Connie’s Comments by Connie Strunk, Turner County Extension Educator—Agronomy 

October 30, 2009

            It would be nice to see the weather cooperate for a while to allow everyone the opportunity to get a few things done outside since there is still plenty left to do.  There are soybeans to finish harvesting, wheat to plant, and for almost all farmers in the county, corn to harvest.  We get maybe one day a week that is actually decent for harvesting.  It just keeps raining and misting every day!  I  I love fall but I sure go stir crazy this time of year.  It’s hard to sit back and watch it rain, sleet, or snow before the crops are out of the field.  Speaking of rain…volunteers are needed to be a part of a rainfall monitoring network (which started in June 2007) to track precipitation. 

SDSU Extension State Climatologist Dennis Todey says, “South Dakota State University and the three National Weather Service offices in South Dakota are working together to get volunteers trained and ready for serving as part of the CoCoRaHS network.  CoCoRaHS stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network.”  Dennis said the system relies on trained volunteers who will report precipitation daily via the CoCoRaHS web site.  CoCoRaHS is an unofficial network.  The official data network will still be the National Weather Service cooperative observers across the state.  There have been times when the National Weather Service (NWS) requested the data from CoCoRaHS because the NWS needed supporting data, etc.  The CoCoRaHS data has been used exclusively and is great information for our state climatologist.   The goal of the CoCoRaHS program is to try to get a better handle on how much rainfall actually falls in much better detail across the state. 

As a CoCoRaHS volunteer what is required of me?  Each time a rain, hail, or snow storm crosses your area, you take measurements of precipitation from as many locations as possible.  These precipitation reports are recorded on the www.cocorahs.org website.  The data are then displayed and organized for analysis and applied to daily situations ranging from water resource analysis and severe storm warnings to neighbors comparing how much rain fell in their backyards.

Who can be a volunteer?  Anyone and everyone can help.  The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can effect and impact our lives.  We currently have two individuals who actively report weather for Turner County but we are always looking for some more.

For more information about the CoCoRaHS network, visit their website at http://www.cocorahs.org or contact me at the Turner County Extension Office at 297-3112.  Hopefully the weather turns around soon so the crops can get harvested and the farmers can take a well-deserved break!

For your information:  Environmental training session set for operators of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on November 18, 2009 in Huron, S.D.  Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Crossroads Convention Center, 100 Fourth St. S.W. in Huron.  The cost is $ 40 and includes lunch, breaks, and training materials.  The program begins at 8:50 a.m. and ends approximately at 4:45 p.m.  To register for the training, call Candy Willms at (605) 688-5141.  Topics covered include water quality, livestock nutrition options for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus content of manure, an overview of the South Dakota DENR Livestock Permit program, discussion on managing nitrogen and phosphorus in land applications of manure, practices needed to reduce soil and manure loss from fields, a session will also be held on using worksheets for land application of manure, and a session of air quality and odor.