The Midwestern Regional Climate Center is launching a new tool in partnership with the Department of Agriculture’s Midwest Climate Hub.
The tool will provide soil temperature threshold information based on historical data from the last 30 years. The Soil Temperature Climatology Tool will be crucial for the agricultural industry to better identify benchmark dates for when specific agronomic activities, such as planting and applying nutrients, should take place. Data for the tool was sourced from the North American Regional Reanalysis, a model produced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction that generates data for temperature, wind, moisture, soil and dozens of other parameters.
Widhalm said using data from NARR was necessary because several areas across the Midwest lack substantial soil temperature measurements. These soil temperature estimates provide for an accurate historical perspective. While the Soil Temperature Climatology Tool was developed with the farming community in mind, the data this tool provides will be useful for several other production areas.
Find the tool on the MRCC website: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/?utm_source=cision&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=unsag&utm_campaign=231003mrcctoolwidhalmag%3C/a