Predicting the Unpredictable & Impact Assessment

Predicting the Unpredictable & Impact Assessment. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Columbia Basin Climate Impact Assessment, which projected climate change impacts on water resources in the Pacific Northwest, including Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The study found that warming temperatures will continue across the basin, and although there will not be significant changes in the mean annual precipitation, precipitation timing will change significantly, with more precipitation during the winter and less during the summer. This assessment supports earlier findings on Columbia River Basin projections for the 21st century.

Last year saw an extreme outbreak of avian influenza across the northwest and other areas which saw the loss of millions of birds. Experts have been looking at weather conditions and more to try and predict the unpredictable. Dr. Jack Shere, USDA Chief Veterinarian, talks about the recent outbreak in Indiana.

SHERE: We feel like it was a resident low path AI that was in the birds and then just changed into a high path so it was a resident low path and we have low paths circulating in the wild birds so the challenge is, when's it going to change? Where's it going to change and is it going to be in a poultry that's going to be affected.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.