Southeast Climate Consortium
November 19, 2014
Cotton Perspective
Kater Hake
How is climate data being used by the
cotton industry to manage risks?
• Context (geographic, ecological, type of
system)
• How is information being used to support
decisions?
• Who are key stakeholders and how are you
interacting with them?
• Who are your partners?
• Lessons learned, questions you have for this
audience.
How is climate data being used by the
cotton industry to manage risks?
• Context (geographic, ecological, type of
system)
• How is information being used to support
decisions?
Farming
Entire
US
• Who are key stakeholders and how are you
interacting with them?
• Who are your partners?
• Lessons learned, NO
questions you have for this
audience.
How is climate data being used by the
cotton industry to manage risks?
• How is information being used to support
decisions in an operational context of
growers, research, promotion, and policy
• Who are key stakeholders and how are you
interacting with them?
• Who are your partners?
NCC
20,000
• Lessons learned, questions you have for this
cotton
audience.NCC & Cotton
farmers
Incorporated
CCI & Cotton
Incorporated
Grower Use of Climate Data
• Pass the farm & lifestyle to their grandchildren
• Long term decisions regarding:
– which field to buy, sell, or rent based on
anticipated productivity
– investing in irrigation, terracing or land leveling
– diversifying geographically or with perennial or
new annual crops. (new annual crops still need
long term investment in infrastructure, markets,
and expertise)
• Managing the farm for today
Urumuqi, Xinjiang 43°N
Lubbock, Texas 33°N
Using Weather & Climate for
Cotton Management
Highly predictable temperatures allows good farmers to extract every
possible heat unit out of the spring and fall by avoiding cold snaps
Fortunately mid-season
weather is more
favorable because we
can not avoid it.
Variable spring
temperatures dictate
delayed planting to
avoid stand failure,
chilling injury, root
injury
Split fertilizer applications
reduce nutrient loss from
excess spring & summer
rain causes nutrient loss,
Install supplemental irrigation to counter hot summer
days that increase water use and chance of drought
Select varieties with high
heat tolerance to maintain
good seed set
Anticipate that
late summer
drought will
reduces yield and
fiber quality
Employ earlyness
practices to mature the
crop before a moderate
chance of a freeze
US growers are beginning to use climate data
In Texas “La Nina” means “Less Agua”
Policy Uses of Climate Data
• Current “Farm Bill” focused on crop insurance
• NRCS-EQIP soil & water conservation funding
• Research Priorities communicated by NCC and
Cotton Incorporated
Research policy just barely
uses climate data
“Resilience. The cotton plant has the natural advantage over
other crops in its inherent tolerance to drought and stress.
Conservation tillage has boosted this further with enhanced
rainwater capture and soil moisture storage. Advancing
cotton’s tolerance even further brings substantial benefits to
society by expanding agriculture’s resilience where limited
water and infertile soils previously limited economic growth.
Food, feed, and cash can be produced where no other crop
can grow. Expansion of cotton’s drought and stress tolerance
requires innovative approaches to breeding and field
management. Cutting edge sciences such as: soil
microbiological health, genotyping, molecular marker
development, High Through Put field phenotyping, wild
germplasm introgression, and seedling establishment
innovations will be helpful in this effort.”
Jointly presented to the USDA-ARS Administrator by NCC and Cotton Incorporated on 4-15-2014
Agricultural research is strongly
influenced by climate data
• Cotton Incorporated (also other commodities)
that invest in research within the public sector
look for ROI in 5 to 25 years, even longer with
scientist training and foundational research
• NAM
• HTP phenotyping
• Exotic germplasm
check
• Drought tolerance varieties
• Water management
• Soil health
BarbRen
Water Management
Maximize Rainfall Capture & Runoff
Supplemental Irrigation
Soil and Root Health
Breed Stress Tolerant Cottons
Promotion
subtlety uses
climate data
How is climate data being used by the
cotton industry to manage risks?
• Context (geographic, ecological, type of
system)
• How is information being used to support
decisions?
• Who are key stakeholders and partners, and
how are you interacting with them?
• Who are your partners?
• Lessons learned, questions you have for this
audience.
• MY BOSS is ~500 grower
leadership growers (our Board
of Directors is composed of 150
and NCC Board is 50 grower
leaders)
• OUR COOPERATORS include 295 research labs
in 55 University and USDA-ARS institutions who
we fund
• WE COLLABORATE closely with research
counterparts of corn, soy, wheat and sorghum
• NCC tries to influence policy at all levels
How is climate data being used by the
cotton industry to manage risks?
• Context (geographic, ecological, type of
system)
• How is information being used to support
decisions?
• Who are key stakeholders and how are you
interacting with them?
• Who are your partners?
• Lessons learned, questions you have for this
audience.
Lessons Learned &
Questions/Requests
1. Cultivate capacity with grower
leadership. One well respected
grower with clear arguments is hugely influential
Lessons Learned &
Questions/Requests
1. Cultivate capacity with grower
leadership. One well respected
grower with clear arguments is hugely influential
• Help build resilience. Skeptics & believers benefit!
• Help agriculture do a better job of integrating
weather and climate into decision making
• Collaborate with industry on www.agroclimate.org
• Give us a robust 30 day forecast for rain and temp
• Help agriculture insure against extreme events
Thank You
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