Enviro-Weather Station Lands to Help Save Crops from Pesticides

The Oakland Press insists that a thin metal frame whirling atop the Long Family Farm & Orchard in Michigan is of this world. But the local farmer is hopeful the addition of this new high-tech weather station will make it easier to farm with fewer pesticides, a concept still alien to many. The “enviro-weather” station – part of Michigan State University’s Agricultural Weather Office – measures air temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature, leaf wetness status, wind direction and speed, solar radiation and rainfall. “What it means to me is that we can predict when insects and diseases can possibly infect our crops,” farmer Robert Long told the paper. “We’ll be able to use less spray by using the computer models to predict crop conditions. Because of that, we’ll be better able to protect the environment.”