Designing field terraces will soon become easier thanks to a new Internet-based terrace design tool under development at the University of Missouri.

Allen Thompson, Associate Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, says his computer-assisted tool can upload GPS-based topographical data to facilitate design and installation on complex fields.

Another benefit, aside from cutting the terrace development process in half, is the ability to develop several designs to compare costs, conservation effectiveness and farmability based on boundaries, row spacing, equipment size, water flow and other considerations.

More details are in the September issue of Resources magazine, compiled and published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.