Method for determining field readiness using soil moisture modeling

Abstract

A method for determining field readiness using moisture modeling of a plurality of fields in a region of interest includes (a) generating a detailed set of moisture factors covering a plurality of scenarios for each field element of the plurality of field elements for a particular field; (b) repeating act (a) for each field of the region of interest; (c) generating a general set of moisture factors for a particular field of the plurality of fields to be applied to each field element of the plurality of field elements in the particular field; (d) repeating act (c) for each field of the plurality of fields in the region of interest; and (e) estimating soil moisture for each field element in the region of interest based on the detailed set of moisture factors and the general set of moisture factors.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to field moisture determinations, and more particularly, to a method for determining field readiness using soil moisture modeling of a plurality of fields in a region of interest.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]A typical method of insuring fields are ready for an operation, such as a fertilizer application, after a rain event involves people driving around in vehicles to physically scout the fields of interest. Such an approach is labor intensive and can be inaccurate because of the quality of observations made from the road. For example, the surface of the field may be dry, but still very wet underneath. Also, parts of the field, particularly low spots, may not be visible from the road. Thus, equipment and material may be dispatched to fields that are not ready for field work. In one such scenario, a fertilizer applicator operator then may be faced with a decision of applying fertilizer with damage to the field or else send...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]The present invention provides an estimate of the level of readiness for field operations through modeling at a good spatial resolution that accommodates field sizes of less than 1 square kilometer while providing results soon enough to positively influence field operations relative to other known methods.

Problems solved by technology

Such an approach is labor intensive and can be inaccurate because of the quality of observations made from the road.

For example, the surface of the field may be dry, but still very wet underneath.

Also, parts of the field, particularly low spots, may not be visible from the road.

However, many fields are in the 0.25-0.50 square kilometer (km) size, and the 1 square kilometer resolution is not good enough to assess field conditions for some field operations, such as fertilizer application.

This is clearly too long to impact today's field activities in light of a recent rain event, such as last night's rain.

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