RapidEye

Europe, in particular France, has become the leader in the integration of precision farming with satellite-based intelligence. For farmers, working out the optimal amount of seed, fertilizer, pesticide, and water to scatter on a field can make, or break, the subsequent harvest. Laboratory analysis on a regular basis is costly, many times unavailable, and is not real time (or close to it).

Satellite imaginary can reveal, with surprising precision, the properties of the soil, the quantity of crops being grown, and the levels in those crops of chlorophyll, various mineral, moisture, and other indicators of their quality. If recent forecast weather data are added to the mix, detailed maps can be produced indicating exactly how, where, and when crops would be grown. The service usually costs less than $5 per hectare for a handful of readings a year, and can increase yields by as much as 10%.

Such precision farming using satellite-based intelligence is in its infancy. Even so, it is catching on quickly. Five times a year, for example, a satellite-surveillance service provided by a cereal-growers’ co-operative called Sevepi (based in Dovains, France) e-mails its members a map of their fields, divided into three or four color-coded zones per hectare. For each zone, one of about 50 fertilizer formulas is recommended. On top of this, if the stems of the wheat are tall and rain is expected, an appropriate dose of growth-regulator is recommended for each zone (long fragile stems snap more easily in down pours). Farm vehicles equipped with GPS systems automatically mix and apply the prescribed dose to each area.

RapidEye, a German satellite operator, began selling data in March that will help forecast harvests. The company’s data, which cover both Europe and the Americas, break field productivity down into patches just five meters square. Inexpensive data on the productivity of land is valuable to governments, too. Insurance companies have also shown an interest in the technology – with the focus on studying satellite data with a view to selling crop-insurance policies to governments of countries that might be threatened by famine. Along with crop analysis, RapidEye sees the technology as being valuable in land cover analysis, change detection, infrastructure monitoring, feature identification, and risk management.

More information regarding RapidEye can be found at http://www.rapideye.de/ or updates at www.twitter.com/rapid_ag