WestVic Dairy News - May 2010 Edition
New webpage provides useful seven day forecasts
By Rod Eldridge, DPI Colac
Have you wondered if the wind is going to change and whether or not to spray a paddock? Or if it is going to rain and whether to hold off on cutting a paddock for hay or silage? To help with such decisions the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has recently introduced a new page on its website that provides a detailed seven day forecast using easy to use clickable maps down to a district level.
The new page at http://www.bom.gov.au/forecasts/graphical/ enables the user to look at predicted rainfall for the next four days, in either three hour blocks or daily periods. You can also check out the predicted temperatures (maximum and minimum) and wind speed and direction for the next seven days.
The resolution goes down to 6 km x 6 km grids, the information has a high degree of quality control and it is updated two times per day. The page also provides a short on-line training session that shows the range of information available on the web-pages and how to easily access it in a variety of formats.
The BOM also provides information on the longer term outlook on http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ where you can follow the links to longer term seasonal outlooks and rainfall. These forecasts also provide the latest information on the Southern Oscillation Index and Indian Ocean Dipole.
Another useful website is http://www.climatekelpie.com.au/ run by the Grains Research Development Council. Content on Climate Kelpie is arranged under four classifications:
- Manage climate – decision-support tools, practices and information for adapting to a more variable climate
- See forecasts – weather forecasts and climate projections
- Understand climate – state-based information about what drives the weather and climate
- Ask a farmer – case studies of growers who are managing climate risk, explaining, in their own words, how they are going about it
These websites can help you make better informed short term decisions over the next few days, as well as set longer term strategic direction to position your farm business to take advantage of future opportunities.
A new newsletter called Milking the Weather also provides seasonal and climate risk information for the dairy industry. You can register for a free email subscription. Email zita.ritchie@dpi.vic.gov.au or call (03) 5624 2222.
