the continental US. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 148(10):1574-1584. Willson, G. D., F. A. Akyuz: 2007. Survival of the western prairie fringed orchid at Pipestone National Monument. The 21st North American Prairie Conference. August 4-8, 2008. Winona, MN. Zavareh, M., G. Hoogenboom, H.R. Mashhadi, and A. Arab. 2008. A decimal code to describe the growth stages of sesame (Sesamum orientale L.). International Journal of Plant Production 2(3):193-206.