‘Satellite technology having growing impact’ on farming applications

Satellite technology is having an increasing impact on farming applications, according to a new AHDB report, produced in collaboration with technology company Satellite Applications Catapult.

The report, Satellites For Agriculture, highlights the scope for farmers to make more use of satellite imagery for such tasks as detecting and controlling pests and diseases in crops, understanding the water and nutrient status of pastures and even estimating harvest dates.

At the same time, the report carries a sharp reminder that while advancing satellite technology is creating new farmbased possibilities for products, services and decision support, current developments also present the challenge of ensuring that the latest technology is linked appropriately to production requirements and can be used to deliver effective societal, economic, political and environmental gains.

The focus of the report is on Earth observation (EO), satellite communication (Satcom) and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) technologies, all of which are already having an impact on farming issues, with scope for further innovation.

“Much is promised with regards to the use of new technologies, such as those offered through satellites, to assist growers with estimating the timing of harvest, predicting inseason yields, detecting and controlling pests and disease, understanding water and nutrient status, planning crop nutrition programmes and informing in-season irrigation,” said the report’s co-authors, Mark Jarman, head of agriculture at Satellite Applications Catapult and Jim Dimmock of AHDB Resource Management.

While agreeing that further developments in satellite constellations, payloads and launch will create evermore opportunities, the two authors also warn farmers to check the cost-effectiveness of what’s on offer before parting with their money.

Commenting on the growing impact of EO satellites they state: “Current UK market leaders exploiting EOS data for in-season agricultural decision support are advertising an average yield benefit of between 3-8% over farmers’ traditional best practice. Figures such as these, though, are not often readily available to farmers when justifying the potential purchase of new technologies.”