SME FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions for the Soil Moisture Estimator

I am a county extension agent. How can I use the SME to help the farmers in my county?

Ideally, an extension office would have a catalogue of working crop coefficients and soil attributes for local farms. The farmer would use the SME with these input files, along with irrigation events, to monitor the crop's water usage throughout the growing season.

Presently, we are in the initial stages of exercising the SME in the field and so we ask extension agents to:

- get familiar with the SME tool. Learn how to construct input files and how to use the output files (eg. import into spreadsheets).

- get local rain data and compare with the WRF model rain data. We are interested in compiling wide-scale data for analysis. Sharing comparison data with us would help in model adjustments.

- compile a set of input files of local crop cultivars and associated coefficients. See this link.(not yet active)

- show farmers how to derive soil attributes used in the soil model. See this link.(not yet active)

- ask farmers with soil moisture sensors to use the SME and share their experience. We actively seek the participation of farmer-scientists for useful feedback.

Assuming a set of working input files, a useful exercise for farmers is to review the past growing season using different irrigation schedules to see how the soil responds. Crops can also be changed to see what their water usage would have been.

I am a irrigation specialist at a large farm. How can I use the SME ?

I am an agricultural professor. How can I participate?

Here are some ways to participate:

- show your students the website tools and indicate that source code is available for review and improvements.

- incorporate the tools into classroom lectures/exercises/labs for critique. We would appreciate feedback on usage.

- suggest projects/studies to students regarding comparison with data (soil moisture, ETo, ETc, precipitation, etc.) from research stations currently covered geographically.

- generate WRF data for areas of interest (sectors).

   We currently cover only half of the western US and invite data contributions from third parties. We have released a Docker file package for container implementation of the data generation, whereby necessary code is automatically downloaded and bundled for use. All software is free. This requires a Docker friendly platform, with multi-core CPU, and of course somebody to maintain it (eg. check that data gets delivered, etc.). We have tested the container on a Linux platform, but not on Macs or Windows yet. The computer does not need to be dedicated to generate the data, as only ~4hrs is used per sector per day. A graduate student with Linux navigability, or local IT Linux administrator, would be appropriate to maintain it.

I am an agricultural student without programming skills. How can I participate?

I am an agricultural student with programming skills. How can I participate?

I do not see a sector defined that I am interested in. Can I generate data for that sector?

How do I setup the input files for the SME tool?

Can I download the input and output files from an SME run?

Where can I find crop coefficients?