The trick with satellite imagery is to get to the point where there’s an identified value that gets the grower into a field to ground-truth the information.

More satellite imagery options for crops

A rapid increase in resellers is reshaping imagery demand and usability

Reading Time: 4 minutes There are so many satellites up there these days that astronomers worry that they will block their view. And while some of these satellites can offer a new level of vegetation and crop image analysis, the uptake has been a bit slow so far. Where there has been significant growth — and perhaps a window […] Read more

Climate FieldView image maps show biomass levels that indicate a healthy crop, or areas that might not warrant further investment.

Apply your fungicide where it matters

Climate FieldView is helping growers use imaging combined with historical data for a targeted approach to fungicide application

Reading Time: 4 minutes When it is time to make a fungicide decision, D’Arcy Hilgartner weighs several factors. Is the crop at the right stage? What are the current moisture conditions? How has the weather looked throughout the season compared to years past? How much of his crop is likely susceptible to disease? Today, he can access all of […] Read more


An NDVI image of a corn crop that indicates side-dress nitrogen effects on corn maturity.

Field imagery much more just a pretty picture

Overhead imagery can transform how you farm, but it’s essential to choose the right technology — and commit to it

Reading Time: 8 minutes Precision agriculture has had a rough go since it was first conceptualized in the mid-1990s with the advent of the yield monitor. At that point, “variable rate” became part of agriculture’s vocabulary, followed by zone mapping, aerial imagery and a growing list of technologies now available to growers. Yet there’s still reluctance to rely too […] Read more

Chris Neeser used a fixed-wing UAV and captured images three times during the season in two fields each of barley, canola, field peas, seed alfalfa, potatoes and spring wheat.

UAVs and crop scouting. Are they worth it?

Seven organizations supported a two-year study on whether drones can provide practical benefits to farmers

Reading Time: 5 minutes When Chris Neeser began to design a research project on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in crop scouting, he wondered if anyone would be willing to fund it. “This was different from a typical research project,” says Neeser, a research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Crop Diversification Centre, South, in Brooks. “There […] Read more


This satellite-gathered image shows the raw Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for Western Canada on July 25, 2016.

How’s the crop?

That’s the question that StatsCanada asks 10,000 farmers, but increasingly, the grain trade doesn’t believe the answers

Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s become a predictable pattern. Statistics Canada releases a crop estimate. Reporters call traders and analysts for reaction, who inevitably say it’s either too high or too low. That reflects a general dissatisfaction with StatsCan’s time-consuming system of contacting 10,000 farmers to ask how their crop is doing. Replacing a survey-based crop report with technology-sourced […] Read more