Dive Deep into Creativity: Your Ultimate Tumblr Experience Awaits
Farming - Blog Posts
“I can’t be vegan, I love cheese”
Dairy industry is as evil as meat. No less harm for animals. Does it look natural that calf can’t drink milk so you can taste your piece of cheese?
GO VEGAN.
WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT, RUNE FACTORY PEOPLE?!?!
You give a a dragon out of place Shakira hips, then when you gotta make her human for, you think child maid with a cleavage window?!?!
These two pictures look totally unrelated, except that the horns *kinda look similar (???) this is stupid. And they don’t let you gay! There’s a clumsy Emo dude, and a woman with a top hat and a ghost friend, you expect me to not want them both???
actually i am obsessed with the theme of farming in this arc of vinland saga. the concept of individuals who knew nothing but fields of death being reborn in fields that are literally made of and cultivate life...................the imagery of hands scarred and callused from years of wielding weapons now experiencing new blisters and wounds from working the land.............how men who once fought for hours on end are relearning exhaustion and persistence but in a wildly different context...................what it means to apply your strength and your will for the sake of creating rather than destroying. what it means to treasure life, to preserve and protect it. "carve it." not stab, not strike. "carve it." dig deep into the dirt and move the very earth with your own hands. "carve what you feel into me." "carve that encounter into me." be reborn!! become alive!! it's so beautiful!!
Mental Crop Rotation
When farmers grow the same crop too many years in a row, it can leave their soil depleted of minerals and other nutrients that are vital to the health of their fields.
To avoid this, farmers will often alternate the crops that they grow because some plants will use up different minerals (such as nitrogen) while other plants replenish those minerals. This process is known as “crop rotation.”
So the next time you find that you need to step away from a project to work on something else for a while, don’t beat yourself up for “quitting” that project. Give yourself permission to practice “mental crop rotation” to maintain a healthy brain field.
Because I’ve found that when that unnecessary guilt and pressure are removed from the process, a good mental crop rotation can help you feel more energized and invigorated than ever once you’re ready to rotate back to that project.
Women and tractors, it is so American that it makes me want to stand up and salute
Watching Water in the West
If you’ve eaten a piece of fruit, a vegetable, or a handful of nuts in the past week, it’s very likely they all came from “America’s Salad Bowl.” California’s Central Valley and Central Coast is where more than one-third of all vegetables in the U.S. are grown––and two-thirds of our fruits and nuts.
Keeping this area fertile takes a lot of water, and we provide farmers with NASA data that helps them manage increasingly scarce supplies. Working with farmers and conservation groups, we developed a new website called OpenET to transform how water is managed in the West! It covers 17 western U.S. states, putting satellite and other Earth science data into their hands. The website gives them daily and monthly views of water usage, down to the resolution of a single field of vegetables.
The ET in OpenET doesn’t stand for extraterrestrial, but “evapotranspiration.” Evapotranspiration is a measurement that farmers can use to estimate the amount of water being used by their fields and crops. This water will usually need to be replaced through irrigation or rainfall.
We work closely with partners and people around the world, connecting them with NASA Earth data to solve our planet’s most pressing issues.
Learn more about our Applied Sciences program, here! We are Earth. Science. Action.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
From Seed to Market: How NASA brings food to the table
Did you know we help farmers grow some of your favorite fruits, veggies and grains?
Our Earth-observing satellites track rainfall amounts, soil moisture, crop health, and more. On the ground, we partner with agencies and organizations around the world to help farmers use that data to care for their fields.
Here are a few ways we help put food on the table, from planting to harvest.
Planting
Did you plant seeds in science class to watch them sprout and grow? They all needed water, right? Our data helps farmers “see” how moist the soil is across large fields.
“When you’re not sure when to water your flowers or your garden, you can look at the soil or touch it with your hands. We are sort of ‘feeling’ the soil, sensing how much water is in the soil – from a satellite,
685 kilometers (408 miles) above Earth,” said John Bolten, the associate program manager of water resources for NASA’s Applied Sciences Program.
This spring, we worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and George Mason University to release Crop-CASMA, a tool that shows soil moisture and vegetation conditions for the United States. Able to see smaller areas – about the size of a couple of golf courses – the USDA uses Crop-CASMA to help update farmers on their state’s soil moisture, crop health and growing progress.
Growing
It’s dangerous being a seedling.
Heavy spring rains or summer storms can flood fields and drown growing plants. Dry spells and droughts can starve them of nutrients. Insects and hail can damage them. Farmers need to keep a close eye on plants during the spring and summer months. Our data and programs help them do that.
