Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily Earth data and insights, has announced a new partnership with American Crystal Sugar Company, facilitated through its partner SatAgro, a precision agriculture firm. This collaboration leverages Planet’s satellite data to enhance American Crystal Sugar’s advanced monitoring of sugar beet crops in the northern United States.
As the largest beet sugar producer in the U.S., American Crystal Sugar, a grower-owned cooperative, accounts for approximately 15% of the nation’s high-quality sugar supply. Through this partnership, the company aims to explore and implement cutting-edge precision farming technologies. American Crystal Sugar will utilize SatAgro’s customized interface to process and analyze PlanetScope satellite data, providing near-daily insights into harvest progression, yield formation speed, and yield forecasts, thereby supporting informed crop management decisions.
“Monitoring sugar beet production in real time across the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota poses challenges, and our new capability to track harvest progress and crop size is crucial for effective asset and resource management,” said Joe Hastings, General Agronomist at American Crystal Sugar. “This advancement enhances our confidence in predicting crop yields and harvest progress.”
SatAgro is committed to developing intuitive and scalable digital tools that help users across the agricultural sector optimize inputs, improve crop yields, and enhance overall agricultural management and sustainability. Their digital platforms integrate various data sources, including Planet’s satellite imagery, to provide unique agronomic solutions, such as fertilizer management plans compatible with smart machinery and multiple yield prediction methods.
“For the past four seasons, we have been privileged to support American Crystal Sugar in implementing new digital farming strategies. With PlanetScope data now a significant source of crop intelligence, we are witnessing a transformative improvement in service quality,” said Przemyslaw Zelazowski, founder of SatAgro.
“Farmers and agricultural companies require timely and accurate insights from Earth observation data, along with an efficient way to integrate this information into their daily operations,” stated Ashley Johnson, President and CFO of Planet. “With continuous data from Planet and analysis from SatAgro, American Crystal Sugar can enhance its vital efforts to improve the sustainability and profitability of sugar beet production while addressing the needs of a growing population.”
Through collaborations with partners like SatAgro, Planet’s daily stream of high-resolution satellite imagery facilitates precision agriculture on a large scale, even in areas with frequent cloud cover. Offering broad area coverage, field-level detail, high in-season revisit rates, and quick access, Planet’s data provides valuable insights at every stage of crop management.
