A Thousand New Subscribers
It began as a project within the agriculture node of Climate Futures, a center for research-driven innovation. Hempel conducted workshops and focus group meetings with farmers, administrators, and agricultural advisors. The goal was to understand what kind of weather information they needed in their daily work.
After the data collection phase ended, Hempel wanted to stay in touch with the farmers, so he began sending out a weekly newsletter. The interest has been enormous, and Hempel now sends a weekly newsletter to 1,500 subscribers in agriculture, reindeer herding, and public administration. In addition, the Norwegian Agricultural Advisory Service often shares information from Manuel in their own newsletters.
The aim is to shorten the distance between climate scientists and farmers, so that farmers can make decisions earlier the next time drought (or flooding) occurs.
– The forecasts cover all of Norway but focus on agricultural areas in the south. The challenge is explaining to users how probability-based forecasts work compared to weather forecasts. They don’t predict what the weather will be, but the likelihood of different scenarios occurring, says Hempel. This is a tool for making better decisions, but farmers must also consider time, finances, and labor availability.
Reindeer herders also see the value in the newsletters. For them, it’s important to anticipate whether grazing conditions will become difficult and if supplementary feeding needs to be planned. County Governors in the northern counties and the Norwegian Environment Agency have also participated in focus groups to explore how best to support reindeer herders.
