Mapping uncropped areas in agricultural fields

Despite the fact that they are statutorily defined as cultivated land, many areas in cultivated fields are not actually utilized for agriculture, or are only partially utilized. Such areas can be divided into two categories:

• Islands of uncultivated land within a field (for example, a group of trees)
• Areas at the edges of the field, which are not cultivated or only partially cultivated because of technical difficulties or proximity to roads

Hammarag, together with Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, are interested in identifying and mapping such areas. To do this, Hammarag developed an easy-to-apply tool, based on remote-sensing, which analyses a time series of multi-channel satellite photographs, and maps each agricultural field. This tool has been automated and can now be used without human intervention, reviewing all of the statutory mapped agricultural plots which exist today in Israel – nearly 200,000 in number.