NEWA has a positive impact on IPM practice for producers of high value crops, which translates into economic gains, environmental stewardship, and sustainability. NEWA users report that they can save, on average, up to $19,500 per year in spray costs and prevent, on average, up to $264,000 per year in crop loss as a direct result of using NEWA pest forecast models. Sixty percent of farmers using NEWA are using pest forecast models while over 99 percent of NEWA users would recommend NEWA to other farmers.
Given the high level of interest in NEWA and the advances in weather technology and pest forecasting, NEWA continues to grow and expanded into Massachusetts and Vermont in 2009. The issues were to expand the weather station network, increase data handling capacity, improve data quality control, and create interactive weather-based pest forecast models. RainWise weather instruments were added to the NEWA system. The NRCC programmed improved pest forecast model interfaces and provided quality-controlled NEWA hourly data, daily weather summaries, and degree days from the newly finished database of NEWA data in their ACIS system.
Improvements completed include better apple pest forecast interface and a new website. Underway is validation of an apple thinning model, deployment of a potato late blight simulation model, and grape disease forecast improvements. NEWA has a positive impact on farm economics, worker safety, environmental protection and the quality of life of agricultural producers through the reduction of pesticide use and improvement of IPM practice.
impact statement issue
Weather information is crucial to managing pests and is pivotal to IPM practices. NEWA was established in 1996 to serve fruit and vegetable growers by delivering weather data from weather stations on farms to a website displaying the weather information and pest forecast model outputs. The NEWA website, newa.cornell.edu, is visited over 100,000 times per year and there are over 1,200 users.
Given the high level of interest in NEWA and the advances in weather technology and pest forecasting, NEWA has grown and expanded. The issues were the improvement of the website, the expansion of the weather station network, the increase in data handling capacity, the improvement of data quality control, and the creation of interactive weather-based pest forecast models.
impact statement response
NEWA partnered with the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC), Cornell University, for database development, data quality control, pest forecast modeling, and with RainWise, Inc., for weather instrumentation and data delivery software. RainWise MKIII instruments continue to be added to the NEWA system. Grants are underway by various faculty, funding projects on a potato late blight simulation model, interactive apple pest forecast models, apple evapotranspiration, apple thinning, upgrades to grape models, and improvements to the NEWA website. Meetings were held in New York to with growers, consultants and Extension educators to obtain feedback on the current web site.
The new website launched at newa.cornell.edu Nov 2009 was a success. The NRCC began running the pest forecast models and providing the quality-controlled NEWA hourly data, daily weather summaries, and degree days from the newly finished database of NEWA data in their ACIS system with automated quality control.
impact statement summary
The Network for Environment & Weather Applications (NEWA), a network of electronic weather stations collecting data on farms, partners with the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) for data acquisition, quality control, weather information delivery, and pest forecast model programming.
Temperature, precipitation and weather forecasts are key weather information as are the NEWA pest forecast models. Improvements completed include an apple pest forecast interface and a new website. In development are an apple thinning model, a potato late blight simulation model, and grape disease forecast improvements. NEWA has positive impact on reduction of pesticide use: by helping farmers reduce the number of pesticide sprays and by improving the timing of pesticide sprays. NEWA pest forecasts enhance Integrated Pest Management (IPM) decision-making.
NEWA users report that they can save, on average, up to $19,500 per year in spray costs and prevent, on average, up to $264,000 per year in crop loss as a direct result of using NEWA pest forecast models. Over 99 percent of NEWA users recommend NEWA to other farmers.
Other private funding
Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, USDA CSREES
