NEW DROUGHT INDICATOR USES DETAILED DATA TO GIVE EARLY HELP TO SAFEGUARD FARMERS

20 March, 2018

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke today announced new technology that will provide faster and more detailed seasonal conditions information and enable our farmers to make better-informed farm and stock management decisions.

Ms Cooke said the new Enhanced Drought Indicator System (EDIS) draws on the latest remote sensing, satellite and climate data to provide a more detailed assessment of seasonal conditions.

“We want our farmers to be as informed as possible when challenging times hit,” she said.

“Making the right decision early, based on solid information, is key to minimising the potentially crippling effects of drought,” she added.

“This technology allows farmers to have more power and more certainty when making those on-farm decisions,” Ms Cooke said.

EDIS is powered by a new machine-learning platform, built by NSW DPI scientists, which combines many types of data gathered in overlapping timeframes to provide a more accurate picture of seasonal trends.

EDIS is the backbone of the NSW Government’s new State Seasonal Update (SSU), released in prototype today, which replaces the previous seasonal conditions reports with a more detailed analysis of conditions across the State.

Ms Cooke said the new report will include a drought indicator, powered by EDIS, which signals deteriorating conditions earlier than previously possible, giving farmers and regional communities more lead time to prepare.

“EDIS will become even more detailed next month with the release of a new app to allow farmers to record and share information about conditions on individual properties,” she said.

“The app will, for the first time, allow farming communities and agronomists to verify the state data. That information will automatically sync with EDIS, providing the most up-to-date information we have ever been able to circulate.”

More information on the EDIS is available at https://edis.dpi.nsw.gov.au/