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Preparing your farm for severe weather

A state climatologist says severe weather preparedness is important for farmers and ranchers.

Justin Glisan with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says being aware can help producers respond to all kinds of weather.

“We tell people to have weather radios,” he said. “Farmers are some of the most intuitive, quote unquote, meteorologists out there. They’ve been on their lands for decades. They’ve seen weather patterns come through and they’re very intuitive in terms of what’s going to happen or what to do to address those issues.”

He tells Brownfield conservation practices can help mitigate the impacts of a severe weather event. “We’re seeing more intense rainfall events more often, so just generally we talk about practices like cover crops and no-till to lock that soil in in place so that we don’t get runoff events.”

Severe weather awareness week runs through Friday.

AUDIO: Justin Glisan on Severe Weather Awareness Week