Tailored AGROmeteorological FORECAST for improving resilience and sustainability of Austrian farming systems under changing climate

Optimization of agricultural inputs in all relevant spatial and time scales by means of smart and precision farming options is considered in the project of AGROFORECAST as crucial for ensuring sustainable and resilient production in agriculture, protecting ecosystem services, enhancing biodiversity and food security as well as socio-economic conditions for the farmers. Despite increasing appreciation of the potential value of weather forecasts for agriculture, there is still a gap between what scientists consider as “useful” information and what users (e.g. farmers, advisory services, policy makers) recognize as “usable” in their decision-making processes. 

The main objective of this project was to combine stakeholder-tailored agrometeorological tools/indicators and weather forecasting of different lead times that can be used for optimizing agricultural decision-making in the face of changing climate and climate variability. A focus is laid on efficient use of inputs for crop production (water, fertilizer, agricultural chemicals) needed for smart and precision farming options while protecting (agro-) ecosystem resources and functions in order to identify suitable and, from a stakeholder perspective, acceptable adaptation and mitigation options. Beside the optimization/downscaling of seasonal forecasts, software applications (crop model and GIS-based spatial tool) for forecasting agrometeorological conditions by indicators were further developed and tested (incl. stakeholder involvement) against performance strengths and weaknesses/limitations at various locations and farmers field site. The results show that the performance of the applied tools and indicators depend mainly on a) weather forecast lead time b) regional climate conditions and c) type of impact indicators. Applications for crop management are promising in order to mitigate climate change impacts, cropping risks and negative environmental impacts in crop production (e.g. through reduced N-fertilization). Additionally, results of applications under ÖKS15 climate scenarios for selected case study sites were achieved.