Scientists at US Department of Agriculture- Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) are developing a new modeling tool to optimize agricultural production.
The new platform, known as the Geospatial Agricultural Management and Crop Assessment Framework (GAMCAF), brings together crop models that estimate plant growth and crop yield at scales as fine as 30m, with spatial sources of information on soils, water and land use among other factors.
USDA-ARS postdoc Jonathan Resop said this method can help make much larger predictions [of yields] across the entire regional scale.
"The real power of this framework is that it lets you look at different scenarios of land use change, water, and climate change," Resop added.
The research is likely to address the mounting concerns about food security across the Eastern Seaboard Region (ESR), and is part of a larger effort called 'Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast with Regional Food Systems (EFSNE), led by Penn State University.
