ABSTRACT
Weather/economic models fall into two broad categories with regard to the degree to which the models consider ‘physical’ processes. The non-availability of relevant data is the main reason why explanatory models have been much less developed by applied climatologists, despite the fact that their utility is potentially much greater than empirical models. Empirical models by contrast employ a convenient but logical ‘framework’ so as to correlate predictor and predicted variables. Relationships between agricultural production and climate are usually assessed through the development of agroclimatological models. The importance of providing production forecasts with sufficient lead-time to enable appropriate decisions to be made in regard to transportation and marketing cannot be over-emphasized. A specific ‘customer’ for such forecasts is the Economic Service of the New Zealand Meat and Wool Boards which has to predict annually, with in-seasonal adjustments, national wool production. Many business activities rely to a considerable extent on the compilation of national weekly, monthly, and seasonal business indicators.
