Data Access | Experimental Smart Farm

ESF Data Production

The Experimental Smart Farm generates continuous streams of agricultural and environmental data. Our sensor networks, weather stations, and drone imaging programs produce terabytes of research-grade data annually.

We make this data available to researchers through formal access agreements, supporting a wide range of agricultural science, machine learning, and environmental studies.

Sensing Infrastructure

Our network of sensors and instruments continuously monitors conditions across the farm

Fixed Eddy Covariance Tower

Our permanent flux tower measures the exchange of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between the crop canopy and atmosphere. Using high-frequency 3D wind measurements and gas analyzers, it captures how much carbon the crops absorb and how much water they release through evapotranspiration.

Data produced: CO2 flux, latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, net ecosystem exchange

Mobile Eddy Covariance Tower

A portable flux station that can be deployed to different fields for targeted studies. This allows researchers to compare carbon and water dynamics across different crop types, irrigation treatments, or soil conditions without permanent infrastructure in each location.

Data produced: Field-specific flux measurements, microclimate data

Weather Stations

On-site meteorological stations record the environmental conditions that drive crop growth and water demand. These stations measure air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, and precipitation at frequent intervals.

Data produced: Temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation, precipitation, reference ET

Soil moisture sensor installed in corn field

Soil Moisture Sensors

Networks of soil moisture probes installed at multiple depths track water availability in the root zone. This data helps researchers understand irrigation timing and efficiency, and supports precision irrigation scheduling to optimize water use.

Data produced: Volumetric water content at multiple depths

Drone Imaging Platform

Regular drone flights capture high-resolution RGB, multispectral, and thermal imagery. Multispectral cameras measure light reflectance in specific bands to calculate vegetation indices like NDVI and NDRE, which indicate crop health and vigor.

Data produced: Orthomosaics, NDVI, NDRE, thermal maps, canopy cover

10 Gbps microwave antenna connecting ESF to campus

10 Gbps Network Link

A high-capacity microwave link connects the farm to the UC Merced campus network, enabling real-time data transmission from all sensors and supporting bandwidth-intensive applications like live video feeds and rapid imagery uploads.

Enables: Real-time sensor data, remote monitoring, large file transfers

Web & Mobile

Farmkit

Farmkit is an open farm management platform developed at UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm. Browse high-resolution drone and satellite imagery, manage fields and equipment, and track crop data — all in one place.

A mobile app is also available for iOS and Android, giving you access to Farmkit in the field.

Coming soon: field activity logs and real-time IoT sensor data, giving researchers a single place to monitor everything happening on the farm.