Satellites Spot Silent Spreaders

In agriculture, a quiet crisis has been brewing for nearly half a century now. Every decade since 1970, the costs from invasive species have at least quadrupled — such that the global economy is now losing $423 billion per year to the problem. Species like cheatgrass, medusahead and ventenata are silent killers, wreaking havoc on ranchers' lands and leading to cascading effects across supply chains. According to the United Nations, upwards of 1 million plant and animal species could be at risk of extinction if current trends hold.

Ranchers are acutely aware of this problem: much of their energy is devoted to identifying and rooting out invasive species. But there is only so much these ranchers can do on their own. Many of them are dealing with properties spanning hundreds of thousands of acres: manually inspecting such vast terrain is close to impossible. The result is that infestations often spread unchecked. By the time the ranchers notice that something is wrong, it's often far too late.

This situation might seem bleak, but in recent years, a new solution has emerged that promises to put this problem in the rearview for ranchers across the world. It's called geospatial analytics — and it's set to play a major role in safeguarding food supply chains in the coming decades.

A recent collaboration between geospatial analytics company Satelytics and Envu — the developer of RangeView land management platform — highlights the powerful potential of this new technology.

Here's how it works: Satelytics collects multispectral and hyperspectral imagery of ranchers' lands from satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft and fixed-position cameras. That data is then processed using Satelytics' suite of cutting-edge proprietary algorithms to detect early signs of invasive species and other land health issues. Integrated with the RangeView platform, this information is translated into actionable insights for Envu’s rancher customers.

Instead of ranchers needing to comb through thousands of acres, the platform pinpoints high-risk areas and prioritizes them for attention. That means ranchers can respond faster, smarter and more efficiently — directing treatments exactly where they are most needed. Issues that, if left unchecked, could render vast tracts of land unusable are instead identified and resolved quickly. This level of precision doesn’t just save time. It helps prevent infestations from spreading, protects grazing land and ultimately allows ranchers to focus more on their herds and less on ground surveillance.

Many of the global crises we're currently facing are intractable — but the invasive species crisis isn't one of them. With geospatial analytics, the future of our food supply is bright.

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Sean Donegan is the President and CEO of Satelytics. He brings over 30 years of technology and software development experience to the company. A dynamic leader, Sean’s career has been focused on building companies through creativity and innovation, recruiting highly effective teams to solve customers’ toughest challenges. Sean founded or owned four successful software companies, most recently Sean Allen LLC, which was focused on predictive analytics in the oil and gas marketplace.