New Online Tool Helps Farmers, Applicators Time Manure Applications with Weather

St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has teamed up with the National Weather Service to design a tool that helps farmers and commercial applicators determine the best time to apply manure.

The Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast tool uses past and predicted National Weather Service weather data like precipitation, temperature, and snow melt. It predicts the likelihood that applied manure will run off fields in daily, next day, and 72 hour increments. Farmers and commercial applicators use an interactive map to locate their field and find the forecasted risk. Users can also signup for email or text messages for their county that alert them to a severe runoff risk for that day.

“By providing this information, we hope to give our farmers and commercial manure applicators the tools they need to make well-informed decisions,” said Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. “By being able to better predict times of high runoff risk, we can decrease the potential loss of manure to our waterways and increase farm productivity by saving nutrients on the land. It is a win-win situation based on an easy-to-use tool."

When someone goes to the interactive map, the runoff risk is displayed in one of four categories: no runoff expected, low, moderate, and severe. When the risk is moderate or severe, it is recommended that the applicator evaluate the situation to determine if there are other locations or later dates when the manure application could take place.

The forecasting tool can also be used by others looking for climate information including 2” soil depth temperatures which are useful at planting time, and 6” soil depth temperatures which are helpful when determining fall fertilizer application in appropriate areas.

The Minnesota Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast is part of a larger federal project. The National Weather Service has provided data and guidance to states to create similar tools in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. State funding for the project was provided by the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment.

MnDOT urges motorists to prepare for this round of winter weather

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Motorists should brace for challenging winter road conditions starting Friday, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Heavy and drifting snow and below-zero temperatures mean travel will be difficult.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for the lower two-thirds of the state Friday through Sunday. Snowfall amounts could reach up to 10 inches in some areas followed by extreme drops in temperature and wind chills of 30 to 40 degrees below zero by Sunday morning. In some areas, blowing and drifting snow could reduce visibility to zero.

“Based on the weather forecasts, we anticipate difficult road conditions,” said Sue Mulvihill, MnDOT deputy commissioner and chief engineer. “The conditions will be conducive for snow to compact on roads, making it hard to clear them. We know that salt will take time to work with such extreme temperatures. We urge motorists to either delay travel plans or, if they must drive, plan ahead and drive according to the road conditions.”

MnDOT advises motorists to check 511 for road conditions and to reconsider their travel plans Friday and Saturday. The heavy snow and low temperatures will likely cause slippery road conditions. If travel is necessary, motorists should slow their speeds down on all types of roads. Motorists should drive with their headlights on and turn off their cruise control.

MnDOT crews will be out plowing the snow as conditions allow. Other snow-fighting measures, such as salt and sand, may be less effective in sub-zero temperatures. Salt is less effective below 15 degrees and sand is best used when applied around curves to provide traction. However, the extreme temperatures will make these measures less effective.

When driving near snowplows, motorists should be patient and remember that snowplows are working to improve road conditions. Motorists should stay back at least five, and preferably 10, car lengths behind the plow.

“The heavy snow and falling temperatures will create very dangerous road conditions in parts of the state. Drivers should postpone travel during the storm if at all possible,” said Lt. Tiffani Nielson of the Minnesota State Patrol. “Be prepared by running errands, picking up medications or buying groceries before the storm hits. If travel is necessary, make sure everyone in the vehicle is dressed for the cold and bring blankets, water, food, phone chargers and an emergency kit. Remember that tow trucks will be very busy, so you may need to wait several hours for roadside assistance or to be towed.”

For updated information on road conditions, visit www.511mn.org or call 511.

MnDOT adds new features to 511 traveler information system

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Motorists using the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s 511 traveler information system this winter have several new features to help them know what the state’s road conditions are before they venture out on the roadways.

“Overall, the 511 traveler information system is getting better each year and more people are using it,” said Kelly Braunig, 511 program manager. “These new features will help the traveling public make good decisions about winter travel.”

She said one million more motorists used the mobile app from the 2014-15 to the 2015-16 winter seasons. There were also significant increases in the number of users on the truckers’ and full-featured web pages.

Some of the new features this winter are:

·         Personalize Your 511 – Motorists can enter up to 20 routes they travel to see where incidents, such as crashes or construction, are located. Users can also click on a specific incident to see a camera view. This is available on the full-featured and truckers’ pages.

·         Smart 511 – This is the same as Personalize Your 511, but for a smartphone. Motorists sign up online and then enter their phone number to receive information. 

·         Citizen Reporting – Motorists can submit driving conditions to the 511 system along a saved route. To use this function, users have to have an account through the “Personalize Your 511” feature. Users take a short online course to get registered. Motorists are advised to report driving conditions after they reach their destination. This is available on the full- featured site, but soon will also be on the truckers’ site.

·         Tell Me – Motorists receive hands-free and eyes-free audio notifications on their smartphones about traffic conditions. Users download and open the app before they start driving. The feature uses motorists’ GPS information.

·         Traffic Delay – On the traffic map, there is now an orange glow around an icon when there is a traffic delay due to a crash, construction or other traffic-slowing incidents. When users click on the orange glow, information will be provided on delays, travel times and direction of the delay. This is currently available only for interstate driving and shows a delay within two miles in each direction of an incident. This feature is on the truckers’ and full-featured sites.

·         Road Weather Information System Alert – On the full-featured and truckers’ sites, motorists will see a red triangle over a weather station icon when weather conditions such as fog, high winds, rain, ice and snow exist.

Most of the features are beneficial for winter driving, but they can also be used year-round.

Braunig encouraged people to go to www.511mn.org to check out how the site and features work. The mobile device app is free to download.