For example, in California, irrigation is essential for agriculture. California’s Central Valley annually produces more than 250 types of crops and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country – but it’s dry. Some parts only get 6 inches of rain per year.
To help, Landsat data powers CropManage – an app that tells farmers how long to irrigate their fields, based on soil conditions and evapotranspiration, or how much water plants are releasing into the atmosphere. The warmer and drier the atmosphere, the more plants “sweat” and lose water that needs to be replenished. Knowing how long to irrigate helps farmers conserve water and be more efficient. In years like 2021, intense droughts can make water management especially critical.
Harvest
Leading up to harvest, farmers need to know their expected yields – and profits.
GEOGLAM, or the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative, is a partnership between NASA Harvest, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and other global agencies to track and report on crop conditions around the world.
USDA FAS is one of the main users of a soil moisture measurement product developed by Bolten and his team at our NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to drive their crop forecasting system.
If you’re interested in more ways we support agriculture, stay tuned over the next few weeks to learn more about how satellites (and scientists) help put snacks on your table!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
5 Ways NASA Technology is Shaping the Transportation of Tomorrow
We have always been in the transportation business, whether launching astronauts to the Moon or improving airplanes to make them fly faster and safer on less fuel. And whether directly – like more aerodynamic wings for passenger jets – or indirectly – like more comfortable driver seats in sedans – this is yet another way our innovations benefit the public.
Today, the world of transportation is on the brink of some big changes. Drones are poised to make more efficient deliveries, crop surveillance and even disaster relief efforts. Taxis may soon take to the skies as well. And self-driving cars are ever closer to reality.
As we release our latest edition of NASA Spinoff, our yearly publication that celebrates the many ways our technology helps people on Earth, let’s take a closer look at some ways we’re helping augment transportation — and keeping everyone on the roads and in the skies safe.
1. Better data for driverless navigation
If cars are going to drive themselves, they need to be able to “see” and assess the world around them, from other cars to pedestrians and bicyclists to a construction cone in the road. This is accomplished with the help of 3D cameras, or light detection and ranging (lidar), which sends out laser pulses and calculates where obstacles are by how long it takes that laser to bounce back.
But that, says engineer Farzin Amzajerdian at our Langley Research Center, is like building a 3D picture one pixel at a time. Instead, a new kind of lidar grabs a full array of pixels all at once. This “flash lidar” is faster and, because it has fewer moving parts, more reliable. It sailed through initial tests for possible use on a future Moon lander, and our partner has also sold the technology to a major car parts manufacturer, for autonomous cars.
2. Opening the airspace for drones
Air traffic control has largely been a human operation so far, with people in control towers actively directing all 50,000 or so flights daily across the United States. But add in drones, and humans won’t be able to keep up: experts estimate there will soon be millions of aircraft in flight every day.
We’re helping automate and streamline flight control, working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and private companies to build the new technology needed to manage the anticipated challenges. Among other advances as a result, one company has built a platform used at airports, by air traffic controllers, and by drone operators around the world to more easily file flight plans, view the airspace, get clearance in restricted areas and more.
3. Software modeling for air taxis
It may sound like something from the Jetsons, but real people are imagining the technology needed to make flying taxis a thing. And they’re probably not going to look anything like the passenger planes that we’re used to.
But when you start with a totally new design, there are all sorts of variables, including how much it will weigh. When it comes to flying, weight is a critical factor. For one thing, a heavier craft needs more fuel, but more fuel makes it even heavier. And all that weight stresses the structure, which means reinforcing it (more weight again!). Do it wrong, and all these factors cycle endlessly until you have something too heavy to get off the ground.
New software, designed with our help, generates fast and accurate weight estimates of novel aircraft designs, helping engineers figure out what works and how to make it better. Among other customers? UberElevate, which is trying to take rideshares to the skies.
4. More nimble hand controls
We’ve even played a part in improving different kinds of joysticks, for everything from planes and video games, over the years. We had to because—especially in the early days of space travel—spacesuits were pretty unwieldy under the high g forces of launch and re-entry, so we needed to develop easy-to-use hand controls.
One former astronaut, Scott Parazynski, had acquired a wealth of experience training on and using NASA joysticks for jobs like maneuvering the International Space Station’s robotic arm. He realized similar technology could have even more of an impact on Earth. Parazynski, who is also a medical doctor, envisions improving robotic surgery with the new joystick he created; in the meantime, it’s already on the market for drones, making it easier than ever to use them to record aerial video, inspect a gas pipeline or even assess damage after a hurricane.
5. Helping farmers get the full picture
The “bird’s-eye view” is an expression for a reason: flying overhead provides a perspective you just can’t get with two feet planted on the ground. For the first time ever, we are going to get that bird’s eye view on Mars, and the same expertise that got us there is also giving farmers a new way to keep track of their crops.
