--- title: "Facing Water Shortages, Local Farmers Tap Into Tech to Save Money, Boost Yield" date: 2026-09-24T05:30:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/facing-water-shortages-local-farmers-tap-into-tech-to-save-money-boost-yield" section: Articles --- # Facing Water Shortages, Local Farmers Tap Into Tech to Save Money, Boost Yield *September 24, 2026* — by [John Tucker](/author/john-tucker) > UMD Research Changes Lives: “Precision agriculture” soil sensors tell farmers when, where and how much to irrigate *Corn Farm in Ennis Farm on September 2, 2026. Precision agriculture specialist Hemendra Kumar is using sensor technology to help Southern Maryland corn farmer Brent Ennis. Agriculture Extension AGNR Photo by John T. Consoli/University of Maryland Corn Farm in Ennis Farm on September 2, 2026. Precision agriculture specialist Hemendra Kumar is using sensor technology to help Southern Maryland corn farmer Brent Ennis. — Hemendra Kumar (right), director of UMD’s Digital and Precision Agriculture Lab, is using a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to help Worcester County farmer Brent Ennis implement an app-based water-management system, the first in the state. (Photos by John T. Consoli)* Brent Ennis is a bearded 6-footer who wears his farmer’s tan like a badge of honor, earned on his family’s 200-acre cornfield in Worcester County, Md. On a muggy, mosquito-filled morning in early September, the 27-year-old strolled past stalks twice his height that were as verdant as a field of dreams, a sign of a bountiful harvest to come. “To have plants this green, this late in the game, you can see it’s still making yield,” said Ennis, who in the days ahead will process the corn as chicken feed for producers like Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms. Ennis doesn’t always get this lucky. In recent years, scorching temperatures, longer dry periods and flash droughts have led to uneven production for Maryland farmers, prompting questions about when to irrigate and concerns about depleted water supplies, higher energy costs and excess watering that starves crops of nutrients and leaches contaminants into the Chesapeake Bay. This year, a University of Maryland [agriculture](https://agnr.umd.edu/home/) team is digging into these problems, but instead of planting seeds, it is planting sensors that measure moisture levels throughout the day and night. Because soil composition differs across a farm, shaped by centuries of natural formation that determined water retention and release characteristics, the sensors help inform growers when to irrigate one tract but hold off on another. Buried 2 feet into earth across Ennis’ farm, seven sensors continuously read moisture levels, project conditions into the future and send him irrigation alerts through a phone app. “If you’re a farmer who pumps all the time, especially during peak demand, you put significant stress on water supply and can run out of it over time. We generate data to understand the farmer’s soil to ensure irrigation efficiency and water conservation,” said irrigation engineer Hemendra Kumar, director of [UMD’s Digital and Precision Agriculture Lab](https://www.agroxai.com/) that is leading separate partnerships with Ennis and a Queen Anne’s County farmer. *Precision agriculture specialist Hemendra Kumar crouches among corn stalks with Southern Maryland corn farmer Brent Ennis, using sensor technology. — Seven sensors positioned across Ennis’ 200-acre farm send him alerts when it’s time to irrigate.* The sensor-based model—the first in the state, said Kumar—is an example of a growing practice known as precision agriculture, which uses data and technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of farming. The approach can incorporate GPS, sensors, satellites, drones and artificial intelligence to help farmers make field-specific management decisions. The UMD project’s goal is to generate what farmers call a Goldilocks level of soil moisture, like a thermostat set at 70 degrees. Depending on weather, Ennis’ phone might ping every day or once a week. On several occasions, the system has helped him postpone irrigation that wasn’t strictly needed until rain quenched the crops’ thirst, saving labor and hundreds of dollars in energy costs. He’s also avoided dipping into a limited water supply he shares with a neighboring farm during this year’s particularly severe drought. “It’s crazy because this year we’ve had a skimpy amount of rain, but it’s come at the right times,” he said. “Farming is 100% about timing, and having this technology allows me to push yield goals by maximizing plant health.” Ennis won’t know his final yield until he uses a combine to harvest and calculate his yield, but while walking through his field earlier this month he paused to snap a large ear from its stalk and shuck it, revealing what he estimated to be about 650 bright yellow kernels that were deeper in length than average. \[[*UMD Research Changes Lives: Researchers Develop AI Tool to ID Dementia Risk in Understudied Populations*](https://today.umd.edu/researchers-develop-ai-tool-to-identify-dementia-risk-in-understudied-populations)\] Until this year, Ennis relied on an old-school method of gauging moisture: scooping out clumps and ballparking it. He also sought guidance from regulation manuals published by Midwestern and Great Plains States, but because Maryland’s Eastern Shore has sandier soil with different compositions and a more humid climate, “I didn’t realize how drastic the difference was between us and the Midwest states data I was using versus how our row crops actually responded,” he said. “It’s crazy because this year we’ve had a skimpy amount of rain, but it’s come at the right times,” he said. “Farming is 100% about timing.” Having this technology allows Ennis to push yield goals by maximizing plant health on higher populations with correct irrigation timing. *Close-up of corn growing on stalks. — The corn produced by Ennis' farm will be used as chicken feed for producers like Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms.* The partnerships between UMD and Ennis and the Queen Anne’s farmer are funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service grant that will continue through next year’s growing season. Jacob Dieguez, State conservation engineer for Maryland NRCS, hopes it will lead to an irrigation guide to help farmers design and implement irrigation systems for State-specific soils and crops. “Irrigation and water management can be pretty complex,” he said. “It varies across the nation, and it’s hard to tailor projects without having specific data.” Kumar grew up in a village in northern India without running water in the home, but the area, nourished by the Ganges River, allows corn, wheat and mustard crops to flourish. Kumar’s father and grandfather, both farmers, sometimes drew water in the middle of the night after other growers had tapped the pump, stoking his fascination with water-use efficiency. After earning a master’s degree in hydrology in India and using a scholarship from the German government to conduct research in that country, Kumar received a Ph.D. in biosystems engineering from Auburn University that had him collecting data from farms across Alabama, and eventually joined UMD in 2023. His team comprises several researchers including postdocs, visiting scientists and undergraduates like Diego Henriquez ’27, an [environmental science and technology](https://enst.umd.edu/home/) major and lab research assistant interested in the economics of agricultural land. “Soil is everything,” he said. “One of the most complex ecosystems sits right beneath us, something we build society on top of.” Each week, a researcher from Kumar’s team visits Ennis to measure cornstalk height and leaf area and collect soil samples. In its College Park lab, the group continuously measures each sample’s moisture retention and release rates. Kumar compared the system to a clinician looking for symptoms to head off common illnesses. "A doctor doesn’t ask how healthy you are—they ask about things like stress, anxiety or headaches so they can determine what’s wrong and provide the appropriate treatment,” he said. “We’re doing something similar with crops, using indicators such as drought conditions and soil tension to determine when they water and when they don’t.” **Sidebar note:** **UMD Research Changes Lives** At the University of Maryland, scientists and scholars come together to spark new ideas, pursue important discoveries and tackle humanity's grand challenges—improving lives in our communities and across the globe. See more examples of how UMD research changes lives at [today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact). **Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research) **Tags:** [Environmental Science and Technology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/environmental-science-and-technology), [Research Impact](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research) **Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources)