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Questions Asked by Senator Dorgan and Answers Thereto by Dr. Baker 



Question. What is the role of the USDA in agricultural weather research and re- 

 lated activities now conducted by NOAA and/or the National Weather Service? Do 

 USDA and NOAA/National Weather Service work together on agricultural weather 

 research and activities? Please elaborate. 



Answer. The USDA and the National Weather Service have a long history of co- 

 operation. In fact, prior to 1940, the Weather Bureau was a part of the USDA. 

 Agrometeorological research at four NWS Agricultural Weather Service Centers 

 (AWSC) is conducted in cooperation with the USDA through the Cooperative State 

 Research Service and the Cooperative Extension Service. 



The USDA and NWS work closely together in both their weather research activi- 

 ties and daily operations. Extensive discussions have been held between the two 

 agencies regarding research and the delivery of agrometeorological information to 

 the farmer. Spjecifically, the USDA's National Agricultural Weather Information 

 System (authorized in the 1990 Farm Bill but never funded) provides a vehicle by 

 which NWS weather and climate information can be efficiently and effectively dis- 

 tributed to farmers through NWSAJSDA/state partnerships. 



NOAA is responsible for managing, printing, and distributing the Weekly Weath- 

 er and Crop Bulletin. This bulletin is prepared jointly by NOAA and USDA and has 

 been published continuously since 1872. The unit that prepares this bulletin con- 

 sists of NWS and USDA personnel co-located at a USDA facility. 



The NWS has plans to take the lead in organizing an Agricultural Weather Advi- 

 sory Group that will include members from NOAA, USDA, and various user groups. 

 This group will be tasked with strengthening the partnership between NOAA and 

 USDA, in providing agricultural weather services to enhance the Nation's produc- 

 tion of food and fiber. 



Question. What is NOAA and/or the National Weather Service currently provid- 

 ing to farmers with regard to real-time weather information beyond the fundamen- 

 tal general public forecast? 



Answer. The NWS routinely provides specialized agricultural weather forecasts 

 and advisories for agricultural operations directly to the farmer via NOAA Weather 

 Radio and to the print and broadcast media through the Family of Services, a tele- 

 communications system that provides environmental information (near real-time 

 weather and flood data) to external users. Agricultural observations and climatic 

 data specific to agricultural operations are also provided. Areas of the country with 

 crops vulnerable to winter or spring frost are provided with fruit-frost forecasts dur- 

 ing certain seasons of the year. 



Question. In the context of modernization of the National Weather Service that 

 is currently underway, what is the Service's long-range plan with regard to provid- 

 ing agricultural benefits to farmers? Does the Service plan to incorporate in its de- 

 livery of agricultural benefits the emerging technology of Doppler radar, weather 

 satellites and automated surface observing systems? 



Answer. With the arrival of new technologies and stable funding for the Agricul- 

 tural Weather Services Program, the NWS plans to provide agrometeorological in- 

 formation to all agriculturally important areas of the country in a more equitable 

 manner than we are now able to do. Routine agricultural forecasts issued from near- 

 ly every Weather Forecast Office (WFO) will be developed using data from each of 

 the new systems. Methods for dissemination of Doppler weather surveillance radar 

 (WSR-88D) output to remote ofilces such as the AWSCs will be explored. Automated 

 Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) will provide observations in some rural areas 

 that have had limited weather networks in the past. 



More specifically, the WSR-88D will provide us with better short-term wind fore- 

 casts and much higher resolution rainfall information. This additional information 

 will be useful in water resource and irrigation management, integrated pest man- 

 agement, scheduling of field work, and safe and efilcient application of fertilizer and 

 chemical sprays. 



Question. What is NOAA's and the National Weather Service's strategy for con- 

 ducting research into improved agricultural forecasting methodology? I understand 

 that the National Weather Service plans to co-locate several of its weather service 

 forecast ofTices at universities across the nation in order to utilize heavily the re- 

 search and technologies currently being developed at those institutions. The decision 

 to co-locate the Grand Forks-Fargo weather service office at the University of North 

 Dakota — literally across the street from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences — 

 was a wise move. The Department is home to the Regional Weather Information 

 Center which has received federal support for the past several years to conduct agri- 

 cultural weather research. I urge you and your associates to work with this group 



