My Research

My research in climate adaptation and agriculture focuses on developing seasonal climate forecasts tailored for winter wheat producers in the south-central U.S. I use survey research and statistical analysis to determine forecast preferences of farmers and to assess performance of seasonal climate forecast models. My research identified key forecast elements for winter wheat producers and created a decision calendar to understand when these forecast elements are needed most in winter wheat production. With this, I am currently evaluating the accuracy of a high-resolution (50x50 km) seasonal climate forecast model to determine if it could be used to provide these tailored forecasts in an operational setting.
My goal is to provide actionable results for model developers and forecasters to help farmers optimize critical decision-making, such as selecting crop variety or timing of planting, fertilizing, or weed control, to reduce crop losses due to heat, drought, or extreme rainfall.

Research poster (September 2017)

My Research Interests

As a geographer with a background in meteorology, social science, journalism, and cartography, I want to continue working in collaborative, user-driven, and applied climate research. I enjoy working in between disciplines, and I believe, effective decision-making requires tools that are developed in a collaborative approach that involves researchers as much as users. I am interested in developing decision tools for resource managers and improve forecasting and model accuracy. Going from my current research on seasonal forecasting, I would also like to continue collaborating with researchers and users to work towards providing seamless short- to long-term decision tools.