Looking to the heavens for support
FARMERS are turning to space to help manage their land back home on earth.
Using measurements from the solar system to help them may sound like science fiction but it’s science fact.
Real-time information about soil moisture is an essential tool for farmers and a Vistamilk study is using satellites in earth’s orbit to collect that information.
The research project is utilising imagery from the Europe Space Agency’s Sentinel satellites to map soil moisture in Ireland, with the capability of focusing in on areas as small as 10 square metres.
The data gathered could be used to help farmers make decisions about which fields to allow their livestock feed, which fields require drainage, and when to add or reduce fertilisers and slurry.
Rumia Basu, a Vistamilk
PHD student from
Teagasc, at the
University of Galway, running the project.
He said: “The importance of understanding the soil moisture levels both historically and on a given day is an essential part of daily farming particularly as decisions made can impact not only production outputs but also the environment.
“The models we are developing that will provide real-time information to assist farmers in their decision making is leading-edge and – due to Ireland’s climate – quite unique.
“Using high resolution satellite radar data which is available in all weather, day or night, combined with optical observation data allows us to provide daily information that one day we hope will be available on an app that farmers can use on what we know to be one of their most valuable pieces of equipment – their phones. As we are able to home in on an area as small as 10 metres square, we will be able to provide farmers with data on a field-by-field basis. “