Iowa State University Extension hires first agricultural climatologist

Extreme weather has created more uncertainty for Iowa farmers — especially during spring planting.

Because of the changeable weather and the growing number of questions farmers, policymakers, journalists and others have about it, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach hired Madelynn Wuestenberg to be its first agricultural climatologist.

“We can experience hotter hots and colder colds, and those extremes and that higher variability we can expect in the future as it relates to weather, will just cause more issues that need to be addressed,” said Wuestenberg.

Wuestenberg, a Slater native, earned a bachelor’s degree in meteorology with a minor in agronomy from ISU. Last November, she completed a master’s degree at ISU in agricultural meteorology with research focused on agricultural system modeling.

She learned a lot through research projects, including one examining heat stress on corn in the Raccoon River watershed. But a class last summer in which she and 11 other students planned and executed an agricultural field day showed Wuestenberg her true passion.

“Research is cool, but we need people who can actually communicate the research,” she said.

Changing climate affects farmers

Since she started her new role in January, Wuestenberg has been sharing information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Midwest Climate Hub, which helps farmers and livestock producers in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio cope with climate change.

Although phrases like “climate change” have become politicized, the data on rainfall and temperatures don’t lie. Wuestenberg likes to break down that data to explain what farmers may be seeing on their own land.

“We’re not getting those beautiful large storm systems where rain can come down gently or nicely for an hour or all day, even,” Wuestenberg said. “We’re getting more of these pop-up convective cells that drop heavy rainfall really quick in a really small area.”

Because of the pop-up storms, it can be harder to know where and how much rain is falling, she said. Climatologists like Wuestenberg gather information from multiple sources, including the Community Collaborative Rain Hail & Snow Network, which trains people across the country how to gather and report rain data at 7 a.m. every day.

So far, Wuestenberg has been providing most of her information to other Extension specialists who already have connections with Iowa farmers, but she knows she’ll grow her own network in time. She’s also joined the team for the podcast “What in the Weather?” with Dan Filius, ISU Extension horticulture field specialist, and Justin Glisan, Iowa’s state climatologist.

Elwyn Taylor worked for years as an ISU Extension climatologist and faculty member, but when he retired, his position was not immediately refilled. ISU partnered with the Climate Hub to hire Wuestenberg in a similar role focused on agriculture. Her annual salary is $56,393.

Spring planting underway

Spring is an anxious time for many farmers. They want to start planting as early as possible, but also run the risk of a late freeze or fields that are too muddy for equipment.

Nearly 40 percent of this year’s corn was planted as of Monday, four days ahead of 2023 and three days ahead of the five-year average, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship reported. One-quarter of the soybean crop has been planted.

Much of Iowa has gotten above-average rainfall so far this spring, Wuestenberg said, which restores some of the topsoil moisture lost during several years of drought conditions. But subsoil models still show most of the state is about 3 inches short of moisture for this time in April compared to average.

“It’s not horrible, but it could be a problem if we don’t see regular rainfall throughout the rest of the spring and summer,” Wuestenberg said.

Farmers may look to Extension for information about how to make their land more resilient to weather extremes, including drought or flooding.

“Soil health really helps build your resilience and reduces your reliance on those very timely rainfalls, especially when water availability may be limited,” Wuestenberg said. “It can be done through cover crops, reduced tillage or no till. There are different farming practices that fit in that ‘improving soil health’ category.”

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