Precision farming utilising satellite data is a method of managing farms with a high degree of accuracy. Satellite observations can precisely track variations in fields and provide statistics which can be used to determine what tools, practices and decisions may be best for a farm.
Sentinel-1's SAR mission supports agricultural land monitoring.
Humans started to cultivate land around 10,000 years ago, so we must be pretty good at it by now. However, environmental concerns, sustainability, quotas, subsidies and paperwork make farming more challenging than ever. Satellites offer a solution to many of these problems, but how does the ordinary farmer tap into their potential?
The unprecedented frequency of Sentinel observations capture rapid changes in agricultural production from national to field scale, serving as a major support for environmental monitoring and agricultural subsidy control.
Europe's Sentinel-1A satellite has shown that the Mekong River Delta - one of the world's major rice-growing areas - saw a significant drop in productivity over the past year, illustrating the effect of El Niño on food security.
Farmers can now call on the latest satellite information using the unique TalkingFields service to get the best from their land while cutting the environmental cost.
Using satellites to predict plant and crop diseases is just one of the fresh ideas produced over a week-long camp dedicated to creating mobile apps using Earth observation data.
Developers of apps that use satellite data to assist the agricultural industry took home the top two prizes at this year's ESA App Camp in Barcelona.
Using satellites for improving the exploitation of water resources is just one of the innovative ideas developed over the week-long 'camp' dedicated to creating mobile apps drawing on Earth observation data.
Imaging Earth's land with unprecedented speed and resolution has come another step closer as the next Sentinel satellite has been given its solar wing and started a strenuous six-month test campaign to make sure that it is fit for launch next April.
Land surface dynamics is one of the key drivers for the assessment of global environmental change and remote sensing based methods are the most important tools for its accurate monitoring. Here, the scientists use an Envisat-MERIS full resolution time series for vegetation decline monitoring as an alternative to more commonly used MODIS data using as a case study irrigated croplands located in the lower Amu Darya River Basin in Northern Uzbekistan, Central Asia.
Calling all app developers: register today for the opportunity to spend a week at ESA developing new ideas and concepts for mobile apps using satellite Earth observation data.
The 2014 World Wetlands Day highlights the need for wetlands and the agriculture sector to work together. ESA's GlobWetland II project assists Mediterranean countries in the sustainable use of these areas and demonstrates the evolution of wetlands and agricultural patterns over time.
A navigation system for self-driving vehicles that uses satellite radar data has won the top prize in the European Earth-monitoring competition.
Satellites see defined lines of nomadic pastoralism in one of the world's poorest countries.
Many people know and crave delicious Belgian chocolate, but might not be aware that the Belgian city of Tienen is known as the ‘Sugar City’ of Europe. And satellites are helping to grow the crop that makes our taste buds tingle.
