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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>How
can NASA help California farmers?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>California
Watch-7/28/10<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By
Susanne Rust <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Generally
preoccupied by such celestial phenomena as brown dwarves and solar flares, NASA
is now turning its sights to a more provincial domain: farms.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In
partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and others,
NASA will provide weekly satellite images of California farmland to farmers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The
photos will show farmers which of their crops are in need of water, and which
aren’t, enabling them to use space-age technology to inform irrigation
decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Currently,
farmers turn to the California Irrigation Management Information System to get
daily estimates on crop evaporation. The system, however, doesn’t account
for site specific conditions or annual variability in the weather. So, the
estimates may differ from the actual, real-time conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>According
to Western Growers, a partner in the project and the largest agricultural trade
association in the United States, the USDA has shown that crop-satellite
imagery can fix the inaccuracies in this situation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>They
are building an automated data-processing system that will monitor crop growth
throughout the San Joaquin Valley and combine this information with weather
data, crop type, soil maps and various evaporation models to give a more
accurate, timely and pinpointed estimate of a particular farm’s
irrigation needs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>"Water-supply
reliability is a very important issue to our producers in California and
Arizona," said Wendy Fink-Weber, spokeswoman for Western Growers.
"The collaboration among federal space agencies, academia and industry,
along with advanced satellite technology, may point the way to a more
sustainable future for farming and the local supply of fresh food."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The
project will also try to move the data sharing onto mobile devices to further
personalize the information for individual farmers’ needs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Other
partners of the project include CSU Monterey Bay, NASA Ames Research Center,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Marshall Space Flight Center and Western Growers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The
project was described in a Western Growers’ monthly magazine article and
released Monday to California Watch. Western Growers' magazine is for paid
subscribers and members, only.</span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land/fax</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
mobile</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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