fieldmargin is making satellite imagery analysis more affordable to all farmers

fieldmargin is offering an alternative to this with their new ‘Field Health’ feature which will be available as part of their Pro plan. This allows farmers to get regularly updated satellite imagery of their farm with NDVI analysis and 3 years of history from as little as £5/month. Farmers can get a free two-week trial before subscribing so they can see the value of the imagery before paying anything and once they subscribe they can cancel if they are not seeing sufficient value from the service.

fieldmargin is collaborating with Sentinel HUB to provide imagery from Sentinel-2 satellites, part of the European Space Agency’s Copernicus programme. New imagery is available on average weekly (dependent on cloud coverage) and to a resolution of 10m.

Having an overview of variation within fields across the whole farm updated on a weekly basis makes it easy to spot areas that are not performing well before they become evident in the field or that may be missed altogether if that spot was not visited when walking the field. This saves significant time scouting as areas with problems can be marked using notes and viewed on the fieldmargin app so the farmer can go directly to these areas to identify the cause of the problem rather than walking the whole field.

fieldmargin’s CEO, Rob Carter, says “This technology has been available to the ‘big guys’ for a while; we are bringing a much-needed service to every farmer at a groundbreaking price.”

Spotting problems early reduces yield loss because issues can be treated before they get out of hand and saves money as there is the potential to use less inputs to prevent the spread of the problem.

Farmers have found it easy to get up and running with the maps, quickly using the new tool to take action that improves farm productivity. Jaco Theron, a farm manager in Arizona, USA, has used the imagery to track the effect that changes to his irrigation have on his crop performance. As a result of this he identified fields that were being over-watered. This improvement in efficiency has saved him hundreds of litres of water per month.

It’s not just arable farmers who see the potential of the tool. Within their beta fieldmargin received positive feedback from livestock farmers looking to use the imagery to manage pasture growth and forestry managers who have spotted and stopped the spread of tree disease using the imagery.

The core features of fieldmargin remain completely free. This allows farmers to make a digital map of their farm that all their team can access to make located notes and tasks, quickly building up a record of what is done. It is quick and easy to sign up and to trial the new Field Health functionality.

About fieldmargin

fieldmargin is a farming software company dedicated to building easy-to-use, beautiful tools that allow farmers to save time and improve efficiency by bringing their farm’s data and communications into one place. Founded three years ago by a Hertfordshire farmer, it provides a simple and flexible way for farmers, agronomists, operators and accountants to record, analyse and share spatial/crop data on the web or mobile. To learn more visit www.fieldmargin.com or follow us on Twitter (@fieldmargin).