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In preparation
for the risk management workshops, a series of listening sessions were
held to better understand Nebraska farming and ranching perceptions of
natural hazards, climate information, and farming trends. The following
key points were identified:
Natural
Hazards of Concern
Other Related Concerns
Primary Sources of Climate Information
General Sources of Agriculture-related Information
Climate Product Perceptions
Use of Climate Information
Recommended Drought Strategies
Crop Insurance Perceptions
Recommendations for Government
Farming Trend Perceptions
Climate Change Perceptions
Natural
Hazards of Concern:
- Drought - the major cause
of loss. A combination of drought and grasshoppers in 2002; grasshoppers
ate pasturelands and hay lands and then drought set in. Very limited
recovery anticipated into 2003 growing season.
- Hail - sporadic losses and
few catastrophic events
Other
Related Concerns:
- Pesticide drift
- Genetically modified organisms
and pollen drift
- Inefficient use of water
on neighboring lands
- Own-decision making - lack
of imagination and past experience
Primary
Sources of Climate Information:
- DTN; radar maps and alerts
- Local radio station - short
term forecasts, less than 3 day
- Channel 10/11 weather forecasts
were especially useful because they described the entire state and surrounding
states. Better visualization of moving fronts across the state.
- Drought Monitor in the newspaper
- Weather Channel on television
- Elwynn Taylor at Iowa State
University was recognized in each session for providing reliable growing
season information.
- Nebraska Farmer
- Seed companies
- Internet, although irrigated
farmers seemed to make much more use it.
General
Sources of Agriculture-Related Information:
- Livestock auctions
- Grain elevators
- Nursery greenhouses
- Farm Services Agency
- Natural Resources Conservation
Service
- United States Geological
Survey
- University of Nebraska Cooperative
Extension Service
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Climate
Product Perceptions:
- All were familiar with the
Drought Monitor and suggested that this product would be helpful for
Brazil, Argentina, and China
- There are many climate forecasts
available, but which one is reliable? Also it is difficult to understand
who provided the forecast and how it was constructed. Climate forecasts
may pass through multiple filters before reaching the farmer. Recognizing
the source, ownership, or brand name of the climate forecast is also
important.
- There is considerable confusion
about sources of climate information and products. How to weave these
sources into a coherent decision-making strategy is not addressed by
USDA agencies or the UNL Cooperative Extension. How should farmers interpret
climate forecasts in making crop insurance decisions?
Use
of Climate Information:
- Crop insurance coverage
is often not linked to climate forecasts by the farmer.
- Most of the irrigated farmers
and those focusing on hay production identify with the shorter 1 to
10 day forecasts. Good short-term forecasting behavior builds confidence
in the long-term forecasts. Historical context (past conditions and
probabilities) was not readily used in decision-making.
- All groups emphasized that
they watch what is happening in the eastern Corn Belt as well as internationally
for market decisions.
Recommended
Drought Strategies:
- Diversify operation
- Grazing of crops offers
flexibility
- Center pivot is drought
insurance
- New crops - millet for feed;
sorghum-sudangrass as greenchop; return to milo; return to rye
- Alternative crops - navy
and pinto beans; oats and turnips for pastures; some market problems
for introducing new crops.
- Better irrigation management
- full watering of alfalfa stands; water alfalfa early before first
cutting and then corn.
- Cut stocking rates on pastures
and put cows out ahead of grasshoppers
- Hope, pray, and talk to
neighbors
Crop
Insurance Perceptions:
- Carrying crop insurance
on irrigated corn and specialty items like pinto beans makes sense,
but not on non-irrigated corn; rates were not reasonable unless you
have a catastrophic event.
- Few catastrophic events
to fully justify crop coverage
- Problems with documentation;
the need to weigh bales was perceived as a short-coming
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Recommendations
for Government:
- Need for new insurance products
to account for: 1) organic or non-transgenic crops, 2) GMO contamination
due to pollen drift, 3) honeybee populations and production because
of drought and disease, 4) loss due to biochemical attack, mad cow,
and chronic wasting disease, 5) livestock programs-revenue products
related to feed prices, 6) CRC on oats and grass production, and 7)
forage production policies for alfalfa, alfalfa/grass hay, and pasture/wild
hay.
- Recommended a state or national
sales tax on food to support crop disasters
- Crop coverage for organic
production that reflect premiums, yields, and best management practices
- Need for AGR-whole farm
policies
Farming
Trend Perceptions:
- Farms are not as sustainable
- Property taxes going up
during moist years, which pushed up real estate prices on pastureland
- Larger farms over time
- Can’t count on labor
at harvest time
- Equipment costs for diversifying
operations are too great to encourage more diversification
- Larger herds on grasslands
today
- Pushing dryland corn populations
beyond climatic conditions
- Wheat, oats, and barley
was replaced by soybeans in some areas
Climate
Change Perceptions:
- Extreme events are more
variable
- Slow moving fronts that
produce 3-day rains and blizzards are not occurring as frequently as
in the past
- No real change in hail frequencies
- Warmer summer weather is
moving northward
- Relative humidity is increasing
- Ground water conditions
are better than in the 1970s
- Drought was more sudden
and severe in the 1950s
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