Iowa Cropland 2001-2020
Modeled Iowa corn (yellow) and soybean (green) yields from 2001-2020.
This visualization shows simulated corn and soybean yields in Iowa between 2001-2020. NASA builds detailed high resolution crop models to understand how the production of commodity crops like corn and soybean responds to weather, soil type, soil conditions, farm management and cultivar traits. These models use information about farm management on a county level and soils down to a 30 meter resolution, with verification against crop yields reported by the USDA.
Climate variability produces significant variation in year-to-yield yields and even within a given field. 2012 was a year of severe drought. Also apparent in the visualization are the patterns of crop rotation and the effects of soil quality. The large, state-wide scale linear features seen in the map are due to county-level assumptions of planting date and cultivar selection. Model results help farmers plan to be more resilient against drought conditions (such as 2012) and provide a framework for integration with remote sensing for a variety of decision support tools.
Modeled Iowa corn (yellow) and soybean (green) yields in 2020.
Modeled Iowa corn (yellow) and soybean (green) yields from 2001-2020. Full state view - no zoom in
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Visualizer
- Mark SubbaRao (NASA/GSFC)
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Scientists
- Alex C. Ruane (NASA/GISS)
- Luke Monhollon (SciSpace/NASA GISS)
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Technical support
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Eric Sokolowsky (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 12:17 AM EST.