Field Conditions (weekly)

About this layer

Every farm field in England, Scotland and Wales, coloured by what the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites saw on it. They pass over every two to five days; a field is read whenever at least 60% of it is clear of cloud, and the map is rebuilt each week. Bare earth shows no straw from above, so it reads as freshly turned or bare soil. Stubble keeps a straw signal after harvest. Green that comes through stubble can be regrowth, a cover crop or a crop drilled straight in, so check it first. Green after bare soil is a new crop coming up. Use the week strip on the filter card to step back through the season, and tap a field for when it was turned, its last clear look and every reading since August. It shows the ground, not permission to detect: ask the landowner first.

What it is for

Pick a week on the filter card, look for freshly turned and bare fields near you, and tap a field for when it was turned and its last clear look. Ask the landowner before you go on.

Limits

Cloud can hide a field for weeks, so check its last clear look. Freshly drilled ground looks bare until the crop comes up, and the map is not permission to detect.