Ph.D. Defense: Before the Season Ends: Rethinking How We Understand and Anticipate Crop Loss

Join us for the public dissertation defense presentation of Geospatial Analytics Ph.D. student Randi N Butler - Before the Season Ends: Rethinking How We Understand and Anticipate Crop Loss. Drought can reshape agriculture production long before the full extent of loss is reflected in end-of-season reports. Across corn, cotton, soybean, and wheat, national crop statistics and insurance records provide different views of where losses occur and how severe they are. Satellite imagery and climate data offer another layer, revealing changes in crop condition as weather stress develops. Bringing these sources together creates an opportunity to better understand drought-related loss and whether patterns observed during the growing season can help anticipate final outcomes. Winter wheat offers a closer look at how reported losses align with changes observed throughout the growing season, and whether those patterns can provide earlier indications of potential crop loss.

The presentation will take place in person in Jordan 5103 as well as online (Zoom).