According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) research, over 1.7 million small farms operate on less than 1000 acres (400 hectares) in North America, and half of these farms cover only 81 acres (33 hectares) on average.

“However, such small farmers are being challenged to produce more for less sustainably, without access to necessary digital transformation tools,” says Kevin Hannah, vice president of product marketing at Epik.

Starting with the US and then expanding into Mexico, EOSDA and Epik will introduce satellite technology to farmlands that have not yet benefited from it for precision farming and carbon monitoring, reporting, and verification required to participate in carbon markets.

“EOS Data Analytics is delighted to announce the partnership with Epik Systems to contribute to the AgriTech market growing in the US and Mexico. We have big expectations from partnering with AI & Machine Learning experts who use technology to help make our planet a better place to live. EOSDA platforms are supporting precision agriculture, and now, together with Epik Systems, we are also able to play a key role in farm-level carbon management,” says Rim Elijah, VP of Sales at EOS Data Analytics.

The partnership target is to monitor 250,000 ha of farmland by the end of 2022 and expand the coverage in the following years. Also, the partners intend to sell the EOS Crop Monitoring platform to large-scale farms that need advanced agricultural analytics to make well-thought crop growing decisions.

“Together, Epik and EOS Data Analytics provide an easy-to-use mobile-centric solution affordable for small-scale farmers and deliver firstly farming operations value, secondly sustainability and future carbon credit monetization,” adds Kevin Hannah, vice president of product marketing at Epik.

Climate change makes a significant impact on small farms. However, according to the Sustainable Research & Education (SARE) study, farmers are still hesitant to adopt sustainable agriculture practices such as no-till farming, cover crops, reduced use of fertilizers, etc. The reasons behind this cautious attitude are lack of financial resources, reliable information, and economic incentives. To urge agrarians to implement innovative farming technologies in daily activities, it’s crucial to highlight the economic advantages of precision agriculture.

SocratesAg and EOSDA provide the activity-based data required to meet the reporting and verification standards of the carbon market to support payment to farmers who use sustainable practices.

“Epik is building solutions to help the small-scale farmer contend with the operational and sustainability challenges of 21st-century farming. Our partnership with EOSDA provides essential satellite data today, but more exciting for us is the opportunity afforded with the launch of the first true agro-focused satellite constellation EOS AgriSat. We are particularly excited about EOSDA’s plans to launch seven optical satellites into a Low Earth Orbit that, with an almost 10-fold increase in resolution, enables Epik’s SocratesAg platform to account for additional sustainable practices such as planting shelterbelts. Satellite data together with AI are going to be key elements in building a Farm Digital Twin capable of operational and carbon management modeling,” adds Kevin Hannah, Epik vice president of product marketing at Epik. By 2022, companies want to start using EOSDA high-resolution imagery and other satellite data as a data source for the AI for soil (carbon) management engine powering the SocratesAg platform. Both companies also look forward to exploring the capabilities of the AI-based forest biomass calculation engine with the help of EOSDA Forest Monitoring.

The future of agriculture lies at the intersection of precision farming and carbon management. EOSDA and Epik will join their efforts to introduce more smallholder farmers to modern technologies and help them understand their practical value.

Source: EOS Data Analytics Press Office
Date: 11.30.2021
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Contact information for media outlets:
Diana Arutiunian, PR Specialist
diana.arutiunian@eosda.com