Peek Behind the Drought Monitor

Take a peek behind the scenes for the weekly creation and development of the drought monitor with Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Inside Profitability Series. The drought monitor released October 13 shows 100 percent of the state under some form of drought, with 80 percent of the state categorized as in severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. This year’s drought has brought increased attention to the drought monitor. Along with the attention, several producers have wondered how the monitor map is created, what data and information are used to develop the map, and how the information is used to trigger government drought assistance programs.

Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Inside Profitability Series webinar provides a peek behind the drought monitor and tackles these questions with the help from Dr. Mark Svoboda, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center. Dr. Svoboda provides a background on the team, process, data, and information used to create the weekly drought monitor. To view the webinar, click here.