PRECISION AGRICULTURE DIGITAL DIGEST FALL 2026 VOL 7, ISSUE 3 WHEN GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEMS FAIL COMBINED POWERS 06 GNSS FAILURE 14 UNDERGROUND WEATHER 20
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PRECISION AGRICULTURE DIGITAL DIGEST Farms.com’s Media and Publishing division is responsible for publishing Precision Ag Magazine. © 2026 Farms.com Canada Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photograph or artwork without written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, it products or services, nor does Farms.com make any claims or guarantees as to the accuracy or validity of advertiser claims. The publisher shall have no liability for the unintentional omission of any scheduled advertising. PHOTOS: a-r-t-i-s-t/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images, hudiemm/iStock/Getty Images Plus COVER PHOTOS: Neustockimages/iStock/Getty Images Plus, hudiemm/iStock/Getty Images Plus, stefann11/iStock/Getty Images Plus, simon2579/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images, NicoElNino – stock.adobe.com 04 06 08 12 14 18 20 22 24 MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Joseph Andrew.Joseph@Farms.com CONTRIBUTORS Diego Flammini Mathew Murphy DESIGN Greg Marlow ADVERTISING SALES Andrew Bawden Andrew.Bawden@Farms.com 877.438.5729 x 5030 Jeff McKee Jeff.McKee@Farms.com 888.248.4893 x 917 EDITOR, MARKETING & OPERATIONS Denise Faguy Denise.Faguy@Farms.com 888.248.4893 x 293 FARMS.COM OFFICE 90 Woodlawn Road West Guelph, ON N1H 1B2 SUBSCRIBE HERE to receive email notifications when future issues of the quarterly Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest are published. IRRIGATION AUTOMATION FOR SMALLER FARMS KRONE AND LEMKEN JOIN FORCES FOR AUTONOMOUS AG SPRAY DRONES: ONCE NICHE NOW MAINSTREAM PAG TECH CLIPS RETHINKING NAVIGATION WHEN GNSS FAILS NO FENCE POSTS, NO WIRE, NO PROBLEM UNDERGROUND WEATHER BRINGS AI TO THE ROOT ZONE BITS & BYTES BETTING ON SMART WATER MANAGEMENT We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. PRECISION, POWER, PROGRESS AI, IOT, AND AGTECH FOR TOMORROW’S FARMS.
04 Orbia Netafim has launched GrowSphere FLEX, a new smart irrigation and fertigation controller that is expected to help smaller farming operations adopt connected automation technologies. Founded in 1965, Orbia Netafim is the precision agriculture business of Orbia and a global leader in irrigation and digital farming technologies. With a strong North American presence supporting growers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the company provides irrigation, fertigation, greenhouse, and digital agriculture solutions through an extensive network of manufacturing, technical, and distribution operations. The new controller becomes part of the company’s GrowSphere digital farming portfolio and is intended to serve growers who may not require the more advanced capabilities typically associated with large commercial farming operations. By focusing on accessibility, flexibility, and ease of installation, the technology is designed to provide an entry point into digital farming for a segment of the market that has often been underserved by precision agriculture solutions. Digital agriculture tools have gained significant traction across large-scale farming operations in recent years as growers seek more precise control over water, fertilizer, and crop management decisions. However, smaller operations frequently face challenges when evaluating automation systems, including infrastructure requirements, installation complexity, and investment costs. Orbia Netafim explained that GrowSphere FLEX was developed specifically to address those concerns while maintaining the benefits of connected irrigation management. The company noted that farms smaller than two hectares account for approximately 84 percent of farms worldwide and produce roughly one-third of the world’s food supply. These operations play important roles in local food production systems as well as global supply chains that support crops such as coffee, cocoa, fruits, vegetables, and specialty horticultural products. Despite their importance, many smaller producers have historically had limited access to advanced automation technologies that have become more common on larger farms. GrowSphere FLEX has been designed to support IRRIGATION AUTOMATION FOR SMALLER FARMS Orbia Netafim has expanded its digital farming portfolio with GrowSphere FLEX, a smart irrigation and fertigation controller designed to bring connected automation capabilities to smallholders and mid-sized farming operations. ANDREW JOSEPH, FARMS.COM GrowSphere FLEX features built-in cellular connectivity and integrates with Orbia Netafim’s GrowSphere Workspace platform for remote irrigation and fertigation management.
