Aerial Irrigation Pivot Performance Mapping

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You can acquire fresh, high-resolution aerial images from us for:

Irrigation pivot watering performance mapping
Bare Soil Mapping to help delineate soil type boundaries
Field drainage and watershed mapping
Crop performance zone mapping
Alfalfa and forage Yield Zone Mapping
Nitrogen management in corn
Nitrogen management in sugar beets/cane
Land use/ land cover classification
Multiple shots for change detection over time
Current, hi-resolution, base image for your mapping software
Crop Hail, insect, or chemical damage assessment
Precision agriculture

Click here to contact us about the details of our aerial program for your firm.
We would be delighted to hear about what you want to accomplish, help you pencil out the economic cost/returns using YOUR numbers, and perhaps offer some insight.

AERIAL IRRIGATION PIVOT WATERING PERFORMANCE PROJECT:

We acquire FRESH 1 meter resolution aerial images to identify and map the crop response, and to determine the economic impact of irrigation pivot watering problems in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and the TX Panhandle. We discovered that 30% of the irrigation pivots that we have taken aerial images of had discernable watering problems that adversely affected crops. Most watering problems are readily fixable at a low cost, with a resulting marked improvement in yield over affected areas.

From the ground, uniform watering problems often are not evident. An "eagle's eye" perspective reveals much more. Yields in poorly watered areas of a field were down 50% or more this past year, so the economics easily justify getting aerial images to identify watering uniformity problems while still in-season.

Read on to learn more about how this program works!

Mapping and Measuring Center Pivot Watering Performance

Using Field Observations and NGC/Agro Aerial Images

Figure 1. Radial Patterns

False Color composite aerial image of crop response to uneven watering on an irrigation pivot

Crop response to uneven watering of crop from center pivot irrigation. Note the radial patterns associated with water pressure changes as the pivot advances

Brighter red areas have more robust crop conditions. Note the radial crop response pattern caused by an irrigation pivot malfunction.*

Special processing resulted in a crop response performance map classified into ranges. Green areas are good, yellow fair, and purple areas are not as good.*

Crop response to uneven watering shows up as circular or radial patterns in an aerial image

Radial patterns (see Figure 1 above) often correspond to changes in water pressure or pivot speed as the pivot advances resulting in uneven crop growth.
Circular patterns (see Figure 2 below) are often caused by nozzle problems: plugged, worn, wrong spray overlap, installed out of sequence, stuck impact sprinklers, inadequate water volume, and others. End gun and swing arm problems may also be apparent

Darker red areas on the Vegetation Red Images on the left are less robust crop areas. The images on the right are processed further to enhance crop health differences. Each color represents a zone of similar crop condition. You can easily measure the degree of economic impact because from the map you can calculate the number of acres affected, and you know the yield impact from your own ground observations in each crop zone.

Figure 2. Circular Patterns

Crop response to plugged nozzles on an irrigation pivot as seen from a false color composite arial image

Crop response to uneven watering of irrigation pivot. This processed image classifies different levels of crop response and expresses them as different colors

Note the donut pattern crop response due to several plugged nozzles. Redder areas are better crops. *

Patterns show up more clearly with further image processing. Each color represents a zone of similar crop condition. Green areas are better, and blue areas are poorer crops.*

Aerial Pivot Performance Mapping Program
How it works

What is the Pivot Performance Mapping Program?
This program from NGC uses fresh, aerial imagery to help you identify and estimate the economic impact of irrigation pivot watering problems based on your crop’s response to uneven watering.

How does it work?
This program uses in-field observations combined with specially processed multispectral (green, red, NIR) aerial images of your field acquired during the growing season. The images display the relative crop response based on the volume of healthy green vegetation. Over or under-watered areas will appear differently, with distinctive circular or radial crop response patterns if caused by the pivot. The in-field observations made by you, or your crop consultant, quantify the relative yield impact of the problem areas compared to the good areas of the field identified in the image. The image helps you calculate the acres affected, so that you can estimate the $$economic differences between the good and bad areas.

Why should I use this?
Poor pivot performance may not be readily visible on the ground. A “bird’s eye view” often reveals considerably more, and it enables you to quantify the problem in dollars to make better-informed management decisions.

A poorly performing pivot can have significant economic impact to a grower. For instance, just one 25’ plugged nozzle on the 5th span can cost a grower up to $800 in field crop yield losses depending on the degree of yield reduction, and much more for higher-value crops. Multiple nozzle problems multiply the yield costs.

Radial crop response patterns caused by wrong pivot advance timing or water pressure problems in the corners can easily represent 60 acres. Thus even a 10% crop yield reduction (hard to visually see) can easily represent $2,000 or more. On a seed corn production field, it can cost over $30,000.

How big an area is included in a shot?
If you choose to use a very high-resolution image of less than 1 meter ground resolution, the area in the shot will cover a quarter section of land (1/2 mile on a side). If you choose a high-resolution image of 2 meters ground resolution, the area will include a full 1 square mile (640 acres) in the shot, or four times more area at a much lower cost per unit area, but with slightly less detail.

What is the cost and estimated economic return?
Typically, cost will vary from less than $1 per acre to over $3 per acre depending on location, the volume of fields shot on a flight, the number of shots in a season, and the package chosen (hard copy, digital, or both). It is generally based on the cost to get the plane there, plus a flat rate per field. Ask for details. We can provide you with both a quote and a cost/returns analysis using YOUR numbers. The cost of the program can easily pay for itself with even one or two small performance problems that can be fixed (see paragraph above). If a pivot watering problem is found and fixed, you can get as much as a 3:1 to 10:1 net return on your dollar.

When should I take my shots?
For best results, there must be adequate vegetation to show the crop response patterns, otherwise the image will show more soil surface in the image than crop. For corn, we suggest when the crop is waist high or more. For other crops, we suggest 50% canopy or more. Many people take shots from about the second week in July through August depending on the season and their crop progress.

What do I get, and when do I get it?
For each field, you will receive:
1.    Hard copy prints of aerial pivot performance which includes Vegetation Red, and the multicolored Crop Performance Zone maps
2.    An economic calculator template to help you estimate the $$$ impact of the problems identified.
3.    Optional - your choice of either georeferenced, or non- georeferenced digital images for your mapping, or digital photo software.

Delivery is typically within 4-7 days from the day it was shot, and no longer than seven. Clouds, weather, or other conditions outside our control may prevent or delay acquisition

How do I get started?
Determine which fields you want enrolled, and the general time frame that you want the aerial shot taken, then contact us for a quote. The larger the number of pivots shot during a flight, the lower the cost/acre, so high participation by neighbors or customers will benefit YOU by as much as 30-60%.

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