If you are a farmer in Kenya, there\u2019s no reason why you shouldn\u2019t have a weather station. The weather and its variability plays a direct role in the success (or failure) of your farm. Take for example bailing hay: having a weather station will help you decide whether conditions are right to do so. Or perhaps you have temperature-sensitive crops. Picking the right time to plant your seeds could mean the difference between failure and success.<\/p>\n
The most common reason for farm failure is crop failure due to weather-related events. While a farm weather station won\u2019t eliminate this threat, it will at least help you become better prepared for it. Knowing is half the battle, so why be in the dark about something so important to your livelihood?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s another good reason for a weather station on your farm, too. Chances are you\u2019re far away from the nearest official weather station, which are typically in city or town far away. Weather is so variable that it can change over the course of a few miles, so it\u2019s foolish to base your decisions on weather data from a station in the city. A weather station will help you manage your crops more efficiently, for example, it will provide you with the data to make better\u00a0irrigation decisions, protect crops from hail damage and help you observe wind conditions before spraying.<\/p>\n
Farms of any size benefit from weather data. For a small farm, a single station is likely sufficient. However, larger farms might want to consider several. If you have 1,000 acres or more, you\u2019ll want to have weather data from several spots on your property.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s good reason for this, too. It\u2019s entirely possible that weather conditions like temperature and humidity may vary over very small distances, and may be important in making decisions on whether to spray pesticides, lay manure and perform other weather-dependent farm maintenance.<\/p>\n
Weather stations give you an up-to-the-minute glimpse at the weather, but the best way to use this data is to look for patterns over time. Take for example crop planting. If they\u2019re susceptible to cold weather, you\u2019re certainly not going to want to plant crops when the risk is still high. By using archived weather station data over a period of time, you\u2019ll be able to make a better decision on when is best to plant those crops and irrigate them.<\/p>\n
Yes, we\u2019ve stressed the need for farmers to own a weather station, but it would be irresponsible not to mention the importance of also staying on top of weather forecasts. A personal weather station is not going to give you warning of crop-damaging hail. Meteorologists are trained to predict these events and can give you days to prepare rather than minutes or hours.<\/p>\n
Your weather station is still useful here, for example, on a cold night when a\u00a0hard freeze\u00a0is predicted, you can use the station to monitor the actual temperature, and adjust your mitigation efforts to minimize loss.<\/p>\n
Weather plays a huge role in your livelihood as a farmer. One miscalculation could mean crop failure. With overhead costs so high these days, there is very little room for error. It\u2019s for this reason why we highly recommend all farmers invest in a personal weather station.<\/p>\n
While you won\u2019t be able to stop severe weather events, you\u2019ll at least be armed with hyper-local weather data to understand better how you might be affected, and how you should react. It might be a several thousand (or a million shilling) investment, but we think it is a wise one.<\/p>\n