How a Washington State farm dramatically slashed its irrigation needs

Many people think of the Pacific Northwest as a rainy place, but most of the rain falls in winter.

And Terri Kempton of the Outback Farm at Western Washington University says that as the climate changes, it’s becoming less consistent.

Kempton: “So instead of the kind of constant drizzle, very light rain through all of the months of winter, we’re seeing a big storm, a lot of water running off, flooding, and then there’s just a dry period while we wait for another big storm.”

And summers are getting hotter and drier.

These changes can make it hard for farmers to know when and how much to water their crops.

So two years ago, Outback Farm put soil moisture sensors in some of their fields.