When it’s time to seed your fields, it’s important to be sure of wind directions and speed. The investment required for seeding, whether by combine, drone or airplane is significant and the results can be highly affected by the wind speed and direction, something that is fully in Mother Nature’s control.
Seeing your fields in high wind periods will result in blow-off and off-target dispersal. In many cases high-winds will blow seeds right out of the ground and cause them to collect and gather in areas that may not be optimal. If the wind direction is unfavorable, you may have situations where the seeds are dispersed in areas outside of your property.
There are many ways to measure wind speed and direction, however one of the most immediate and easiest to use is the windsock. Windsocks are an ever-present indication of when and where crop seeding may be most successful. With responsive agricultural windsocks, wind speeds as slight as 3 mph (our industrial orange windsocks).
As we all know, wind can affect how well crops grow. When planning the use of your land, understanding where and how the wind blows across your property is of paramount importance. There are microclimates within depressions, hill tops and exposed areas that are suitable for certain crops or strain varieties. Gaining an accurate, visual representation of how the wind blows across your property can help plan out the optimal use of your farmland.
The added benefits of windsocks is that they provide a 24/7 indication of wind speed and direction for crop spraying of pesticides and herbicides but also severe weather events. Windsocks can be customized to promote your farm as well.
As technology progresses, more and more tools are at the famer’s disposal to increase yield and make their operations more efficient. Though these tools are useful at the moment of use, none provide a long range understanding of how the wind affects your land. The windock is one low-tech way to gain a feel and contestant understanding of how wind affects your farm on a daily basis and allows you to make decisions on what’s best for your farm based on long term trends.
