We must learn to adapt to our ever-changing climate

My longtime friend and client, Ray Gaesser, a grain and soybean farmer from Corning, Iowa, sent me a copy of the 25x25 Adaptation Initiative of January 2013 issued by a collaboration of leaders from agriculture, forestry, business, education, conservation and government who are exploring the drastic impacts of WIDE WEATHER 'EXTREMES.'

Mr. Gaesser, who will be the president of the American Soybean Association in December of this year, recently stated that the past several years have been "unbelievably extreme weatherwise." He added, "we need to adapt our management and conservation practices to reflect what's happening in our fields."

The year 2012, for example, featured the worst drought conditions in the Midwest since the infamous 'Dust Bowl Days' of the 1930s. It was one of the most expensive years for weather-related disasters including last fall's Hurricane Sandy along the East Coast.

The various impacts of ever-changing weather patterns vary by region across the country. Since 2007, we have witnessed huge temperature swings, floods and droughts, stronger storms and increased threats from weeds, pests and plant diseases.

But, despite all of the problems, the 25x25 Adaptation Work Group believes that with forethought, good leadership, and the right priorities, our nation's agriculture and forestry systems can not only meet any future challenges, but actually 'thrive' in the midst of these national disasters.

The adaptation strategies take many different forms, but typically fall into three major categories including: 'actions' to improve our responses to climate changes, take steps to possibly 'prevent' some natural disasters and being able to quickly 'restore' systems in the wake of such calamities.

The Work Group also recommends planting drought-resistant hybrids to resist the damaging impacts of less precipitation, particularly during the hot and dry summer growing periods like we saw in 2012. They also suggest extending the crop rotations of corn, soybeans, wheat and various cover crops in order to build resilience to extreme weather conditions. We likewise need to maintain a robust federal crop insurance program to help protect farmers' profits. We need to ensure that there are adequate disaster relief programs available during times of drought and flood.

Changes in climate and increasing market demands will present real challenges in the coming years for our nation's agriculture and forestry systems. But, our farmers, ranchers and foresters can continue to prosper as long as they learn to adapt and prepare.

Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, "An 'ounce' of prevention is worth a 'pound' of cure."

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

We didn't get the record snows this past week in North Idaho that they received east of the Rockies in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Nebraska, but we did see record cold temperatures in the region for so late in the season.

Early Wednesday morning, we observed a record low temperature for April 17 of 22 degrees on Player Drive, which broke the previous record minimum for the date of 23 degrees on April 17, 1968.

Elsewhere around the Inland Northwest, it was 19 degrees early Wednesday at both Burns and Baker, Ore. It was likewise 19 degrees near Twin Lakes and just west of Athol in North Idaho. One fellow in the Spirit Lake area told Dennis Williams that he had a bitterly cold 15 degrees. The Spokane International Airport dipped to 21 degrees.

It was 24 degrees Wednesday morning at Pendleton, Ore., and Pasco, Omak and downtown Spokane. Uncovered plants and newly-planted flowers suffered significant amounts of damage throughout the Inland Empire from April 15-18. It's rare indeed to see April's coldest days come during the second half of the month.

Following some much-needed showers on April 19 and 20, we should see a welcome warming trend arrive across the Inland Northwest. By April 24-26, we could see the mercury 'flirt' with the 70-degree mark in Coeur d'Alene, Hayden and Post Falls. Remember, we saw a near-record high of 74 degrees on Monday, April 1 in town, but the rest of April thus far, as of this Thursday, April 18 writing, has been unusually chilly, some six degrees below normal. Our high temperature on Saturday, April 13, was only 45 degrees, a whopping 13 degrees below the normal high for the date of 58 degrees.

As far as our long-range weather outlooks are concerned, I still see a rather normal 'sun and shower' pattern locally between now and mid June with slowly warming temperatures.

The late June through mid September weather still looks GREAT! I see lots of sun and little precipitation.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com