Improved efficiency, better decision making for New Zealand's primary sector

A new eBook that looks at why satellite imagery is a key tool to visualise and monitor change

As the driving force of New Zealand’s economy, the primary sector encompasses a mix of businesses that produce, process and move goods around the country, as well as exporting around the world. They include agriculture, forestry, horticulture and seafood.

The nature of these businesses means they need the right tools along with the right data to meet social, environmental and sustainability needs. These are key concerns as the industry faces rapid changes in consumer demands, policy and regulation and our environment.

Here at Critchlow Geospatial, we believe that a satellite-based foundational imagery service and access to advanced image analysis capability can deliver significant business enhancements across the New Zealand primary industries to support today’s needs.

It's with that in mind that we've developed a new eBook: Geospatial enablement of the primary industries through satellite imagery. It looks at how satellite imagery can drive operational efficiencies through change detection, volume/quantity estimating and the monitoring of land use, including soil or water degradation.

The eBook covers four main areas:

1: The importance of imagery in the primary industries

This section outlines:

• Geospatial enablement - geospatially-enabled primary industries need more information than they've done in the past. Satellite imagery can meet the needs of the primary industries by providing the intelligence needed to solve complex business problems
• Types of imagery and sources - a look at the three main platforms for the acquisition of imagery: satellites, piloted aircraft, and drones
• Time and cost benefits of satellite imagery - for example, existing satellite imagery can cost less than 1% of the equivalent drone imagery for the same area

2: The role of satellite imagery in enabling geospatial capability

The two main capabilities that provide the information needed to make evidence-based decisions and enhance communication and engagement:

1. It increases the scope of existing business data through analysis of current and historic data and predictions; and
2. It provides access to specialist technology and expertise, including artificial intelligence systems.

3: Use cases

Out in the real world - examples of how primary industries could increase operational efficiency and inform policy by incorporating satellite imagery into business data using relatively simple tools:

1. Use Case 1: To plan and communicate information relating to a property
2. Use Case 2: To perform site inspections
3. Use Case 3: To understand the characteristics of the land
4. Use Case 4: To understand the history of a property and support yield predictions
5. Use Case 5: To support consent applications and projects
6. Use Case 6: To support policy and advocacy work - evidence-based policy and projects

4: Questions for Stakeholders

The eBook concludes with a list of questions that stakeholders and 'grass roots' participants within the primary sector could ask themselves about the ability and capacity for satellite imagery to help them improve their operations and policy development.

Satellite-based foundational imagery allows access to advanced image analysis. It’s a key tool that can visualise and monitor change, improving decision-making. The imagery and subsequently derived products can significantly expand the contextual information. With this capability, businesses across the sector would see significant enhancements to their operations and growth.

If you are considering how satellite imagery could benefit for your organisation or stakeholders, then this eBook will provide you with the information you will need to kick-start your business case.

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK