July 27, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

A partnership between Origin Digital and Aspia Space has officially revealed a world-first technology breakthrough that enables farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders to accurately measure grass from space while also enabling organizations and agribusinesses to verify sustainability practices in the livestock supply chain. 

As a part of Origin Enterprises Group, which is an industry leader in Ireland, the UK, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and southern Africa, Origin Digital provides advanced agronomic decision support software and remote field performance insights for organizations that partner with farmers as customers or suppliers. 

It brings an expansive agricultural and expert network along with a deep well of ground-truth and field trial data to this partnership with Cornwall, UK-based Aspia Space – a company exploring the limits of Earth observation data with experience in image and spectral analysis rooted in astrophysics and deep-learning techniques. 

“Earth Observation satellites literally provide an eye in the sky that offer the potential to monitor every single field on a regular basis. Aspia Space’s patented ClearSky technology uses a generative AI algorithm to deliver cloud-free imagery of the ground, making satellite data more reliable, especially for agricultural applications,” explained Dr. Mike Smith, co-founder and director of AI, Aspia Space.

Launching in Ireland later this year under the GrassMax service provided by Origin Digital, this first-of-its-kind service has a goal to garner detailed data about pastures, grasslands, crops, and natural resources with an eye toward the realization of achieving the highest potential yields. 

“Through our partnership with Origin Digital, we have developed a new AI solution that uses ClearSky imagery to estimate grass height to within an accuracy of just 1.5cm from a vantage point of nearly 700 kilometers up in space,” explained Dr. Smith.

“To put it in context, imagine standing in a field in Amsterdam and being able to accurately measure the height of the grass in a field in Dublin. Not only can we map the grass height down to a resolution of 10 meters and see variations across a paddock, but we can also monitor how it is changing over time,” Smith continued. 

“This is a great demonstration of how we can combine space imagery with ‘ground truth’ data, magnifying its power. Our algorithms allow us to provide physically meaningful insights that enable better decision making here on Earth. We are proud that this technology is being rolled out in the GrassMax product.”

From its launch in Ireland, the partners plan to localize their breakthrough remote measuring technology to more geographies and climates around the world, while developing additional products that unlock innovative data insights that promote sustainable, yet profitable farming. 

“This is a game-changing moment for grassland farmers and the businesses that partner with them,” said Duncan Robertson, head of R&D, Origin Digital. “For the first time, they can remotely and automatically calculate the quantity of grass in their fields and paddocks, on a regular basis and at scale. This enables farmers to make better-informed decisions regarding grazing schedules, animal nutrition, and silage cuts for example, resulting in less waste and a more stable, sustainable food supply.”

Aside from the platform’s abilities, Kieran Holden, grassland digital specialist, Origins Enterprises explained the benefits the technology presents to farmers and ranchers, stating, “As a farmer myself, I’m really excited about the ability to measure grass height remotely, because it brings huge benefits to grass management while eliminating what is currently a laborious manual measurement process. This will save Irish farmers around two hours per week, or €1,600 per year, in measurement costs alone.”

“But the main benefit is in how farmers like me can use this data through the GrassMax app to increase grass utilization on their farms,” continued Holden. “It’s remarkable to consider that grass utilization alone accounts for 44 percent of the variation in net profit per hectare on dairy farms. In Ireland, each additional ton of grass utilized per hectare translates to a €256 increase in profit. Integrating this automated grass measurement data into GrassMax will give it even more power to help farmers optimize their grass use, with even a half tonne per hectare increase in utilization equating to a €10,000 increase in profitability on an 80 hectare farm.”

In addition to giving farmers, ranchers, and managers the ability to make more informed decisions about grazing schedules, animal nutrition, fertility, and silage cuts, Duncan Robertson, head of R&D, Origin Digital noted that adoption of this platform also results in less waste and a more stable, sustainable food supply. 

“This insight has many applications, from helping businesses and farmers achieve sustainable growth to verifying sustainability practices and scope 3 emissions on farm, and enhancing supply chain security and sustainability,” noted Devlyn Hardwick, GrassMax product manager, Origin Digital. 

“In particular, GrassMax enables businesses to track live and forecasted grass yield, how many days animals are at grass in the fields, and a host of other metrics targeted at increasing fertility, yield, and efficiency to meet the growing demand for milk and dairy products sustainably.”

Hardwick concluded, “This insight not only helps strengthen their relationships with individual farmers through a better understanding of their situation, it also provides increased visibility across their portfolio on metrics from overall feed and fodder requirements to key sustainability targets.” 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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