18 February 2010

Strategic Alliance between Apogee and Landmark

Apogee Imaging International and Landmark Operations have announced the formation of a Strategic Alliance that will deliver a comprehensive service using next generation web-enabled spatial information to farmers, agribusiness and rural communities across Australia.

For decades, many farmers have been ‘weighing-up’ the value of remote-sensing data. To-date it has been costly, hard to obtain, difficult to interpret and slow to be delivered. The strategic alliance between Apogee and Landmark will enable the delivery of Apogee’s proprietary FARMIMAGE® services that are more accurate, faster, targeted and cost-effective. Remotely sensed images can be used as base maps in variable rate applications of fertilisers and pesticides. FARMIMAGE® remotely sensed images and data enable farmers to more cost-effectively target their inputs and treat only the affected areas of the farm.

In many instances, isolated problems may be identified remotely long before they can be identified on the ground visually. Apogee has access to over a dozen optical and radar satellites allowing, in some cases, daily revisits over a site to identify problems such as nutrient deficiencies, diseases, water deficiency or surplus, weed infestations, insect damage, hail damage, wind damage, herbicide damage and plant health. Apogee also uses aerial digital cameras and hyperspectral sensors.

For the first time farmers can “see” the spectral history of their properties in detail down to 1/10 of a hectare. Apogee has collected and processed over a decade of satellite images and produced a Normalised Differentiation Vegetation Index (NDVI.) You can select an individual paddock and in real time analyse its changing health and vigour over a decade or so.

This new range of available products and services will benefit a diversity of agricultural and rural enterprises including cropping, pastoral and horticultural, local government and other government agencies.

Through FARMIMAGE®, Landmark clients will be able to access the following services:

• Crop and Pasture Assessment using NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) analysis and interpretation from the historical and latest satellite imagery and aerial sensors;
• Vineyard crop assessment using satellites and aerial sensors;

The following FARMIMAGE® services are under development by Apogee
• Rapid crop damage assessment using optical and radar satellites;
• Flood damage and flood risk mitigation plans;
• Contour mapping using IFSAR and satellite technology;
• Rural property assessment and evaluation services; and the,
• FARMIMAGE® Integrated Property Management System.

Performance zones maps shown in FARMIMAGE® .

Please contact Apogee or Landmark for any requests regarding spatial information for agribusiness.