Weather sensing technology is at the heart of NEWA tools but organizing the vast amount of data coming from a network like ours is a complicated matter.

Specialists in agriculture, engineering, computing and information sciences at Cornell University got together this past winter to talk about technology and farming in New York State. This effort, called the Digital Agriculture Initiative, had many positive outcomes including new collaborations between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Engineering and College of Computer and Information Sciences. A series of innovative grants were also awarded using federal Hatch Grant funds, as a direct outcome of winter discussions.

One of these successful grant proposals will have a direct long-term benefit for NEWA users. Development of a High-Resolution Weather Forecast Database for Digital Agriculture and Outreach Applications will examine more efficient ways of collecting and storing large amounts of data from weather sensor networks. Principal Investigators Dr. Art DeGaetano (Northeast Regional Climate Center Director, CALS) and Dr. Madeleine Udell (College of Engineering) will work together to improve the accuracy of agricultural forecasts.

To learn more about this project and other Digital Agriculture projects in New York State, visit the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station website.