Launch of New GEOGLAM Crop Monitor Website
The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor has released a new and improved version of the cropmonitor.org website, featuring updated content, new formatting, and user-friendly navigation. The new website provides an enhanced user experience and is paired with the launch of the new Crop Monitor Exploring Tool that allows easy navigation of global crop conditions and enables quick identification of hot spots where crop condition changes occur from month to month.
Background
The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor provides monthly consensus-based assessments of global crop conditions in partnership with the primary global agriculture and food security monitoring agencies. These assessments are summarized in three separate reports that are published on a monthly basis. The Crop Monitor for AMIS (CM4AMIS) report covers major producing and exporting countries, while the Crop Monitor for Early Warning (CM4EW) report focuses on nations at risk of food insecurity.
Together, the information in these two reports is consolidated into global coverage via the Global Crop Monitor report, which also incorporates additional information relevant to countries not covered under AMIS or Early Warning categories. As a whole, the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor reports cover in-season crop condition information for over 97% of global croplands.
Additionally, supplemental Special and Conflict Reports are provided on an ad-hoc basis. The Special Reports provide information related to more in-depth assessments of developing agricultural concerns, and the Conflict Reports cover the impacts of conflict on agriculture and food security in specific countries.
Website Updates & Walkthrough
Upon entering the new website, users are greeted with a newly formatted home page that displays the primary products of the GEOGLAM Crop Monitors. The first three sections feature the most recently released monthly Crop Monitor bulletins, global crop conditions synthesis map, and supplemental reports that will be regularly updated as new reports and content are released. Each section includes clickable images, allowing users to seamlessly navigate to the corresponding web page.
Once on these pages, users can access the primary GEOGLAM Crop Monitor Reports, including the Crop Monitor for AMIS, Crop Monitor for Early Warning, and Global Crop Monitor, as well as the supplemental Special and Conflict reports. These web pages provide comprehensive-textual content and accompanying graphics from each report, with the added option for users to access the contents in PDF format.
On the individual report web pages and other content-heavy pages throughout the website, there is an interactive table of contents tool located on the left-hand side of the screen. Clicking on specific sections within this table smoothly directs users to the desired content of the page without the need to scroll manually.
The home page also features the global synthesis map, which allows users to view a visual summary of the latest global crop conditions published in the monthly bulletins for all monitored regions and crops. The map links to an interactive Global Crop Conditions Dashboard where users can view the latest global crop condition information for a specific crop type and zoom in to a desired region.
Additionally, the new website features a newly formatted Archive page, which enables users to access all published reports dating back to 2013. The Archive also has a new option of accessing the latest reports in either PDF or web page format, depending on the user’s preference for viewing content.
Furthermore, the new website provides several options for users to sign up with an email address to receive the latest reports, and there is a Contact Form for users to reach out if they have any inquiries regarding the GEOGLAM Crop Monitors. To view the new website and access the latest content, visit cropmonitor.org.
New and Improved Crop Monitor Explorer Tool
Included with the launch of the new website is the new and improved Crop Monitor Exploring Tool (CMET) which provides users with comprehensive insights into global crop conditions. With interactive map formats, users can visually explore current in-season crop conditions and monthly changes for a user-defined crop type and time period, gaining valuable insights into crop health, yield potential, and regional variations. The tool also allows users to explore crop calendars, providing information regarding when specific regions and crops are entering the planting, development, and harvesting stages.
Moreover, the updated CMET depicts current and historical crop condition information in easy-to-interpret pie charts and graphical formats. These visuals represent the current percentage of global production areas projected to achieve near to above-average yields, as well as the proportion anticipated to experience below-normal yields for a specific crop type. The visuals highlight global trends over time, enabling users to track changes and patterns in crop performance worldwide.
The tool also features a pie chart illustrating the percentage of each country's contribution to the total global production of a specific crop. Additionally, it offers a table presenting seasonal crop calendar data for major producing countries. The CMET is a valuable tool for stakeholders such as government agencies, humanitarian aid organizations, research institutions, agribusinesses, and more to make informed decisions regarding the current state of crops and expected yield outcomes at the global, national, and regional scales.
AGMET EO Indicator Tool
The Agrometeorological (AGMET) Earth Observation (EO) indicators tool offers detailed insights into crop development and current crop conditions at a sub-national scale through various EO data products. Each plot within the tool presents a comprehensive view of in-season crop conditions using different climate, environmental, and vegetative variables.
The plots feature graphs for Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), precipitation, soil moisture, and temperature, each offering insights into crop health and environmental conditions. Components such as 10-year minimum and maximum values, 5-year mean values, and comparisons with previous and current seasons aid analysts in understanding trends and variability over time. Additionally, crop calendars are integrated into the plots, offering reference points for different stages of crop development. Together, these components provide a comprehensive overview of crop conditions throughout the season, offering analysts valuable real-time insights into vegetation health and expectations for seasonal outcomes.
