BackgroundA farmer in the Red River Valley of North Dakota utilized high resolution IKONOS imagery to address drainage issues on his farm. In the 2000 and 2001 growing seasons he had fields where drainage of excess water was inadequate and caused a decline in crop productivity.

 Use of DataMultispectral IKONOS imagery was used to assess and monitor areas within two fields experiencing drainage problems over a period of two years. After the 2001 growing season, the proposed drainage ditches were positioned and constructed based on this assessment (Figure 1).

The IKONOS imagery was then used to monitor the performance of the new drainage system after heavy rainfall events in 2002. The farmer found that the new ditches were only partially effective in solving the drainage problems for these fields (Figure 2). Complete elimination of the drainage problem was made difficult by the presence of a county drainage ditch and an associated berm running the length of the southern part of one of the fields. The farmer could not drain the southwestern part of this field because that would require modification to a county ditch, and only the county can undertake such a modification. It was therefore necessary for him to approach the county water board and request that the ditch and berm be modified.

With the aid of the satellite imagery and a laptop computer, he was able to convince the water board to add a culvert, in order to better drain southern portion of the field. Drainage in the eastern-central part was improved by the farmer himself, by adding dirt from the old road.

 Economic and Environmental Benefits The risk of losing productivity or yield due to inundation and saturated soils was too high and called for measures to minimize this risk. Direct monetary benefits to the farmer were realized when, with the aid of the satellite imagery, the county was convinced that it needed to modify the county ditch at its own expense. This alone saved the farmer approximately $800. The economic benefits of the drainage system can be measured over time as the losses in productivity in these fields due to excessive water are eliminated.