Statement of Work soil moistue and crop canopy sensors.doc

Statement of Work (SOW) Project: Crop sensor systems

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.0 Scope of Work: Sustainable Water Management Research Unit needs to place 30 sensors on various cotton research plots. The sensors should monitor soil moisture at multiple depths in the crop root zone and crop canopy temperature. The data should be put into an easy-to-use interface incorporating a crop model and normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) on satellite imagery to monitor crop stress and forecast irrigation. The goal of the research is to quantify the effectiveness of an integrated sensor system in saving water without negatively impacting the crop. Comparison to existing sensors and measurement techniques will be performed by scientists with guidance from vendors. The vendor should install the sensors, maintain the sensors, and provide training and support on the system. To include 1 Year plus 3 option year periods.

2.0 Background:

Sustainable Water Management Research Unit has a wide array of soil moisture sensors, however SWMRU does not have any crop canopy sensing technologies. Few systems have been identified which meet most of the criteria (i.e. soil moisture, user-interface, and the ability to add NDVI, but not crop canopy temperature) only one system has been identified that meets all criteria. The researchers believe the inclusion of crop canopy temperature sensing will greatly improve efficacy of the system.

CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

3.0 Technical Requirements/Tasks:

· 30 sensor systems should be installed in various cotton fields. The sensor system includes the soil moisture and canopy temperature sensor. The dashboard should collate sensor data with NDVI from satellite imagery and utilize an appropriate crop model to forecast irrigation.

· Government employees will direct which fields, and the number of sensors to be place in each field. Government employees will give a general overview of the research goal for each field to be instrumented.

· The contractor personnel shall identify the ideal location(s) for sensors in each field, install the sensor in such a manner that the research goal is met with minimal impact to farming equipment (i.e. consideration of clearance for spray booms on tractors), flag the sensor to decrease the chance of damage, and set up the sensor and field location in the user interface.

· Contractor shall be responsible for maintenance of the sensors and replacing/repairing sensors damaged due to weather events or normal farming operations.

· Contractor shall provide training on the user interface and provide technical support to government personnel

· Sensor system must include: 1) Soil Moisture sensor measuring at multiple points (at least 4 points) to 36 inches minimum depth 2) crop canopy temperature, 3) ability to automatically incorporate NDVI data when fields are large enough, 4) automatically input data into an appropriate crop model, 5) include a dashboard to monitor and predict plant stress and forecast irrigation 4.0 Government Furnished: Contractors will have access to government-owned and leased research plots, government employees will furnish information on irrigation events to assess performance of the system 5.0 Deliverables / Schedule: {All written deliverables shall be phrased in layperson language.}

· Installation and maintenance of 30 sensor systems which meet the required specifications stated previously Key Deliverables

6.0 Travel: Travel costs to install or maintain sensor suite are at the expense of the contractor 7.0 Data Rights: All data produced is property of the US Government. Contractor may use data for troubleshooting and calibration of equipment but does not have the rights to reproduce or publicly disclose the data.