In this series of postings I have introduced you to a number of people and groups working on providing climate data and information to Extension agents, agricultural producers and others who need access to trustworthy weather and climate information. Today I am pleased to profile the USDA’s Southeast Regional Climate Hub, located in Raleigh, NC. You can find them online at https://globalchange.ncsu.edu/serch/.
I asked Dr. Steve McNulty, the director of SERCH, to provide some comments on how SERCH came to be and what they hope to accomplish. Here is what he said:
“There is an ancient Chinese curse that reads “may you live in interesting times”. Change can be difficult. There is comfort in having a plan, whether it be for a day, a week, a month, a year, or even longer. Yet, today’s world is anything but planned and stable. Fifteen years ago, very few people had cell phones, and five years ago texting on phones was rare. Information was largely found through computer based Internet searches, but now smart-phone apps have taken on this role.
Change is not solely limited to how information is acquired. The supplier of information is also changing. Traditionally, county level extension field agents were the primary and often only source of scientific information to the land owner/manager. Cuts to state and federal budget for agent salaries have significantly reduced the outreach potential for public agents, and the number of private consultants have proliferated. While extension agents are directly affiliated with state and federal research, consultants may be directly connected with the corporate research. Each group has their own advantages and disadvantages, but change in the information source represents another change and challenge for forest land managers.
Changes in the “how” and the “who” of information my be insignificant compared to the “what”. Climate variability and change are already impacting working lands (I.e., forests, agricultural and range). The change in the intensity, timing and amount of precipitation, changes in the growing season length, and extreme heat impacts. The challenge of the USDA Climate Hubs are to address the changes in “how, who and what” of working land management to assure for the sustainability of working lands both now, and in the future. Regardless of the what current climate variability and future climate changes may occur, the climate hubs will support land managers to increase the resiliency of their working lands.”
SERCH is working to become a source of information on weather and climate for working lands, including cropland, forests, and pastures. Please visit their web site to see what they have to offer and sign up for their newsletter, SERCH & Find, on their home page.
