Minnesota launches 14 new weather stations in southern Minnesota to provide farmers with more data
Fourteen brand-new weather stations are up and running across Minnesota this year.
They're part of the state's Agricultural Weather Network, which is expanding to provide farmers with even more data.
"We're measuring everything between 33 feet above the ground surface to 7 feet below the ground surface," said Jeppe Kjaersgaard, a research scientist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
That includes extra information about wind, radiation, soil temperature and moisture that isn't normally collected by existing sensors at airports.
"It's useful for the farmers, both in terms of helping them manage some of their inputs, so that is water for irrigation, fertilizer and manure, but it's also useful for the broader society," said Kjaersgaard.
That's because the data and pictures are also used by emergency managers and the National Weather Service to help with issuing watches and warnings. In addition to the 14 stations installed in southern Minnesota this year, more are coming.
"The ultimate goal is to have a weather station, such that any crop field is within 20 miles of one of those stations," said Kjaersgaard. "We currently have a total of 60 weather stations in Minnesota. The goal is to have about 100."
Because North Dakota already has a similar network, Minnesota has partnered with them to host the data. But they say it's also the collaboration with farmers and local agencies that make this project possible.
"We've had farmers tell us they need more tools and resources," said Ashley Gallagher, with the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District. "We couldn't do it by ourselves, so we called in state resources, and Department of Ag was able to help us out with that."
If you want to access the data, or have land that could possibly host a station, you can find more information online.
