{"id":182570,"date":"2025-03-05T06:41:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T20:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=827680"},"modified":"2025-03-05T06:41:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T20:41:25","slug":"farming-with-data-openet-launches-new-tool-for-farmers-and-ranchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=182570","title":{"rendered":"FARMing with Data: OpenET Launches new Tool for Farmers and Ranchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"A<\/a><\/figure>
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Dwane Roth (right), a fourth generation grain farmer in Finney County, Kansas, stands with nephew Zion (left) in one of their corn fields. Roth\u2019s farm became one of the first Water Technology Farms in Kansas around 2016, and he has been using OpenET data for the past few years to track evapotranspiration rates and conserve water. <\/div>\n
Photo courtesy of Dwane Roth<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-supported research and development team is making it easier for farmers and ranchers to manage their water resources.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The team, called OpenET<\/a>, created the Farm and Ranch Management Support (FARMS) tool, which puts timely, high-resolution water data directly in the hands of individuals and small farm operators. By making the information more accessible, the platform can better support decision-making around agricultural planning, water conservation, and water efficiency. \u00a0The OpenET team hopes this will help farmers who are working to build greater resiliency in local and regional agriculture communities.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about finding new ways to make satellite data easier to access and use for as many people as possible,\u201d said Forrest Melton, the OpenET project scientist at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. \u201cThe goal is to empower users with actionable, science-based data to support decisions about water management across the West.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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The goal is to empower users with actionable, science-based data to support decisions about water management across the West.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Forrest<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Forrest melton<\/p>\n

OpenET Project Scientist<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

OpenET Data Explorer Tool: The Road to FARMS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The OpenET data explorer tool centers on providing evapotranspiration data. Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the amount of water leaving Earth\u2019s surface and returning to the atmosphere through evaporation (from soil and surface water) and transpiration (water vapor released by crops and other plants). Evapotranspiration is an important factor in agriculture, water resource management, irrigation planning, drought monitoring, and fire risk evaluation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The FARMS resource is the third phase of OpenET\u2019s Data Explorer tool, launched in 2021, which uses satellite data to quantify evapotranspiration across the western U.S.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It starts with using Landsat<\/a> data to measure patterns in land surface temperature and key indicators of vegetation conditions. The satellite data is combined with agricultural data, such as field boundaries, and weather data, such as air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, and precipitation. All of these factors feed into a model, which calculates the final evapotranspiration data.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The new FARMS interface was designed to make that data easier to access, with features that meet specific needs identified by users.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis amount of data can be complicated to use, so user input helped us shape FARMS,\u201d said Jordan Harding, app developer and interface design leader from HabitatSeven. \u201cIt provides a mobile-friendly, map-based web interface designed to make it easy as possible to get automated, regular reports.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Top: A section of the 2024 annual report Roth submits to the Farm Service Agency, with hand-written annotations marking which crop will be grown that year.
\nBottom: Those same fields in the new OpenET FARMS interface, with a dashboard on the left displaying evapotranspiration data over the course of 2024 at monthly intervals. Each color line corresponds to the same color field on the map, showcasing how much evapotranspiration rates can differ between different crops in the same vicinity. The unique shape of the purple field (forage sorghum), is an example of a case where FARMS\u2019 custom shape feature is helpful. Once the initial report is set up, Roth can re-run reports for the same fields at any time. <\/div>\n
NASA\/OpenET<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe FARMS tool is designed to help farmers optimize irrigation timing and amounts, simplify planning for the upcoming irrigation season, and automate ET and water use reporting,” said Sara Larsen, CEO of OpenET. \u201cAll of this reduces waste, lowers costs, and informs crop planning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Although FARMS is geared towards agriculture, the tool has value for other audiences in the western U.S. Land managers who evaluate the impacts of wildfire can use it to evaluate burn scars and changes to local hydrology. Similarly, resource managers can track evapotranspiration changes over time to evaluate the effectiveness of different forest management plans.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

New Features in FARMS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

To develop FARMS, the OpenET team held listening sessions with farmers, ranchers, and resource managers. One requested function was support for field-to-field comparisons; a feature for planning irrigation needs and identifying problem areas, like where pests or weeds may be impacting crop yields.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The tool includes numerous options for drawing or selecting field boundaries, generating custom reports based on selected models and variables, and  automatically re-running reports at daily or monthly intervals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The fine spatial resolution and long OpenET data record behind FARMS make these features more effective. Many existing global ET data products have a pixel size of over half a mile, which is too big to be practical for most farmers and ranchers. The FARMS interface provides insights at the scale of a quarter-acre per pixel, which offers multiple data points within an individual field.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had told my father about this 15 years ago, he would have called me crazy,” said Dwane Roth, a fourth-generation farmer in Kansas. \u201cThanks to OpenET, I can now monitor water loss from my crops in real-time. By combining it with data from our soil moisture probes, this tool is enabling us to produce more food with less water. It\u2019s revolutionizing agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"Two<\/a><\/figure>
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The FARMS mobile interface displays a six-year evapotranspiration report of a pear orchard owned by sixth-generation California farmer Brett Baker. The purple line in the dashboard report (left) corresponds with the field selected in purple on the map view (right), which users can toggle between using the green buttons in the top right corners. Running multi-year reports allows farmers to review historical trends.<\/em><\/div>\n
NASA\/OpenET<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For those like sixth-generation California pear farmer Brett Baker, the 25-year span of ET data is part of what makes the tool so valuable. \u201cMy family has been farming the same crop on the same piece of ground for over 150 years,” Baker said. “Using FARMS gives us the ability to review historical trends and changes to understand what worked and what didn\u2019t year to year: maybe I need to apply more fertilizer to that field, or better weed control to another. Farmers know their land, and FARMS provides a new tool that will allow us to make better use of land and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

According to Roth, the best feature of the tool is intangible.  \u201cBeing a farmer is stressful,\u201d Roth said. \u201cOpenET is beneficial for the farm and the agronomic decisions, but I think the best thing it gives me is peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Being a farmer is stressful. OpenET is beneficial for the farm and the agronomic decisions, but I think the best thing it gives me is peace of mind.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Dwane<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Dwane Roth<\/p>\n

Fourth-Generation Kansas Grain Farmer<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Continuing Evolution of FARMS<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Over the coming months, the OpenET team plans to present the new tool at agricultural conferences and conventions in order to gather feedback from as many users as possible. \u201cWe know that there is already a demand for a seven-day forecast of ET, and I\u2019m sure there will be requests about the interface itself,\u201d said OpenET senior software engineer Will Carrara. \u201cWe’re definitely looking to the community to help us further refine that platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are many applications we haven\u2019t even thought of yet,\u201d Baker added. \u201cThe FARMS interface isn\u2019t just a tool; it\u2019s an entirely new toolbox itself. I\u2019m excited to see what people do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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FARMS was developed through a public-private collaboration led by NASA, USGS, USDA, the non-profit OpenET, Inc., Desert Research Institute, Environmental Defense Fund, Google Earth Engine, HabitatSeven, California State University Monterey Bay, Chapman University, Cornell University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, UC Berkeley and other universities, with input from more than 100 stakeholders.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

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For resources\/tutorials on how to use FARMS, please visit:<\/em> https:\/\/openet.gitbook.io\/docs\/additional-resources\/farms<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Milan<\/div>\n
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Milan Loiacono<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Science Communication Specialist<\/div>\n
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Milan Loiacono is a science communication specialist for the Earth Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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