FORT WAYNE, Ind. – As Indiana state climatologist, Beth Hall’s role is to provide data, tools and monitoring of weather conditions to serve the state’s residents. At the Fort Wayne Farm Show, she’ll present information on how climate change may impact farmers.

The show is Jan. 18-20 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Hall’s seminar is Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m.

“I want to emphasize what has happened in terms of climate change,” explained Hall, who has been state climatologist since March 2019. “This is what the sensors have found. We are seeing some statistically significant trends.”

Farmers should be prepared to deal with some of the effects of climate change, such as longer growing seasons and pests that don’t die off during the winter months, she said. They have to think about how those changes might impact their yields, Hall added.

She’s also concerned about the timing of rainfall. “All of agriculture is dependent on an ideal amount of precipitation. Normally, we might see a tenth to half an inch of rain every three to seven days. We could be seeing more situations of a two-inch rainfall and then three weeks of nothing. The plants and soil will absorb as much as they can, and the rest will run off.”

Hall oversees a network of nine stations that gather weather conditions across the state. The data helps to tell the story of what has happened and how we can learn from it, she said.

There is a difference between weather and climate, she said. Weather is what is happening at a certain moment in the atmosphere; the day-to-day changes in conditions. Climate, meanwhile, is a generalization of what to expect for that location.

Hall used a baseball analogy to help explain the difference. Weather would be what a batter did during one at bat. Climate, on the other hand, would be the career statistics of that batter. “Just because his career batting average is .300, that doesn’t mean he’s going to hit .300 every season. Or a pitcher may have a phenomenal ERA (earned run average), but he could still have a really bad game. So, while our climate is warming, our day-to-day weather could be variable.”

Educational seminars such as Hall’s are important to the Fort Wayne show, said Dan Slowinski, a show director with Tradexpos, which produces the show. “When you think about it, people do come to the show for the (farm) equipment, but the seminars are also an attraction,” he noted. “The ag field is so competitive, anything they can do to get a leg up on the competition. The whole idea is to get knowledge and the most up-to-date information. I wish we could have more of them.”

The seminars are provided by the Northeastern Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) and Purdue University Extension.

“The seminars will feature a lot of weather-related discussions, a lot of climate-related discussions,” said Greg Lake, district director for the Allen County (Ind.) SWCD. “They’re also producer-related, looking at costs. The two main topics are environment/climate and market/grain production.”

The seminar schedule will kick off the morning of Jan. 18 with several familiar faces. Jon Cavanaugh, a market analyst, and David Kohli, an adjunct professor with Ivy Tech, will offer their grain market outlook. Also featured during the presentation will be Ryan Martin, chief meteorologist with Hoosier Ag Today, and Rob Winters, farm director with WOWO radio.

Martin, also farm origination specialist with Louis Dreyfus Co., will discuss how to cash in on carbon during a lunch presentation that day. Free lunches will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

An afternoon seminar on the pressures challenging crop production will offer PARP, CCH and CEU credits.

On Jan. 19, Chris Winslow, director of the Ohio Sea Grant Program, is scheduled for a morning presentation. The day’s lunchtime speaker will be Bob White, director of national government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau. White will discuss the farm bill. Lunch is also free that day and the meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sessions in the afternoon begin with a panel discussion on the economics of green energy. A presentation on resources for urban and small farmers will be led by Joelle Neff, watershed project manager with the Allen County SWCD, and Elli Blaine, urban soil health program director for the Indiana Association of SWCDs.

James Wolff, Purdue extension agriculture and natural resources educator in Allen County, will help attendees better understand their urban soils during 6 p.m. seminar.

Jim Mintert, director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, will host a grain market outlook the morning of Jan. 20. An early afternoon workshop on commodity marketing will be led by Ed Farris, director of Purdue’s Huntington County extension, and Martin.