Huai'an rice is soft and fragrant, Xuyi crayfish are spicy and crisp, and Hongze Lake hairy crabs are rich in roe and fat... Behind these well-known agricultural specialties of Huai'an is a special team of "meteorological consultants" who integrate weather forecasts into every stage of agricultural production.

Since the start of this year, the meteorological departments of Huai'an have launched a survey on the demand for "five-excellence" linked meteorological services and the demonstration creation of characteristic agricultural meteorological services. Focusing on five dimensions—infrastructure, technology R&D, product coverage, mechanism integration, and benefit evaluation—they guide counties and districts to apply precise efforts based on their leading industries.

Focusing on the high-quality rice industry, technical service teams joined agricultural technology departments to survey cooperatives and enterprises, developing customized service products for the entire rice growth cycle and conducting "three-level comparison" experiments to evaluate benefits. Regarding the breeding of the "Xuyi No. 1" crayfish variety and large-scale fry breeding, they conducted field surveys on meteorological needs. To boost the fox nut industry, they integrated meteorological data into the fox nut rotation decision-making platform and deepened the "meteorology + agriculture + insurance" model. For hairy crab farming, they leveraged local big data platforms for smart farming, focusing on air pressure data access and oxygenation forecasts. They also provided personalized meteorological services for asparagus, lotus root, and integrated lotus-crayfish farming.

Currently, the city's meteorological departments are using the full-chain service of "plowing, planting, management, harvesting, storage, transport, and sales" as a lever. By identifying needs, listing services, and building demonstration models, they are strengthening the agricultural meteorological disaster risk defense system and promoting the deep integration of meteorological services with characteristic agricultural industries.