Farming by satellite

An Edinburgh University researcher has won backing from Brussels to assess the risks to farmers in countries around the Mediterranean from flood, drought and frost using satellite remote sensing data.

With European colleagues, Graham Russell of the Institute of Ecology and Resource Management will study sites in three countries: France, to assess the effect of drought on forage for livestock; Spain, to assess the effects of flooding and high temperatures on crops; and Greece to study the effects of frost on orchards and flooding on cotton, maize and sugar beet.