GIS in Agriculture
Farming is more sophisticated than it ever was. Good farmers do lots of planning and analysis. Information like soil type, soil characteristics, water sources and climate are important for strategic planning. Soil fertility and historic crop yield are important for precision farming purposes. By using GIS in agriculture, farms can be more profitable because informed farmers can achieve higher crop yields and they can reduce waste.
Three Strategic Uses for GIS in Agriculture
#1 – Strategic Planning
GIS can present combinations of map layers to address different agricultural problems. For example, depending on the size of their farm and presence of factors that are important to the type of farm, a farmer might view and analyse GIS maps of soil properties, average rainfall, elevation, and more, all in one map. Using these detailed maps, they can plan the most efficient and cost-effective way to use their land.
#2 – Water Management
Another important use for GIS in agriculture is water management. Using GIS, the farmer can determine where rain water is draining too quickly or too slowly so that either engineering steps can be taken to reroute its flow, or chemicals can be applied to improve the internal drainage of the soil. In areas where the water flows too quickly, the result can be crop loss and soil erosion. In areas where water flows too slowly, crop growth could be hampered, sometimes referred to as plants having ‘wet feet’.
#3- Crop Suitability Mapping
Soil characteristic maps can help with crop planning. A map of soil themes such as salinity, internal drainage, pH and various aspect of soil chemistry that are important to the crop, a farmer is planning on planting, can provide an important information backdrop for understanding whether or not a crop will grow successfully in an area.
Figure 2: GIS Farm Mapping
Precision Farming Use for GIS in Agriculture
Using GIS, a farmer can plan their crops down to the very last detail. GIS software can be used to gather and coordinate important data like soil composition. For example, if a farmer knows what nutrients are already in the soil and where they are deficient, they can avoid the unnecessary application of expensive fertilizer and trace elements by applying them only where they are required and in the appropriate quantities.
Figure 1: GIS in Agriculture: Map layers such as soil chemistry, soil type and topography (and derived maps such as soil drainage), previous yields, etc, can provide important information for field management
Want to learn how to do your own GIS projects?
If you would like to learn how to use the free, open source, Quantum GIS (QGIS), have a look at one of my Beginners GIS courses. Self-paced for free, or video assisted on udemy.com. Links include discount coupons for the Udemy option…
GIS Tutorial for Beginners #1: QGIS Orientation (plus how to shade a map)
QGIS tutorial for Beginners #2: Learn how to digitize a GIS map
QGIS tutorial for Beginners #4: How to geocode (map an address)
QGIS tutorial for Beginners #5: How to present a map using the QGIS layout feature
References:
http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2012/03/14/farmers-use-gis-technology-for-a-growing-world/
http://www.esri.com/industries/agriculture
http://www.gislounge.com/use-gis-agriculture/
https://espatiallynewyork.com/2014/02/04/nys-geospatial-can-grow-and-fly-with-agriculture-2/
