A New Satellite Tool For Farmers

Protecting crops just got a bit simpler, thanks to researchers at the University of Kansas who have designed a web-based app called the Sentinel GreenReport Plus.

The app provides free satellite monitoring of crops and vegetation across the United States, along with image analysis. According to Phys.org, the public-service tool gives users the most current insights into changes in land cover and vegetation greenness.

So far, the app has been utilized to track the recovery of vegetation after disasters and assess drought damage. Researchers who created the app also explained that people can use it to determine how damaged crops are after extreme weather events.

Dana Peterson, a senior research associate with Kansas Applied Remote Sensing, said in a summary published on Phys.org, "We've also looked at some of the burn events and wildfires. You can look at how the vegetation has been damaged and to what extent and severity."

Farmers can utilize the Sentinel GreenReport Plus to see how successful their crops are and monitor their health.

The Sentinel GreenReport Plus isn't the first of its kind. In 1996, scientists introduced the classic GreenReport with the support of NASA, which relied on MODIS satellite imagery. However, the Sentinel GreenReport Plus relies on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, which means its spatial resolution is significantly higher than that of the classic GreenReport.

It's an exciting development in the world of agriculture. Not only will the Sentinel GreenReport Plus enable producers, governments, and individuals to keep a closer eye on how crops are faring in higher temperatures and more extreme weather, but it also contributes to the overall sustainability goal of cleaning up the agricultural industry.

Being able to track the results of a changing climate on crops may encourage those in the agricultural industry to take a firmer stance on curbing the pollution that causes crop-damaging events. This would result in easier growing, increased food security, and fewer health issues for people in farming communities.

As noted in the Phys.org summary, Peterson explained that the app could represent, "a better way to understand the interplay of climate and vegetation. Users can visualize trends, generate crop-specific charts and download outputs to support reports, presentations and further analysis."