Using weather data to support farming decisions

Weather remains one of the biggest influences on crop production, but it is also one of the hardest factors to manage. Agrii’s Contour platform is helping growers make better use of weather data, satellite imagery and field insight to support more informed decisions through the season.

Successful crop production depends on the right balance of rainfall, sunshine, temperature and field conditions. Yet in the UK, weather patterns are becoming harder to predict, with increasingly variable seasons putting more pressure on growers to make timely decisions.

For many farm businesses, the challenge is not a lack of weather information. It is knowing how to use it in a way that supports practical decisions on farm.

John Miles, Technical Seeds Manager at Agrii, says weather is often one of the most significant factors influencing yield, but it remains an underused source of data.

“Farmers are often preoccupied with the weather but most don’t harness the full potential of the data available.

“Weather impacts everything from crop yield to plant protection product applications, but unless you have a comprehensive system to analyse it, the data tends to be used reactively rather than proactively.”

Weather stations have provided useful real-time information for many years, but John says this data is often viewed in isolation.

“Agrii’s weather station network has been collecting data for years. Although many growers log into its weather stations each day, they often do so in isolation.

“As such, they react to immediate conditions without linking them to the broader picture, long-term weather patterns or potential risks.”

Turning weather information into practical insight

The weather system within Contour, Agrii’s precision agriculture platform, is designed to help growers and agronomists look beyond day-to-day conditions and assess broader weather trends more clearly.

By bringing together weather data, field information and analysis tools, Contour can support decisions around drilling, fertiliser timing, crop protection and variety choice.

Sam Fordham, Head of Technical for Agrii’s Rhiza system, says daily rainfall remains important, but the greater value often comes from understanding longer-term trends.

“We have to shift from simply reacting to the weather to proactively using data to make better decisions.”

One of the key strengths of Contour is its ability to analyse historical weather data and identify emerging patterns.

“We may not be able to predict the exact weather for the next season, but using Contour we can anticipate patterns based on what has happened in similar years.”

For example, growers can assess specific weather windows, such as wetter autumn or spring periods, and compare these with previous years. If four out of five similar years have seen significant rainfall during a particular period, that gives growers and agronomists a stronger basis for planning.

“This gives farmers the foresight to adjust their strategies accordingly.

“It is about making the best decisions with the data we have, even if we can’t control the weather itself.”

Virtual weather data for field-level decisions

Agrii has also worked with global weather data provider DTN to develop a virtual weather system within Contour.

The system draws on crowdsourced data from a range of weather stations and sources, using machine learning to help provide more farm-specific insights.

“The virtual weather system is powered by crowdsourced data from a range of weather stations and sources, all integrated into a machine learning system.

“This predicts weather trends based on historical data and current conditions, providing an incredibly detailed and accurate view of what is happening on a farm.”

While it cannot be as precise as having a weather station in every field, Sam says it offers a more detailed level of insight than general forecasting services.

“It is not perfect, but it is far better than relying on a Met Office forecast. For agronomists, this system can be used as a tool to start conversations about the trends they are seeing, particularly in relation to temperature, soil conditions, rainfall and wind speed.”

ClearSky imagery supports decisions in cloudy conditions

Alongside weather data, Contour also includes ClearSky technology, which provides cloud-free satellite imagery to help growers monitor crop development through the season.

Traditional optical satellite imagery, such as NDVI, relies on a clear view of the field. In the UK, prolonged cloud cover can make this difficult, sometimes leaving long gaps between usable images.

Ben Foster, Rhiza Product Manager, says this can be a challenge where imagery is being used to support variable rate applications.

“Most digital farming platforms use the last cloud-free, clear image available to model and then predict how that crop will have changed over time.

“The problem with that is, in a cloudy season, where there is no clear imagery feeding into the prediction, it can become unreliable over time.

“In some seasons, the provider may have to stop supplying images altogether, which is far from ideal if you are relying on this for variable rate applications.”

Contour has access to ClearSky, which uses a combination of synthetic aperture radar, optical imagery and machine learning to build a more consistent picture of crop health, even in cloudy conditions.

“In basic terms, a satellite sends a radar signal to earth and measures how it interacts with the crop canopy before reflecting back to the sensor on the satellite.

“This is an excellent alternative for effectively determining biomass.”

Working with Aspia, the radar data is modelled into an optical NDVI image and used within Contour. This helps growers use crop imagery more confidently when making nitrogen plans, regardless of cloud cover during the season.

To keep ClearSky performing effectively, the model is retrained annually by Aspia. The latest update resulted in a 13% increase in accuracy compared with the previous version, with irrelevant noise such as roads, trees, buildings and non-agricultural land removed so that only known cropping areas within Contour are analysed.

“Having now retrained ClearSky, it is more accurate than ever before.”

Integrating Contour with Telus Crop Management

Agrii’s Contour platform is also being integrated with Telus Crop Management, helping bring greater interoperability across the farm’s digital ecosystem.

Dr Ruth Mann, Head of Integrated Crop Technologies at Agrii, says the partnership supports the industry’s move towards Agriculture 5.0, where technology helps bring data together while keeping people at the centre of the decision-making process.

“We have been looking at how AI can take all of the big data available, such as from sensors, satellites, drones, AI and other emerging technologies, and pull it together to provide better analytics.

“Through our collaboration with Telus, that is exactly what we will be able to achieve, freeing up time to focus on what really matters when it comes to optimising agronomic decisions.”

Ruth says the value of this approach is that it supports, rather than replaces, human judgement.

“The real benefit is it places the human back at the centre as an integral part of the crop production system.

“We can use AI to analyse data and identify trends and risks in real time, then supply that information back to the agronomist and the farmer, who can make the final decisions using their experience and historic knowledge.”

Ben Hatton, Manager of Sales at Telus Agriculture, says the focus is on helping technology work more effectively on farm.

“By focusing on integration and data standards, we can ensure information flows smoothly, helping turn real-time data and insights into action.

“By bringing our technologies together, we can help to make better use of both the data and the human expertise already on farm.”

Using Contour on farm

For Yorkshire grower Henry Sweeting, better access to weather data and analysis is one of several benefits of using Contour.

Working with his Agrii agronomist Simon Pilling and the Rhiza soil sampling team, Henry has had the entire farm sampled during the past year.

His initial driver for using Contour was to support Sustainable Farming Incentive actions, including CSAM1 for a soil management plan and PRF1 for variable rate application. Since then, the platform has become a wider management tool for the business.

“Although we have had an N-sensor on our sprayer for the past 15 years, we have never done variable rate using soil mapping, which is one of the reasons why we first explored Contour.

“The platform’s weather data has proven a nice added extra too.”

With silty clay soils prone to low pH, Henry has also used Contour to guide lime applications.

“We limed the whole farm after the last harvest using maps produced in Contour from the Rhiza soil sampling. These were given to the contractor as the basis for the spreading.”

Alongside income generated through SFI, Henry says the wider benefit has been more efficient use of inputs.

“Have we used what we apply better? Yes, definitely, which has had a positive impact on margins.

“The digital technology goes hand-in-hand with better sprayers and spreaders.

“Also, the amount of lodging in crops has reduced with improved uniformity. Contour makes everything much more efficient.”

Better data, clearer decisions

Weather will always remain outside growers’ control, but better use of data can help farm businesses plan with more confidence.

By combining weather analysis, cloud-free crop imagery, soil data and integrated digital platforms, Contour is helping growers and agronomists build a clearer picture of what is happening in the field.

The value is not in technology making decisions on its own. It is in giving growers and agronomists better information, at the right time, so practical decisions can be made with greater confidence.