During the '99 season, for example, many backyard gardeners in the Columbia Basin didn't get a single ripe beefsteak tomato before the first killing frost hit. As we'll see below, the resources available on the Internet enable the backyard gardener to have a general idea how much heat will be available during the season and how to adjust variety selection accordingly. Over the centuries, farmers have kept an eye to the weather. While many still swear by the Almanac, modern prognosticators base their forecasts on decades of research into weather patterns and climate models. Many meteorologists now use multiple computer models to derive their most probable near and long range forecasts.
Weather is serious business for commercial agriculture.
Managers of large farms don't have as much flexibility as backyard gardeners and they have a lot more at stake. So it isn't too surprising that they are willing to pay experienced climatologists to provide good long-range forecasts for the local area. The total heat available during the growing season can have a dramatic effect on productivity. The consequences of a cooler than normal Spring can be significant. He also emphasizes the importance of soil temperature in determining optimum planting dates.