NASA Harvest News
Happy New Year everyone! We are excited to continue bringing you all updates on our activities in 2021. We hope you have had a great holiday season and we look forward to continuing to advance the use of EO for food security in the new year and beyond!
Illinois Corn Growers Association’s Precision Conservation Management Program Puts Sustainability and Farmers First
We extend a hearty congratulations to our partners at Illinois Corn Growers Association (ILCG) Precision Conservation Management (PCM) Program for the successful extension of their USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-funded program through 2026, renewing a commitment to agricultural conservation efforts supported in-kind by NASA Harvest. PCM is widely recognized as critically important for increasing understanding of the impact of conservation management practices on environmental health and farm profitability, as well as of farmer perspectives on adopting these practices.The program works directly with farmers to increase the uptake, accessibility, and practicality of sustainable agricultural practices in an effort to drive positive environmental and economic impacts. Bolstered by a trusted network of one-on-one advisers and the powerful sustainability engine of the Fieldprint Platform, PCM provides more than 300 farmers across 325,000 acres with financial and technical assistance that incentivizes uptake and mitigates the risk of implementing conservation practices. The above video highlights the PCM program’s receipt of the 2020 Field to Market Collaboration of the Year award, while detailing the program’s operations and objectives. Visit the PCM website to learn more!
A team including NASA Harvest's Dr. Mehdi Hosseini recently developed a methodology for integrating SAR and optical data that allows users to monitor corn development with biomass products derived from SAR imagery. Given SAR's ability to pierce cloudy environments, this new methodology allows for increased analytical capability in regions that would otherwise be hidden from optical sensors.
Building upon the traditional methods of using optical satellite data to track crop production, NASA Harvest Partner Dr. Sergii Skakun's new paper, Cropland mapping with L-band UAVSAR and development of NISAR products” evaluates the usefulness of new radar products to supplement long-established monitoring methods.
Google Earth Engine for High Resolution Crop Mapping
NASA Harvest's Gabriel Tseng recently presented his work using the cloud computing capabilities of Google’s Google Earth Engine (GEE) at the Geo 4 Good 2020 (G4G20) Virtual Conference. Tseng’s presented work is on the crop mapping project NASA Harvest undertook for the country of Togo in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year the Forbes 30 Under 30 List recognizes early-career scientists who are stepping up to solve some of the most challenging issues presently facing humankind. Dr. Kerner is one of those young scientists, set on advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology using Earth observing satellites to help bolster food security worldwide.
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Upcoming Events
NASA’s Applied Remote Sensing Training Program will be holding training on the use of hyperspectral data to map vegetation across landscapes and in water environments. The training is free and registration can be done here. The trainings are split across three days (Jan 19, 26 & Feb 2 ) and will cover processing and accessing hyperspectral data, as well as applications in land management, agriculture, wetland, coastal, and marine environments.
IGARSS' 2021 Symposium will focus on crossing the borders that exist between countries and research institutes; different collection platforms; data sources; and disciplines. In an attempt to increase accessibility, IGARSS has created an online platform that will run concurrently with the in-person events in Brussels. Abstract submissions are being accepted through Jan 25th. More info can be found here.