By Shawn Vestal
We’ve come a long way from the Old Farmer’s Almanac: These days, when farmers need to know about tomorrow’s weather — or next month’s weather — they can get a close-to-home forecast from Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet.
That system does more than predict temperatures and precipitation. Drawing on data from 370 public-private stations across the state, it uses machine learning to power tools that help growers predict wheat yields, anticipate problems with pests, protect against frost and high heat, schedule irrigation, and more.
As the amount of location-specific data grows, it will fuel even more refined microclimate forecasting — down to the level of an acre.
“It is happening now and we are improving it further,” said Lav Khot, the director of AgWeatherNet and a professor of precision agriculture in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering with a focus on agricultural automation. “That’s where AI comes in: How can we mine the information from this data and make better management decisions? It’s really changing the game.”
WSU is playing a vital role in connecting big data with modern farming — marrying the strength of high-tech research with the public-service mandate of a land-grant institution to help farmers at every stage, from preparing for the growing season to harvest.
Source : wsu.edu