Encouraging use of seasonal climate forecasts by farmers

• DOI: 10.1002/joc.1164
• Publication Date: 2005-06-17T15:50:39Z
• Authors: Rod McCrea; Len Dalgleish; Will Coventry
• Keywords: Judgement; Consensus forecast; Seasonality

Abstract What encourages use of seasonal climate forecasts? Considerable effort is being applied in developing forecasts and demonstrating the potential benefits available to farmers from using forecasts. This study examines three factors underlying by farmers: level forecast understanding farmers, format presentation forecasts, attitude towards usefulness as indicators future rainfall. Using judgement analysis, cropping decisions was determined for 73 Australian farmers. Then a moderated regression analysis used predict factors. The found that good more important than predicting its use. However, this main effect on higher qualified three‐way interaction, such only associated with when had favourable toward were presented frequency format. Thus, all relatively little known about farmer attitudes how these arise, further research recommended areas. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society