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NASA making data interpretation a priority to help farmers with crop management

NASA is collaborating with farmers to integrate satellite imagery and precision ag data to help support crop management decisions.

At a stop on a Southeast Nebraska farm Monday, NASA Director of Earth Science Karen St. Germain said the agency is collecting and consolidating soil moisture, weather and biomass data for producers.  “They know what to do if they have good, actional information. It’s about getting them the information they need in a format that they can make it ready-use to inform their decisions and not tell them what to do.”

She says she hopes the data can help make farmers more efficient and increase crop production. “We know that climate and weather patterns are changing. We know that this is going to increase the stress on family farms and frankly, on our food security.”

Farmer Angela Knuth tells Brownfield data can reduce input costs and increase soil and crop health if it’s streamlined. “Having the time to sit there to bring that data together and analyze it is the stuff part because we’re usually taking data from one platform and entering it into another platform in some form or manner. Then we’re trying to massage that data, so we have cost per acre per field.  That all takes time.”

St. Germain and her team are touring farms across the Great Plains this week speaking with Extension researchers, university faculty and farmers to gain a better understanding of data implementation.