The project, Connecting Drought Early Warning to the Decision Making Needs of Specialty Crop Producers in the Midwestern United States, developed a set of decision calendars that provide month-by-month and seasonal advice on how growers manage production of Midwestern apple, grape, cranberry, and irrigated potato crops during drought years. Fact sheets highlighting appropriate drought and climate tools for  monitoring conditions during the growing seasons and beyond are also available. The project was funded by NIDIS and led by the National Drought Mitigation Center and the University of Wisconsin, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Midwest Climate Hub. Advisors included representatives from Iowa State University, the Iowa Winegrowers Association, University of Missouri Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, and Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.

The decision calendars feature up to four categories—crop phenology, management decisions, drought concerns, and outcome observed—of information per month. You can also view text-based table versions of these decision calendars below. The associated fact sheets on drought and climate tools for perennial fruit, cranberry, and annual vegetable production provides growers with information on using tools such as the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), and maps of soil moisture, soil temperature, and snowfall at appropriate times throughout the year to inform decision-making. The fact sheet also highlights new tools that can help growers of perennial crops imagine future growing conditions in their region and plan strategically using that information. 

Midwest Crop Decision Calendar Tables