About Jeppe:
Jeppe Kjaersgaard is a Research Scientist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He works with farmers, agronomists, conservation district technical staff and others on nutrient management and using new technology for irrigation and drainage.
About Jeppe's Presentation:
The Minnesota Agricultural Weather Network
Wednesday, December 3
4:30-5:20 p.m.
Orchestra CD
The coverage of the Minnesota Ag Weather Network (MAWN) is expanding to include most areas of the state with row crop production. Weather data is available at 5-min intervals, including:
- Precipitation
- Air temperature
- Air humidity
- Wind direction and speed
- Solar radiation
- Soil temperature to 7.5-feet depth
- Soil moisture to 40-inch depth
- Snow depth and snow water equivalent
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and local partners operate 39 weather stations in MAWN, with additional ones scheduled to be installed in the coming years. Another 24 stations in the state are owned and operated by the North Dakota Ag Weather Network (NDAWN), a partner in the network expansion. Information collected at any station, along with apps and tools developed for farmers, are available at no cost through NDAWN at: ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu and ndawn.info/centralmn.html
MAWN provides accurate and timely weather information that is needed for many precision agriculture technologies and to help farmers optimize the management of irrigation, manure, fertilizer, and pesticide applications. Access to reliable weather information can improve farm profitability, reduce loss of agricultural inputs, and protect surface water and groundwater. Current and historical weather and soil data are also used for estimating drought progression, flood risk, runoff risk, mapping localized weather conditions, disaster management and input into various computer modeling efforts used in crop or water resources planning.
MAWN's expansion is managed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and is made possible through the support of Minnesota's Clean Water Fund.