Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has launched a new set of online tools that will provide the agricultural sector with specific weather and climate information to help make critical business decisions.
BoM’s latest Forewarned is Forearmed products will help improve productivity and profitability by allowing users to drill down to their location to view the chance of unseasonal and extreme rainfall and temperature in the weeks, months or seasons ahead.
Matthew Coulton, BoM’s general manager of agriculture and water, said the tools were informed by farmers’ day-to-day needs and developed in consultation with the agricultural sector. “The tools will help a livestock producer decide when to schedule their muster for the safety of their stock and staff, or a horticulturalist choose the day to plant their seeds with confidence that they won’t be washed away,” he explained.
The three new tools provide rainfall and temperature forecasts for weekly, monthly and seasonal timeframes at specific locations, the probability of rainfall over a week, month or season exceeding any amount, and outlooks for three-day rainfall bursts at significant measurements of 15, 25, 50 and 75mm.
“The bureau is committed to product design that is fit for purpose for Australian businesses that rely on our information for their operations. We’ve worked with the sector to understand their needs and develop tools that enhance their decision-making capability and reduce their risk,” said Coulton.
The new tools are the final installment of the Australian government’s Forewarned is Forearmed project, a partnership with research and industry sectors.
The tools can be viewed on the BoM website by clicking here.