Success StoryPartnership with Kentucky Mesonet



Partnership with Kentucky Mesonet

Author: Brad Lee

Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences

Major Program: Water and Soil Quality and Conservation

Outcome: Initial Outcome

Staff at the Kentucky Mesonet at Western Kentucky University have been working diligently over several decades to expand comprehensive weather stations across Kentucky with a goal of at least one station per county.  The most modern stations being installed contain soil moisture and soil temperature probes with depth.  The Ballard County Agriculture and Natural Resource agent, Tom Miller, had been working tirelessly for several years to identify a landowner with the appropriate site characteristics for a mesonet station.  Mr. Miller secured a location on a property which was not being farmed due to sodic soil characteristics resulting in low yields.   Sodic soils, present in isolated areas of western Kentucky, have low infiltration rates leading to droughty soil conditions during dry periods and water-logged soils during wet times of the year.  Partnering with Matt McCauley, USDA NRCS MLRA Region 6 – Owensboro Leader, we collected soil cores at targeted locations around the proposed mesonet station site to find a sodic soil and a non-sodic soil within the cable range of the proposed station.  Soils cores were collected at eight locations to a depth of 1.5 meters in the field and brought to campus for sodium (sodic soil properties) analyses.  We were able to identify two locations, one with sodic soil properties and one without.  On May 9th, 2022, the dedication of the Ballard County mesonet station was conducted and the data collection initiated.  This was the first Kentucky mesonet station to include two soil moisture probe arrays which will help identify the soil moisture and temperature differences, if any, within western Kentucky sodic soils and non-sodic soils.  






Stories by Brad Lee


Stormwater Reduction Workshops in Daviess County

about 5 months ago by Brad Lee

Rain barrels are a great way to get the public involved and raise awareness for water conservation a... Read More


Blue Water Farms: Making its Way to the Classroom

about 5 months ago by Brad Lee

Edge-of-field water quality monitoring stations have been developed to measure continuous nutrient a... Read More


Stories by Plant and Soil Sciences


Kentucky hay contests encompass 584 samples in 2023

Kentucky hay contests encompass 584 samples in 2023

about 4 months ago by Jimmy Henning

Kentucky hay contests encompass 584 samples in 2023Specialists Involved: Jimmy Henning, Chris Teutsc... Read More


Fescue eradication and improved management increases profits for Central Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm

Fescue eradication and improved management increases profits for Central Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm

about 4 months ago by Jimmy Henning

Fescue eradication and improved management increases profits for Central Kentucky Thoroughbred FarmS... Read More