Rainfall Tracker: Monitor Moisture And Measure Past Precipitation
Summary of what you'll find
Weather is one of the most unpredictable and impactful forces in crop production, influencing yield, nutrient availability, and crop health.
Tracking rainfall is critical to help manage weather risk, prevent runoff, protect yield, and support more timely and informed management decisions. The eKonomics Rainfall Tracker is designed to help you do just that. It tracks current and historical precipitation to help you identify moisture patterns and understand how rainfall has behaved over time so you can better anticipate potential moisture conditions.
Getting the most out of the Rainfall Tracker starts with understanding how it works and exploring the insights it can deliver.
How the rainfall tracker works
The Rainfall Tracker helps you manage weather risk and optimize fertilizer applications by monitoring past moisture conditions and precipitation. Once you input your location and tracking dates, the tracker provides you with a clear overview of weekly and cumulative rainfall in your region, helping you understand the moisture your area has experienced and the weather patterns that are emerging.
Rainfall data gives you a more precise picture of conditions than regional forecasts alone. Tracking current and historical precipitation, as well as evapotranspiration, helps you understand rainfall timing, variability, and moisture trends to better identify patterns and anticipate moisture conditions.
The Rainfall Tracker uses historical rainfall data from the Agronomy and Environmental Sciences (AES) team at Nutrien to provide regional rainfall data based on historical patterns rather than future weather forecasts.
Using the rainfall tracker to make better field decisions
From day-to-day field operations to long-term seasonal planning, the Rainfall Tracker gives you the insight needed to understand moisture conditions:
- Keep crops well-watered by monitoring previous moisture levels and rainfall events
- Identify weather patterns and trends over time, helping you make more informed decisions and better anticipate periods of higher or lower moisture based on historical patterns
- Determine the best time for planting, spraying, and managing irrigation based on recent moisture conditions
- Track weekly and cumulative rainfall totals (in inches) to help you identify potential conditions for flooding or nutrient loss
How to use the rainfall tracker tool
The Rainfall Tracker is a simple-to-use tool that can give you an accurate overview of rainfall totals in just a few minutes:
- Location: Enter your postal or zip code (if your area is not available, select the geographical location nearest to you).
- Start date: Enter the start date for tracking precipitation (your end date should not exceed one year from the time selected).
- End date: Enter the end date for tracking precipitation (ensure this date does not exceed today’s date).
From the example in the image above, we can see the weekly and cumulative rainfall amounts measured in inches for the time period and location selected.
Why field level rainfall data matters
Local weather channels and news sites are common sources for rainfall data and weather insights. While regional information is useful for a general outlook, the data doesn’t represent actual conditions or offer the precision needed for field-level decisions.
The Rainfall Tracker delivers regional precipitation estimates built from historical data, so you can have a clearer, more reliable picture of recent moisture conditions when and where it matters most.
Start tracking rainfall on your farm
Rain and other irrigation events play a direct role in crop nutrition. Excess moisture can cause nutrient losses like potassium runoff, affecting nutrient availability, and fertilizer investments. The Rainfall Tracker can help you better track moisture and recent rainfall events to help you avoid losses and make more strategic decisions for your crops and your operation.
Explore a suite of ROI tools on the eKonomics app
The Rainfall Tracker is just one of many tools available in the eKonomics app. Explore a full suite of ROI calculators and agronomic resources designed to help you make smarter, more informed decisions throughout the season when you download the app on Apple or Android.
