Winter Webinar Series: Using Weather-Based Tools to Adapt to a Changing Climate
Professional Development for Agricultural Service Providers and Producers
Join University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) in this three-part series focused on practical weather resources and tools that can help producers adapt to climate change. All webinars will be delivered via Zoom (free) with registration required. Each webinar will be 45 minutes in length, with the remaining 15 minutes dedicated to Q&A and participant discussion. This series is geared toward agricultural service providers and producers of all crops and scales, but the information will be applicable to anyone involved in agriculture.
Series Index:
Using Weather Data and Tools Available Through the Maine Climate Office
Sean Birkel, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon
Free, Via Zoom
The Maine Climate Office is an excellent resource for climate and weather data curated by Dr. Sean Birkel, the Maine State Climatologist. Join us to learn how to navigate the website and use the temperature, precipitation, drought, and climate models for crop production decision making.
Dr. Sean Birkel is an Assistant Extension Professor at the University of Maine with a joint appointment to Cooperative Extension and the Climate Change Institute. Birkel is also the Maine State Climatologist, a role in which he provides climate and weather information to Maine stakeholders to facilitate decision-making and planning. Birkel also serves on the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council. As a researcher, Birkel is interested in climate variability and modeling, and he is the developer of a widely used data visualization website, climateReanalyzer.org.
For more information or a reasonable accommodation, please contact Peyton Ginakes, at 207.933.2100, Ext. 107 or peyton.ginakes@maine.edu.
Using the Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA), for Crop Modelling and Integrated Pest Management
Lily Calderwood (University of Maine Cooperative Extension) and Dan Olmstead (Cornell University)
Thursday, February 22, 2024, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Free, Via Zoom
The Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA), collects real time weather data to generate real-time weather data summaries, crop production tools, and IPM forecasts. Join us to learn how to navigate NEWA and what tools it offers, and as an example, how it is currently being used to assist wild blueberry growers.
Dan Olmstead is a Senior Extension Associate at Cornell University, specializing in entomology and digital risk assessment and forecast systems as part of the New York State Integrated Pest Management program. Dan has a Master’s degree in Entomology and works at the intersection of computer and information science. He serves as the Project Lead for the Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA). Dan’s work spans agricultural production, public health, invasive species management and more.
Dr. Lily Calderwood is the University of Maine Extension Wild Blueberry Specialist located in Orono Maine. She delivers research based information and conducts research on topics with farmers. Her work is focused on bringing economically and environmentally sustainable tools to the people who manage wild blueberry fields. She has worked with different pest and crop decision support tools such as those that NEWA offers and will explain the practical use of such tools.
For more information or a reasonable accommodation, please contact Peyton Ginakes, at 207.933.2100, Ext. 107 or peyton.ginakes@maine.edu.
Using AgRadar to Help Manage Apples in a Changing Climate
Sean Birkel and Glen Koehler, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Free, Via Zoom
AgRadar is a management support tool for apple growers. Join us to learn how it uses weather forecasts and data to inform apple production decision-making for service providers and growers alike.
Glen Koehler is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Associate Scientist in University of Maine Cooperative Extension. His work helps growers address both the immediate challenges caused by weather, and longer term issues developing due to climate change caused by continued greenhouse gas emissions. Koehler focuses primarily on IPM of tree fruits (primarily apple) and weather-based predictive crop, pest timing and severity models. He also contributes to the Northeastern IPM Center and the Maine Climate Council Scientific and Technical Subcommittee.
Sean Birkel is an Assistant Extension Professor at the University of Maine with a joint appointment to Cooperative Extension and the Climate Change Institute. Birkel is also the Maine State Climatologist, a role in which he provides climate and weather information to Maine stakeholders to facilitate decision-making and planning. Birkel also serves on the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council. As a researcher, Birkel is interested in climate variability and modeling, and he is the developer of a widely used data visualization website, ClimateReanalyzer.org.
For more information or a reasonable accommodation, please contact Peyton Ginakes, at 207.933.2100, Ext. 107 or peyton.ginakes@maine.edu.
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