From Handheld to in-Ground to on-the-Go: Innovative Application of Sensors in the Field.

Developing revolutionary improvements in agricultural management requires new and improved data sets of higher spatial and temporal resolution than currently available. Low-cost sensors for in-field soil and plant health monitoring are capable of providing those data, and can result in precision control of inputs to minimize operational and environmental challenges. In addition, these systems are capable of providing unique insights to often underserved growers in developing countries by acting as a simple alternative to more expensive and less available laboratory testing. The Climate Corporation, through their expansive Climate Research Farm network, is generating autonomous and continuous in-field measurements of many field variables, including soil moisture, pH, nitrate and temperature through research use of static soil probes, on-the-go tooling and handheld devices. This presentation will describe two systems built on a novel chemical material capable of selectively sensing nitrate in soil pore water, and a summary of how these novel data sets, together with remote sensing via drone and manned aircraft, enable new approaches to process and statistically modeled field processes, all aimed at providing unprecedented digital insights to farmers.