Even with the latest technology, predicting the weather can still be a guessing game at best. But with a new system recently launched by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) at Auburn University, stakeholders can at least know the history of weather in multiple farm locations, and all at the touch of a button.
In conjunction with the Variety Testing data platform, the AAES has announced the launch of Auburn’s Weather Exchange by Medius Ag, LLC. This new platform represents a new age in weather data sharing for Alabama agriculture, said Greg Pate, director of outlying units for AAES.
“This new exchange is provided as a service to stakeholders of the AAES and replaces the previous AWIS website that has collected and disseminated AAES weather data since the late 1990s,” Pate said.
All of the weather data collected on various stations throughout Alabama is now available to anyone at any time and is free of charge.
“Current and historic data from all 15 AAES outlying units is available for viewing and download to .CSV file,” Pate said. “Data can simply be pre-sorted by location for downloading or viewing graphically within the site.”
Medius is a private corporation specializing in agricultural data management and software. The AAES has contracted with the company to collect data from its varying locations and then provide the online software platform to access the data.
“Our agricultural weather data platform offers ease of access to almost 70 weather parameters and is free to everyone,” Pate said. “The data can easily be sorted by location, date and frequency to generate datasets that are quickly downloaded to .CSV files compatible with most data analysis software packages. Graphic representation of data is customizable to allow quick view of weather trends over time.”
It’s a commitment of the AAES to offer relevant weather data to all of its stakeholders, Pate said.
“This new platform will be advantageous to farmers in need of weather data for production of crops, insurance claims or seasonal analysis to explain variability,” he said.
The weather exchange already is paying benefits, said Jane Farr, AAES regional director for East-Central Alabama.
“One of our research associates recently harvested a small grains test in the Wiregrass region and the yield was terrible,” Farr said. “Because we have all this historical weather data in one place, and we don’t have to pay for it, he went to the link, found the rainfall amounts through variety tests, and was able to pinpoint why the yields were so low and include that information in his report.”
An AAES researcher also reported to Farr that she liked the ability to view historical weather data without having to pay for requests on an individual basis.
“This researcher told me she could compare the same test at multiple stations and do it quickly. It has already made a big difference in a short amount of time,” Farr said.
Weather data that was previously restricted to certain users is now available to everyone to correlate with the information they have at their own locations.
To create a login and password, go to https://wx.medius.re/account/create?client=Ne74mZL0P9 and then:
- Click on Medius Wx – Auburn
- Enter Name, Email and agree to the terms.
- You will receive an email from no-reply@mediusag.com to activate your account. Click the link in the email to activate.
- Once your account is activated, you’ll be asked to create a password.
- After saving your password, you can log in at https://wx.medius.re/account/create?client=Ne74mZL0P9.
For more information, go to https://youtu.be/YO46wryi1gY to view a brief YouTube video that helps you understand site layout and basic capabilities and functionality.
