Your Checklist for Success
Planning an Agricultural Project
January 2020
Moshe Broner, NevaTeam, Agricultural Applications LTD
Nina Lehmann, Farmentor
A Comprehensive Checklist for Planning a New Agricultural Project
The success of an agricultural project depends on many factors, some are not under our
control and will surprise us occasionally (e.i. weather conditions). In contrast, soil and water
characteristics are important, critical and unchangeable factors. Planning of agricultural
activities and technologies implementation according the relevant updated data will improve
the performance of the field, reduce the effect of potential risks and enable production of
healthier and more profitable crop.
Coping with climate change requires behavioral changes and adoption of new technologies,
mainly in aspects of watering (e.g. irrigation, climate control) and nutrients application.
Proper planning must be based on the specific and unique field’s conditions.
Due to climate change, it is no longer possible to rely on rainfall and temperature averages,
but multi-year data collection (five years at least) can provide us with valuable information on
trends and changes.
All these lead us to recommend, as a preliminary step, to collect chemical and physical
analysis of soil and water, topography map and meteorological data in the project area, and
then move forward with the feasibility study and planning considerations of the project.
These recommendations are also helpful for existing projects that face problems such as,
low infiltration rate (= slow penetration of water), plants that do not look healthy, variability
of plants vitality, etc.
For your convenience, we have prepared the recommended checklist for launching a new agricultural project.
Data for Agricultural Projects
Meteorology: (for each climate region)
Data of the last 5 years (or longer period)
| Parameter | Units | Remarks |
| – Temp | C/F | Air temperature |
| – RH | % | Relative humidity |
| – Rain | mm | |
| – Wind Speed | m/sec | |
| – Wind Direction | Azimuth | |
| – Global Radiation | Watt/m2 |
Soil: (for each field)
Field – a plot which is cultivated as one unit (up to 10 ha).
Soil analysis:
| – Parameter | Units | Remarks |
| – Soil texture | % | Clay, Silt, Sand (Fine, Coarse, if available |
| – SP | % | Saturation point |
| – pH | [ – ] | |
| – EC | ds/m | Electrical Conductivity |
| – Na | mg/l | |
| – Ca | mg/l | |
| – MG | mg/l | |
| – SAR | [ – ] | Calculated Sodium Adsorption Ratio |
| – Nutrients (N, P, K, …) |
Water: (for each Water Source)
| Parameters | Units | Remarks |
| – pH | [ – ] | |
| – EC | dS/m | Electrical Conductivity |
| – Na | mg/l | |
| – Ca | mg/l | |
| – Mg | mg/l | |
| – SAR | [ – ] | Calculated Sodium Adsorption Ratio |
| – Cl | mg/l | |
| – S | mg/l | |
| – N-NO3 | mg/l | |
| – N-NH4 | mg/l | |
| – P | mg/l | |
| – K | mg/l | |
| – B | mg/l | |
| – TSS | mg/l | |
| – BOD | mg/l | For Surface or Recycled water source |
| – COD | mg/l | For Surface or Recycled water source |
General Details
- Type of water source.
- Capacity of water source.
- Means and systems for using water (pumping systems, filters, canals, piping
systems, …)