Skytec at the Forefront of Data Capture for Regenerative Agriculture Practices

What do climate resilience and healthy soil have in common? For agriculture experts across the globe, regenerative agriculture and the optimization of best practices for soil management and health may be key to securing supply chains while minimizing impact on the planet.

Using geospatial mapping and analysis, Skytec supports regenerative agriculture practices in our backyard that have far-reaching implications for a spectrum of stakeholders.

Companies in agribusiness are interested in carbon capture, and with increased consumer and government pressure to minimize carbon footprints, the world is watching regenerative agriculture evolve. The push for agricultural practices that protect and restore ecosystems is even rolled into the Inflation Reduction Act with investments of $20 billion to help farmers respond to climate change.

Regenerative agriculture is focused on enhancing best practices in soil management to improve the overall ecosystem through increased biodiversity, enriched soil, and improved watersheds. These best practices have the potential to make soil more resistant to climate instability.

Now, with dynamic data capture and analytics, such as satellite imagery and UAS, Skytec has the ability to support organizations seeking monitoring and best practices of regenerative agriculture with its Ranger solution.

“Regenerative agriculture is an exciting growth space for remote sensing technology,” says Andy Carroll, CTO and Cofounder of Skytec. Skytec has partnered with Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, a nonprofit organization that oversees an 11-county area in North Georgia. Limestone Valley RC&D is tasked with administering federal grants to improve the soil health, watershed, and ecosystems in the counties it serves.

This partnership demonstrates Skytec’s Ranger change detection and monitoring application as an optimal tool for supporting regenerative agriculture practices.

Capturing Sustainable Agriculture Practices

In partnership with Skytec, Limestone Valley RC&D is monitoring soil studies and farming practices with Ranger, paired with survey and sample data, to better understand the relationship between farming practices and how to best manage soil.

“Our end goal is to develop a proof-of-concept tool to show correlations between land use best management practices and soil types,” says Stephen Bontoke, Executive Director of Limestone Valley. Ideally, using this predictive model, Limestone Valley can best inform farmers and landowners how to increase soil health.

“With the vanguard of new technologies with Skytec, paired with field data and lab analysis to verify correlations, we can then better understand the best management practices that impact dynamic soil characteristics,” Bontoke says.

Bontoke and Skytec leaders see the potential for positive impact from productive agribusiness practices to healthier communities. Using geospatial data and soil samples, the partners can provide a better snapshot of what is happening agronomically to understand what’s happening within the soil profile.

“If we can produce better dynamic soil properties to keep the soil healthier, we may help farmers stay in business, produce healthier foods, improve local economies, and reduce negative impacts to our overall environment with greater climate resilience,” Bontekoe says.

Monitoring Regenerative Agriculture Around the Globe

Through Ranger, Skytec’s application for monitoring and change detection, companies can monitor agriculture practices across the globe. Ranger pairs satellite imagery with AI, the ESRI platform and drone technology solutions to serve as a single platform for measuring and reporting environmental change.

“Skytec is on the leading edge of demonstrating and tracking regenerative agriculture practices,” says Bill Rogers, CEO and Cofounder of Skytec. “With Ranger, we provide agribusiness corporations an element of predictability in monitoring their assets globally. We understand the need for predictive modeling and are able to provide change-detection monitoring to support best practices in regenerative agriculture.”

Learn how Skytec’s Ranger application can help your business monitor crucial assets—contact us for a demo.