The Mars Helicopter is poised to hitch a ride to the Red Planet with our latest rover, Perseverance, later this year. Designing it was a challenge: because there is so little air to provide lift on Mars, we needed something incredibly light (less than four pounds!) with large rotors that spin incredibly fast (nearly 3,000 times per minute).
We teamed up with a company we’ve worked with in the past on high-altitude, solar-powered, unmanned flyers. That company had something else in the works, using the same expertise: a drone equipped with two high-res cameras to capture images of crops as it flies overhead. The data from these images tells farmers where plants are thriving and where they’re not, informing them where they might need more (or less) water or fertilizer.
You can learn more about all these innovations, and dozens more, in the 2020 edition of NASA Spinoff. Read it online or request a limited quantity print copy and we’ll mail it to you!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Satellite Data in Ag-tion: From Space to Your Plate
As Earth’s climate changes, some places are drying out and others are getting wetter, including the land that produces the food we eat. Farmers have to figure out how to adapt to changing climate conditions.
Our fleet of satellites has been watching over Earth for more than half a century. Some, like our joint Landsat mission with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), collect valuable data about the crops that make up our food supply and the water it takes to grow them.
Combining this wealth of satellite data with observations on the ground allows us to track how crop production changes over the years.
For example, this map shows how croplands have changed over the years to feed a growing population. The Agriculture Department (USDA) has used Landsat data since 2008 to track crops growing in the continental United States.
Agricultural scientists can even focus in on data for individual crops like corn, wheat and soybeans. They can look closely at regional crops, like citrus, that grow in only a few areas.
This nationwide view — provided by Landsat satellites orbiting 438 miles above Earth — is important to track the nation’s food supply. But with data from other satellites, like our ECOSTRESS instrument and ESA’s (the European Space Agency) Sentinel-2, agricultural scientists can monitor how healthy crops are in real time and predict when they’ll be ready to harvest.
In this false-color image of California farmland, red areas peak early in the season, whereas blue areas peak late. This information helps farmers watch over the plants in their fields, predict when they’ll be ready to harvest, and maximize crop production.
But while growing more and more crops sounds good, there can be challenges, like water. Especially when there’s not enough of it.
During California’s recent drought, just over 1 million acres of fertile farmland (shown in green) were fallow, or unused (red) in 2015. That’s nearly double the number of unused fields in 2011, the last year with normal rainfall before the drought.
Irrigating acres and acres of farmland takes lots of water. With remote sensing, scientists can track how irrigation fluctuates with climate change, new water management policies, or new technologies. Research like this helps farmers grow the most crops with the least amount of water.
As our climate changes, it’s more important than ever for farmers to have the knowledge they need to grow crops in a warming world. The data collected by our Earth-observing satellites help farmers learn about the planet that sustains us — and make better decisions about how to cultivate it.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
From Seed to Market: How NASA brings food to the table
Did you know we help farmers grow some of your favorite fruits, veggies and grains?
Our Earth-observing satellites track rainfall amounts, soil moisture, crop health, and more. On the ground, we partner with agencies and organizations around the world to help farmers use that data to care for their fields.
Here are a few ways we help put food on the table, from planting to harvest.
Planting
Did you plant seeds in science class to watch them sprout and grow? They all needed water, right? Our data helps farmers “see” how moist the soil is across large fields.
“When you’re not sure when to water your flowers or your garden, you can look at the soil or touch it with your hands. We are sort of ‘feeling’ the soil, sensing how much water is in the soil – from a satellite,
685 kilometers (408 miles) above Earth,” said John Bolten, the associate program manager of water resources for NASA’s Applied Sciences Program.
This spring, we worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and George Mason University to release Crop-CASMA, a tool that shows soil moisture and vegetation conditions for the United States. Able to see smaller areas – about the size of a couple of golf courses – the USDA uses Crop-CASMA to help update farmers on their state’s soil moisture, crop health and growing progress.
Growing
It’s dangerous being a seedling.
Heavy spring rains or summer storms can flood fields and drown growing plants. Dry spells and droughts can starve them of nutrients. Insects and hail can damage them. Farmers need to keep a close eye on plants during the spring and summer months. Our data and programs help them do that.
For example, in California, irrigation is essential for agriculture. California’s Central Valley annually produces more than 250 types of crops and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country – but it’s dry. Some parts only get 6 inches of rain per year.
