University of Illinois

NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has announced a total annual award of $6.2 million to support 12 new, innovative, and impactful projects that will improve our nation’s resilience at a critical time in the fight against the drought crisis. The projects will focus on ecological drought and building tribal drought resilience. NIDIS is funding seven new 2-year

Effective use of drought forecasts is critical for farmers to make proactive, well-informed decisions. Forecasts are especially important in rainfed agriculture, since without irrigation, little can be done to protect against droughts once a crop is planted. A key factor that determines how decision makers respond to and use drought forecasts is the extent to which they trust those forecasts.