Precision agriculture made a giant leap since its emergence in the 1980s, fueled by the advent of satellite-based navigation and remote sensing technologies. GPS receivers installed on tractors and imaging sensors aboard spacecraft enabled mapping and measuring the key in-field variables (crop health, soil, terrain, and climate) that impact crop performance and resulting yield.
With regular satellite-based observations, every management decision is now informed by accurate data, ensuring that crops and soils receive precisely what they need for optimal growth and productivity. And the benefits are manifold – from input cost savings to sustainable land and water allocation to alleviated pressure on the environment.
Monitoring croplands from space is just the tip of the iceberg of satellite technology uses in precision farming. Continuous advances in AI and cloud computing paved the way for more sophisticated satellite data applications, including yield prediction, crop classification, and soil organic carbon modeling. Not to mention the recent boom in small satellite launches. In 2023, EOS SAT-1, the first-ever satellite for agricultural monitoring by EOS Data Analytics, entered Low Earth orbit with sensor capabilities explicitly tailored to the needs of farming stakeholders to bolster food security.
The company is a global satellite analytics provider committed to solving major world crises – including environmental degradation, food shortages, and climate change – through space technologies. Its constant pursuit of more efficient and sustainable solutions for the ag sector has resulted in a diverse portfolio of off-the-shelf products (such as EOSDA Crop Monitoring) and customized services that help customers across the globe tap into the immense precision agriculture potential.
The Inner Workings of Satellite Crop Monitoring
Remote sensing has become one of the most ubiquitous precision agriculture technologies of our time, and for a reason. Satellites supply farmers with on-time and detailed insights into crop and soil conditions, eliminating the need to visit fields. Compared to drones, they ensure global coverage at a lower cost and support a much broader spectrum of analyses involving vegetation indices.
How does satellite remote sensing work? All Earth’s surface features, including vegetation, vary in how they absorb and reflect electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. Satellite sensors measure this reflected and absorbed sunlight from afar, targeting specific sets of wavelengths based on their mission. For instance, vegetation analysis typically focuses on the visible, near- and shortwave-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum that are the most telltale of crop health.
Here’s a simple example: since vegetation absorbs most of the red and blue wavelengths within the visible range and reflects green, plants appear green to the naked eye. The water is blue, and so on. However, the multispectral sensors aboard satellites can see beyond what’s visible and thus tell us more about the chlorophyll content, moisture levels, nutrient content, and other vital plant parameters. Therefore, a healthy crop and a stressed crop (e.g., in a waterlogged area) will “look” different on satellite images – and that’s why satellites have become farmer’s allies in detecting all kinds of yield threats, from pests and diseases to nutrient deficiencies.
In precision agriculture, satellite imagery is used to calculate various vegetation indices (VI) – quantitative measurements derived from several spectral bands to assess vegetation cover’s health, amount of biomass, leaf area index, or other properties.
Nowadays, it takes an instant to process a satellite image and deliver the VI values thanks to specialized software like EOSDA Crop Monitoring. This platform combines data from numerous sources, including satellites and weather stations, to monitor and identify potential crop issues conveniently. Agronomists, crop growers, and anyone needing in-depth crop observations can utilize this tool to pinpoint field areas with plants that may have been affected by deficit or excessive rainfall, pest infestation, or disease outbreak to dispatch scouts for further investigation and timely response to the issue.
What’s in It for Farmers?
Modern farmers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, faced with the fact they have to grow more food on fewer land acres, with less water, and in unpredictable weather. To address these challenges and feed the expected 9 billion mouths, the industry must adapt and seek new innovative tech solutions that will put sustainability and efficiency at the heart of farming.
Efficiency is precision agriculture’s “middle name,” as this farming strategy focuses on using data to optimize production and resources. First and foremost, satellite-derived insights inform better decision-making regarding the timing of interventions and the amount of inputs to be used. In layman’s terms, crop growers understand where, when, and how much water, pesticides, or fertilizers they need to apply for their plants to thrive.
This approach is known as variable rate technology (VRT): prescription maps are generated based on satellite analytics (e.g., NDVI values) to precisely allocate all agricultural inputs, from seeds to crop protection agents. This is sustainability at its finest. As a result, farmers improve the quality and quantity of crop yields, boost farm profitability, and minimize the harm it inflicts on nature.
Satellites have also been the building blocks of precision farming technologies that detect crop issues early on. By measuring an array of crop health indicators, they “snoop” about fields to find plots with stressed vegetation before the heavy damage. Prevention is better than cure: early identified insect pests or heat-stressed crops can be dealt with on time, thus reducing the need for excessive pesticide use and minimizing any resulting yield losses.
Proven in the Field: An Agricultural Reinsurer’s Success Story
Farmers aren’t the only beneficiaries of satellite-driven agritech, and here’s a real-world example of how satellite analytics can assist reinsurers in processing and validating disputable claims.
The Mexico-based reinsuring company Der Neue Horizont Re, S.A., used to grapple with handling insurance claims for crops damaged by extreme weather events, which was time-consuming and costly. Switching from boots-on-the-ground inspection to remote crop observations with EOSDA Crop Monitoring platform allowed the company to streamline claim validation processes.
On a single platform, they get both valid insights into the vegetation status (to confirm or disprove the damage) and convenient tools for scout team management and reporting. Using vegetation indices and historical data on weather and field activities, Der Neue Horizont Re experts can verify the circumstances that led to the damage and keep track of reinsured fields throughout the season, advising growers on better cultivation practices to prevent crop losses.
Finally, the reinsurer analyzes historical meteorological records of agricultural areas available on EOSDA Crop Monitoring to identify recurrent weather extremities, which helps assess crop insurance risks and set reasonable insurance premiums.
A Peep into the Future
Satellite-based agricultural monitoring will continue to advance, taking precision agriculture technologies to the next level. Powered by ever-advancing sensor capabilities, continued development of AI and machine learning, and other cutting-edge technologies, satellite data will set the stage for more efficient and sustainable farming practices to grow better food.
Hyperspectral imaging is expected to expand farmers’ ability to examine crop and soil conditions, enabling a more comprehensive picture of their fields. The duo of satellite data and AI/machine learning algorithms is becoming the new norm, allowing agricultural stakeholders to leverage powerful data processing and analytics capabilities. In the coming years, AI-powered satellite data-driven solutions are expected to deliver even deeper insights into agricultural patterns and trends and make predictions to facilitate decision-making on any scale – from managing a single field to crafting national agricultural policies. Among anticipated trends is also the integration of blockchain technology to ensure the security and integrity of vast satellite datasets used in precision agriculture.
Satellite crop monitoring has been an enabling force behind the unfolding agricultural revolution, supplying critical insights into the crops, soils, and growing conditions to make farming as economically and environmentally sustainable as possible. While space agencies and organizations make satellite imagery more accessible, space and agricultural tech companies develop user-friendly software, such as EOSDA Crop Monitoring, that helps agriculturalists make sense of it and thrive in today’s rapidly changing agricultural landscape. As a growing number of farmers embrace satellite technologies, we’re moving closer to building a sustainable and productive future.
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Author
Vasyl Cherlinka is a Doctor of Biosciences specializing in pedology (soil science), with 30 years of experience in the field. With a degree in agrochemistry, agronomy and soil science, Dr. Cherlinka has been advising on these issues private sector for many years.
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