Applications Of Remote Sensing To Precision Agriculture With Dual Economic And Environmental Benefits

In the U.S. Northern Great Plains, growing seasons are short but extremely productive. Farms and ranches are large, so many of precision agriculture's early adopters reside in the region. Crop yield maps at season's end reveal sizable variations across fields. Farm management relying upon uniform chemical applications is ineffective and wasteful. We provided information about crop and range status in near-real-time, so that in-season decisions could be made to optimize final yields and minimize environmental degradation.We created learning communities, in which information is shared among scientists, farmers, ranchers, and data providers. The new information for agricultural producers was satellite and aerial imagery. Value-added information was derived from ETM+, AVHRR, IKONOS, and MODIS sensors. The emphasis was on reducing the time between acquisition of data by a satellite and delivery of value-added products to farmers and ranchers. To distribute large spatial data sets in short times to rural users we relied upon satellite transmission (Direct PC).Results include: (1) management zone delineation, (2) variable-rate fertilizer applications, (3) weed detection, (4) irrigation efficiency determination, (5) detection of insect infestation, (6) specification of crop damage due to inadvertent chemical application, and (7) determination of livestock carrying capacities on rangelands.