MOLINE, Ill — The annual Upper Mississippi River conference has returned for its 16th time. This year's topic is addressing the impact of climate change on the evolving river.
The conference kicked off on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the Stoney Creek Inn in Moline. Speakers and panelists are presenting research and answering questions with the goal of informing people about past trends and future projections of how climate is changing in the basin.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ray Wolf said farmers can prepare for wetter trends and extremes in climate.
"For agriculture, one of the big pushes is to improve soil quality so that they're more resilient," he explained. "Whether we are too wet or too dry, a good soil will help. That developing resiliency to deal with the extremes is kind of the plan for the future."
The conference continues tomorrow and includes workshops, field trips and a student poster contest.
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