Presentations
T9
Crop Management
Tue, Dec 14, 2021
9:00am to 9:50am
T11
Crop Management
Tue, Dec 14, 2021
11:00am to 11:50am
Weather Prediction: Ditching the Crystal Ball
Weather analysis and forecasting have made significant leaps forward as computing technology and observation infrastructure have increased. We are able to see farther into the future with better skill and accuracy than ever before and we are using this foresight to plan operations and often times, predict market behavior. But as we all know, weather prediction has its limits. In this session, we will discuss these new technologies that are allowing us to see farther into the future to predict impactful weather events. We will talk about where to find the best resources for weather information and how to use them. We will discuss the 2021 growing season and put it into the context of the long term trends in precipitation, temperature, severe weather, and yield. We will discuss the upcoming winter forecast and it’s implications on the 2022 growing season. We will also assess the progress of the growing season in South America. Come prepared to learn about the latest tech in weather prediction and leave with the best resources.
Speaker
Eric Snodgrass
Eric Snodgrass is a Sr. Science Fellow and Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, where he develops predictive, analytical software solutions to manage weather risk for global production agriculture. He provides frequent weather updates that focus on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. His current research uses machine learning to better understand field-level weather impacts on yields in the US and to increase confidence in long-range weather prediction. He presents his research as a featured speaker at over 120 conferences annually where he provides logistical guidance and solutions to weather sensitive financial institutions, farmers, commodity traders, and other stakeholders. Snodgrass is a co-founder of Global Weather and Climate Logistic, LLC and Agrible, Inc which were both acquired by Nutrien Ag Solutions in 2018.
Before transitioning to Nutrien Ag Solutions, Eric was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2006-2019. Each year, he guided over 1800 students through the wild side of weather in ATMS 120: Severe and Hazardous Weather. He taught advanced courses on General Physical Meteorology, Meteorological Instrumentation, while routinely guest lectured for multiple disciplines across campus including the College of Law and the College of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. He also supervised dozens Capstone Research projects that focused on the economic impacts through applied meteorology and seasonal prediction. Snodgrass also taught advanced courses for the Environmental Sustainability Program on Renewable and Alternative Energy . He advised all undergraduate majors and minors in atmospheric science (~100 students) and supervised graduate teaching assistants and master’s students. He won many prestigious teaching awards at the University of Illinois including College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence award, the Campus Teaching Excellence Award and the Campus Teaching Excellent Award in Online and Distance Education. His online version of ATMS 120 was awarded the 2012 "Best Online Course" from the University Professional Continuing Education Association (a national organization). Eric currently serves as the chair of the Alumni Council for the Department of Atmospheric Science’s at the University of Illinois.