To help, Landsat data powers CropManage – an app that tells farmers how long to irrigate their fields, based on soil conditions and evapotranspiration, or how much water plants are releasing into the atmosphere. The warmer and drier the atmosphere, the more plants “sweat” and lose water that needs to be replenished. Knowing how long to irrigate helps farmers conserve water and be more efficient. In years like 2021, intense droughts can make water management especially critical.
Harvest
Leading up to harvest, farmers need to know their expected yields – and profits.
GEOGLAM, or the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative, is a partnership between NASA Harvest, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and other global agencies to track and report on crop conditions around the world.
USDA FAS is one of the main users of a soil moisture measurement product developed by Bolten and his team at our NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to drive their crop forecasting system.
If you’re interested in more ways we support agriculture, stay tuned over the next few weeks to learn more about how satellites (and scientists) help put snacks on your table!
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
this is so pleasing to watch
FARMBOT GENESIS: This robot is changing farming as we know it
And the best part about this technology is that it’s open source, meaning you can build one yourself from the blueprints that are available for anyone to download.
Check out the full video to find out more about Farmbot Genesis.
Today I harvested some radishes, planted a hopeful courgette, some beetroot, and harlequin carrots 🥕
it’s gardening season! please don’t plant lettuces/greens directly into the ground in an urban area or close to a building without getting a soil test. the risk of lead poisoning is very high. if you can’t afford a soil test and you must plant into the ground, try to grow something where you will only be eating the fruit and not the leaves & stems (i.e. tomatoes, cucumbers, etc) bc there’s less of a chance that heavy metals will migrate to the fruit tissues. better yet, build a raised bed or plant in pots!
What is needed are ecosystems that are designed to produce our food, fuel, animal feed, medicine and fibers, and ecosystems that can do so without the use of fossil fuel technology, those that can tolerate extremes of weather and potentially changing climates, and that can thrive without supplemental irrigation from vulnerable and increasingly expensive public utilities.
Restoration Agriculture: Real World Permaculture for Farmers - Mark Shepard (via postciv)
Wind farming...@hubali #wind #farming #energy #windmills #natural #resources #roadtrippin #bikerslife #dusky #instaenergy #explore #karnataka #india (at Hubali Karanataka)
i think my father only farms because it reminds him of his father.
apparently he worked the most on the farm. he’s the one who inherited it. see, his father died when he was 11. he’s the youngest. if he’s much like me, he probably feels as if he didn’t get as much time with his father as his siblings did before he died.
grief is hard for everyone, but his family was the type to shut up and work when any hardship happened. distract themselves. i think that’s why he does it.
he doesn’t want to sell our cows completely, no matter how much he cares for the enviroment. i know it’s not for money. we have enough, the cows barely garner any needed difference.
it’s just his way of dealing with grief, i think my [paternal] grandfather did the same when his father died at 11. coincidencentally, my great-grandfather’s (same person who died when my grandfather was 11) parents left him in ireland when he was 6.
they all had hard lives.
Agricultural technology advances over the past 50 years have dramatically reduced the amount of land needed to produce crops. This provides hope that ongoing technological improvements will continue to drive down the amount of land placed under agriculture.
This is largely the product of improvements that increase crop yields. In 2014, 1.26 billion hectares of land were spared from cultivation due to yield improvements in growing cereals.
Climate change is hitting Georgia’s peach industry, where an unusually warm winter this year let to a dramatically reduced peach harvest.
From FiveThirtyEight:
For trees that fruit each year (such as peaches, cherries, blueberries, almonds and other fruits and nuts), cool weather is as important as warm. Cold air and less sunlight trigger the release of chemicals that halt trees’ growth, prepare them to withstand freezing temperatures and enable them to resume growing the following spring. When a tree enters this dormant state, it sets a kind of internal seasonal alarm clock that goes off once the tree has spent enough time in chilly temperatures. This countdown is measured in so-called chill hours — the amount of time the temperature is between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. When crops don’t get the chill hours they expect, they can’t properly reset. Buds are delayed, and instead of ripening into juicy, delicious fruit, they remain small and underdeveloped.
This last winter, middle Georgia got about 400 chill hours during what Chavez described as the usual dormancy period for peaches (roughly Oct. 1 to Feb. 10). The winter before, while still on the low side, had closer to 600 chill hours. But that 200-hour difference meant several peach varieties that had produced fruit in 2016 never bloomed this year.
As shown in the last image, this reduction in chill hours is not unique to Georgia, and will impact farmers growing fruit and nut trees.
Shane from Stardew Valley 🐓 🌱
AH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH
Brand new #reactionvideo to #plasmachannel 's Wonderful Recent Video About Water Collection In the desert
Going over some concept ideas for how it could help cloud formation & geo-engineering projects to help with crops & water, eventually even all these forms of #travel to & from different countries for free, one day.