The technology offers actionable information to several stakeholders in agriculture by combining image data taken from various sources with analytics tools
ADM seeking partners to licence new crop technology. (Credit: Pixabay/DJI-Agras.)
Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), an American food processing company, announced that it has secured two reissued patents for the use of aircraft, photography and sophisticated algorithms to forecast crop production.
With the reissued patents, ADM is seeking partners to licence the technology.
Utilising agricultural aircraft, the technology is capable of scouting crops by tracking plant growth, identify crop stress due to weather or pest damage, and forecast commodity yields.
The technology uses image data from photographic, multispectral, hyperspectral and infrared sources. The data is combined with algorithms of analytics tools to offer an up-to-date and actionable information to growers, seed dealers, crop insurance companies, commodity dealers and others.
ADM ag services and oilseeds business chief financial officer Dan Nisser said: “We originally developed this cutting-edge technology for use in our crop insurance business, and today we believe it has wide applicability across the agricultural world.
“It’s clear that aerial mapping and evaluation is a significant differentiator in agriculture – and a market that could exceed $5 billion in the coming years. Our technology is highly advanced, bringing together aircraft, photography and sophisticated algorithms to assess crop conditions, and forecast production.
“We believe this technology is ripe for wide adoption, and we’re excited to reach out to partners who will put it to good use.”
In July, ADM announced the launch of NutriPass L, an encapsulated lysine supplement that is rumen-stable and intestinally available to cows.
NutriPass L, which is manufactured in the US at an advanced production facility, is developed for use with a variety of feed ingredients and forages.
ADM Animal Nutrition has opened a new animal nutrition technology centre in Decatur, Illinois, US, in December last year.