October 18, 2001

NDSU Nabs NASA Grant To Apply Satellite Images to Agriculture

The benefits of NASA’s science and technology will be going to work in this region with the help of North Dakota State University agricultural and biosystems engineering personnel.

The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department recently received a three-year, $700,000 grant from NASA to encourage the use of NASA products in solving problems in agriculture and natural resources. The grant money will be used to train NDSU extension agents, researchers and others to incorporate remote sensing technology, along with other geo-spatial technology such as geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS), into management schemes.

"This program will give NDSU extension educators the geo-spatial technology skills needed to work with farmers and ranchers to use satellite imagery in crop and range management, as well as help others in communities to use geo-spatial technologies. These technologies have a wide variety of applications in education, business and community planning," says John Nowatzki, NDSU Extension Service water quality specialist who will serve as principal investigator and coordinate the effort.

The satellite imagery and other geo-spatial technologies can be used to assess crop quality and distribution, current and potential land use, soil type and other factors. Nowatzki says there is a variety of satellite imagery available from NASA, some with resolution as accurate as 1 meter. Annual Landsat images with 30-meter resolution is already available from another Agricultural and biosystems engineering project.

This NASA-sponsored project will make it possible to purchase the higher resolution images and equipment allowing specialists to assess crop and rangeland conditions accurately enough to make management recommendations. "Farmers and other natural resource managers should be able to pick out problems with diseases, nutrient deficiencies and other stresses on crops and make decisions in time to have beneficial impacts on the crops," Nowatzki says.

In addition, images and other remotely sensed information such as aerial photographs can be coupled with GIS computer programs that predict potential areas of water contamination from crop nutrients, pesticides and livestock waste.

Nowatzki says his colleagues intend to incorporate satellite imagery into existing water quality assessment models to more accurately categorize land areas with a high potential to contribute to water contamination. The project also dovetails with other existing research at NDSU in remote sensing, precision agriculture related to power and machinery, soils and water quality.

The first step in the project is to train at least 30 county extension agents how to use GIS, GPS and satellite imagery. Those agents will, in turn, help agricultural producers and others in their areas use and apply the technology. As a part of the project, participating agents will receive a handheld computer and GPS unit to use in training and consultation.

Ultimately, the project’s goal is to help NDSU extension agents become familiar with NASA products and geospatial technologies and to incorporate this technology into the activities of North Dakotans. In three years, Nowatzki hopes to see these technologies used in at least 50 projects involving precision farming, natural resource management, youth programs, economic development, emergency management and education.

A portion of the funding will go to the University of North Dakota space studies program, which will support the NDSU extension effort with expertise. UND space studies department director Robert Andres, project co-investigator with Nowatzki, will supervise a graduate assistant funded for two years by this project. The UND graduate student will provide professional assistance with satellite imagery for the NDSU extension agents and cooperating groups. The project will also support a graduate student for two years in the NDSU Agricultural and biosystems engineering department who will provide GIS computer and GPS assistance to Nowatzki and the cooperating extension agents.

The NDSU grant for NASA product implementation and geo-spatial technology training is one of 15 proposals selected for funding from 50 submitted to NASA. The Earth Science Applications Directorate of NASA at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will manage the project.

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Source: John Nowatzki, (701) 231-8213, jnowatzk@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu