b'People, Product NewsGoehringsaid.Withharvestsea- borderregionsofsurrounding Ritchisonsays.Thesevariablesson in full swing, farmers are also states.Theymonitorandrecord impact not only flooding, but alsoencouraged to scout fields and clean localweatherconditionsthrough- drought.excessdirtandplantdebrisoff outthestateandtheRedRiverequipmentbetweenfieldstopre- Valley,anddisseminatetimely, NDAWNwasdesignedtoprovidevent unintentional spread. detailed,accurateinformation weatherdataforthedevelopmentthroughanarrayofapplications, ofagriculturalmodels.ProducersThepublicisurgedtoworkwith summaries and innovative displays canmakemanagementdecisionslocal weed officers, extension agents thatarefreetoeveryoneonthe usingmodelsthatpredictfutureandotherexpertstoidentifyand NDAWNwebsite(https://ndawn. cropandpestdevelopmentbasedreport suspect plants. Palmer ama- ndsu.nodak.edu). on recent weather conditions. Theseranth may spread through multiple models can warn of impending dis-channels,including:contaminated The contract is part of a larger, five- easeorinsectinfestationssopro-seed mixes; equipment and machin- stateprojectfocusedonweather ducerscanapplypesticidesattheerymovement;animalfeedand monitoringintheUpperMissouri optimum time for maximum effica-bedding;andwildbirds.Palmer RiverBasinthatwillimprovethe cy to improve crop yields and prof-amaranth has now been found in 12 dataavailableforwatermanage- its.North Dakota counties. Those sites ment by the Corps of Engineers.continuetobemonitoredfor NDAWN data also has many otherPalmeramaranth.Moreinforma- The one climate element that we uses, including for weather forecast-tion on Palmer amaranth and other have the least amount of data on is ing/research,governmentpolicynoxious and invasive weeds is avail- the moisture content in snow, says decisions, natural resource manage-ableathttps://www.nd.gov/ndda/ DarylRitchison,NDAWNdirector. ment,landfilloperation,utilityplant-industries/noxious-weeds. Everystorm,youwillhearabout planningandoperation,claimsthetotaldepthfromnumerous adjusting, resolution of legal ques-North Dakota Ag Weather sites, but its not the depth but the tions,environmentalresearch,Network Awarded $6.4 amount of water in the snow that is hydrologic forecasting and manage-Million Grant the most important in spring flood ment,waterqualitymanagement,forecasts. structuresiteselectionanddeter-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mining wind or solar power poten-hasawardedtheNorthDakota One of the many variables that this tial. The news media, educators, stu-AgriculturalWeatherNetwork project will record will be the mois- dents, weather hobbyists and others(NDAWN)a$6.4millionfive-year ture content in every snow storm in find NDAWN data indispensable ascontract to retrofit existing stations areaswheresuchdataisunavail- well.and build new stations across North able.Dakota. NPC Welcomes CFAP 2 To HelpThegoalistomonitorthetotal Growers Absorb Impact OfNDAWN,whichispartofNorth water inputs in the Upper Missouri Ongoing Food ServiceDakotaStateUniversitysNorth River Basin, meaning not only the DisruptionsDakotaAgriculturalExperiment precipitation that falls from the sky,Station, consists of 159 stations dis- but also monitoring the amount of TheNationalPotatoCouncilwel-tributedacrossNorthDakotaand moisturepresentinthesoil, comedtheannouncementthat28 POTATO GROWER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020'