8 Broadcaster Press March 22, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com Geographer Describes Understanding Our Food and Those Who Produce It How Plants Help Track By Rep. Kristi Noem Director of National Intelligence under blessed this year so far with good President George W. Bush, explained weather for calving. But I remember Earlier this month, people around Climate Change that the need for more food “could many years when we were calving the country celebrated National Agriaffect political stability” and could in sub-zero weather. We’d stay up BROOKINGS – The start of the growing season across the continental United States comes, on average, about a week earlier than it did more than 50 years ago. However, that varies based on location, according to distinguished professor of geography Mark D. Schwartz of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He integrates plant data with air temperature records and satellite imagery to model how climate change is affecting the onset of spring and autumn. Schwartz will describe his work Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the McCrory Gardens Education and Visitor Center in a lecture titled “Plants know what day it is: The science of phenology in a changing climate.” The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence and the SDSU Department of Geography. Phenology, a word coined in the mid-1800s, means the study of things that show or appear, Schwartz explained. More specifically, phenology refers to how weather and climate play a role in the natural life cycle of plants and animals. Schwartz is co-founder of the USA National Phenology Network, which engages citizens in reporting the seasonal timing of the plant phenology, such as the first leaf and first bloom, and animal phenology, such as bird return and insect hatches. He uses gridded temperature data to drive a model that shows the near-real-time progression of the onset of spring across the United States on the phenology website at www.usanpn.org/ data/spring. “Plants on the ground can tell us more and give insight into questions that satellites can’t,” Schwartz pointed out. Satellites see what is happening very generally, but the changes that occur in plants allow scientists to include more detailed information. He illustrated this describing two types of trees—basswood and white ash—found in a woodlot near the Milwaukee campus. “Their phenology is quite different because one appears to change more in relationship to light and the other is more responsive to temperature,” he said. However, Schwartz noted, “The satellite can’t tell the two species apart due to their proximity; it creates a synthetic combination that doesn’t really exist.” Though information on plants is helpful, he said, “phenological data often isn’t consistent enough in space and duration in most cases to give us the long-term records that we need.” Consequently, he has combined individual site records with air temperature data to develop models that look at changes on continental, hemispheric and global levels. “The start of spring is not getting earlier at the same rate everywhere,” Schwartz noted. To some degree, these changes are all being affected by warming from an increase in greenhouse gases due to human activity. However, other factors, such as El Ni?o and the North Atlantic oscillation, affect the internal variability within the weather system. His research seeks to disentangle these facets of climate change. culture Day. In South Dakota, our lives and livelihoods are deeply tied to agriculture – whether we live in town or on a farm. But in so many other areas of this country, people are fundamentally disconnected from the way their food is produced. For most families, food is one of the top expenditures each month – often times, only falling behind housing and transportation costs. Still, a 2011 study by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance found 72 percent of consumers knew nothing or very little about farming or ranching. While not everyone farms, everyone does eat, so it’s important that more people understand where their food comes from. Creating this understanding will be critical – especially as more and more pressure is put on farmers and ranchers to produce the food needed to support a growing global population. This is a national security necessity as much as it is a humanitarian mission. During a congressional hearing late last year, John Negroponte, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and then “fuel further instability in the Middle East.” He went on to observe that “the world must increase food production by 50 to 60 percent to satisfy expected global population growth and changing consumption patterns by 2050.” These realities make it all the more important to invest in our agriculture community. Many reading this column likely know I have spent my life farming and ranching in South Dakota. As our state’s only member in the U.S. House of Representatives, I try to share what it is like to live in our shoes, because it’s essential that folks have a better understanding of the risk that comes with agriculture and the significance of a stable food supply. They should know the kind of capital farmers bury in the ground each spring, hoping to get the crop and prices needed to keep their operation going. They ought to see the hard work, long hours, and extreme risk that come with running a ranch – especially now that calving season is upon us. South Dakota ranchers have been all night, so we could be there to get the calf somewhere warm enough to survive. And no matter how attentive you were, there would always be those heartbreaking times where all you could say was “Maybe next year.” Even beyond understanding the dynamics of food production and food security, I believe our country would benefit greatly from seeing how we live in an agriculture community. I love this segment from Paul Harvey’s tribute to farmers: “God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place.” A little more of a farming and ranching mentality would go a long way in this country. To all of South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers, thank you for doing what you do. Because of your work, our families are fed, our national security is stronger, and the world is better off. Dave Says No Arguments BY DAVE RAMSEY Courtesy of EveryDollar.com Dear Dave, My dad and I have been having arguments over real estate and money. My wife and I are 33, and we have a rental property. We were trying to decide whether or not to sell the rental in order to pay down on our home. My dad has been very vocal about what he thinks we should do, and it’s starting to cause problems in our relationship. The two homes are our only debt, and we make $110,000 a year. We owe $132,000 on our residence and $80,000 on the rental. We could sell the rental for around $160,000. What do you think we should do? Ricky ? Smile. Dave RAMSEY Staying Away from Scams Dear Ricky, I wouldn’t sell the rental today, but it’s definitely a strong consideration in the future. You wouldn’t realize enough from its sale to pay off it and your home at this point, so work aggressively toward paying down the mortgage on your home. Then, when you get far enough down that the sale of the rental would pay it off, go for it if that’s what you both want. You’re doing really well financially for a couple your age in San Diego. Now, let’s talk about something else for a moment. I would love for you to listen to your dad for advice, but I would not be arguing with him about what you YOUR RADIATOR HEADQUARTERS! • Great Parts • Great Warranty On-Hand & In-Stock! NO WAITING! are going to do with your money. You’re a man. I don’t know if you just used the incorrect word there for how the discussion went down, but if not, I wanted to correct that as a boundary issue in your family. Keep up the good work, Ricky! —Dave Dear Dave, I’ve always wanted to work from home. How can I separate the scams online and on television from the real jobs where I can make money? 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Shuffling day after day through a job you don’t like—even one with a big paycheck attached—is also a bad idea. Sooner or later the fact that you don’t like your work is going to catch up with you on the job and at home. Think of something you love to do, then get creative and find a way to make money at it. It may mean turning a hobby into a part-time gig nights and weekends for starters. Who knows, with a lot of hard work and a little creativity, you could be your own boss in no time! EveryDollar is a simple, online budgeting tool that helps users set a monthly budget and seamlessly track expenses. For more information, go to www.everydollar.com. BroadcasterOnline.com “Get Connected!” Broadcaster and Plain Talk Make Cash For You! 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