05 irrigation and fertigation management through a connected platform that enables remote monitoring and control. The controller features built-in cellular connectivity, allowing growers to connect field operations without requiring extensive communications infrastructure. Through the company’s GrowSphere Workspace platform, users can manage irrigation schedules, monitor system performance, review alerts, and access operational reports from remote locations. The platform also incorporates sensor integration and cloud-based analytics intended to help growers make more informed management decisions throughout the season. Rather than relying exclusively on manual field checks and fixed irrigation schedules, producers can use available field data to adjust watering and nutrient applications as conditions change. As digital farming continues to evolve, one of the industry’s recurring challenges has been translating complex technology into tools that are practical for day-to-day farm use. GrowSphere FLEX appears to have been developed with that objective in mind. The company said the platform was designed to simplify deployment and operation while still providing access to automation and data-driven decision- making capabilities. Another component of the system is Crop Advisor, which provides crop-stage-based recommendations intended to help growers better align irrigation and nutrient applications with crop development. This functionality reflects a broader trend within precision agriculture toward decision-support tools that combine agronomic data with operational management systems. The controller is also designed to accommodate a wide range of production environments. According to the company, GrowSphere FLEX can be used in openfield agriculture, orchards, vineyards, citrus production, nurseries, and greenhouse operations. The system is compatible with soil-based growing environments and can operate under a variety of hydraulic conditions, providing flexibility for diverse production systems. Prior to launch, the technology underwent an extensive beta-testing phase in multiple regions and climates. Field installations were used to evaluate performance across different irrigation setups and production environments. That testing process helped validate the system before its commercial introduction and provided feedback that influenced final development. Orbia Netafim executives view the new controller as part of a broader effort to expand participation in Agriculture 4.0 technologies—ie to expand access to connected irrigation, automation, and data-driven farm management tools. “Innovation in digital farming cannot stop at largescale agriculture,” commented Gaby Miodownik, President of Orbia’s Precision Agriculture business (Netafim). “With FLEX, we are bringing Agriculture 4.0 within reach for farms of different sizes, needs and stages of digital adoption. It reflects Orbia Netafim’s commitment to expanding access to smart irrigation and fertigation, giving more farmers practical tools to manage their operations with greater clarity, control and confidence.” The company also highlighted feedback from growers who participated in field testing. “On a smaller farm, every irrigation decision shows up quickly in the crop,” said Theo Minnaar, a sugarcane grower in South Africa. “What FLEX gives me is better visibility and more control. I can see what is happening, respond earlier and manage water and nutrients more accurately without making the system complicated.” The launch of GrowSphere FLEX represents the latest expansion of Orbia Netafim’s digital farming strategy as the company continues to broaden its GrowSphere platform. While advanced irrigation automation was once primarily associated with larger enterprises, the introduction of solutions targeted at smaller and mid-sized operations signals a growing industry focus on making precision agriculture technologies accessible across a wider range of farm sizes and production systems. Orbia Netafim employs approximately 4,500 people worldwide and serves agricultural producers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.netafim.com. | pag PHOTOS: Orbia Netafim “INNOVATION IN DIGITAL FARMING CANNOT STOP AT LARGE-SCALE AGRICULTURE.”
06 As labor challenges persist and interest in automation grows, agricultural equipment manufacturers around the globe are accelerating their efforts to bring autonomous machines to market. KRONE and LEMKEN are among them, teaming up through their Combined Powers project to develop a cabless autonomous tractor unit capable of handling fieldwork with limited operator involvement. Representatives from the two companies began this initiative in 2019 after realizing that autonomy in agriculture would soon be inevitable. “Both companies started off saying that automation is the first step and autonomy, in the long run, is where agriculture is heading,” Eva Schröer-Merker, the Product Manager for the Combined Powers project at KRONE, explained to the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest. “We got together for workshops to see what an autonomous machine would look like, what does it need to do, and what does it not need anymore?” After years of development, the Combined Powers project released an autonomous tractor unit (ATU) in March 2022 with testing beginning a couple of months, continuing to this day. The cabless unit stands about 8.8 feet wide and 8.5 feet high. It features a 4-cylinder MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH diesel-electric engine, a power output of 230 hp (170 kW), and a maximum speed of 12 mph. The engine acts as a generator to power two builtin electric motors that drive the drivetrain and PTO (power take-off). The system was also designed with future flexibility in mind, allowing the platform to accommodate emerging powertrain technologies as they become commercially viable. “We have a modular system so that if in the future an alternative (fuel) becomes available, we can just switch it to be either fully electric or run on hydrogen or other sources,” Schröer-Merker explained. Tractor Implement Management and ISOBUS systems mean the implement controls the ATU. Once deployed in a field, the ATU can operate autonomously within a predefined geofence. Farmers must first map the field within the system, after which the machine can carry out assigned tasks with minimal intervention. To move the machine between locations, the ATU can be transported using a drawbar attached to the threepoint-linkage of a traditional tractor. The system’s performance depends on the implement’s ability to communicate with the ATU. Implements KRONE AND LEMKEN JOIN FORCES FOR AUTONOMOUS AG The two global heavyweight manufacturers have partnered to develop an autonomous tractor platform. DIEGO FLAMMINI FARMS.COM
07 lacking smart capabilities may be unable to alert the machine to operational problems. “If something happens to the work tools of the implement and your implement is not smart, it will not be able to communicate that problem to the ATU, potentially resulting in lower work quality,” stated Schröer-Merker. Larger implements may present another challenge. Because the ATU’s environmental detection system operates within a fixed range, wider machines such as sprayers could require additional sensors mounted directly on the implement. “If you have a very wide working width, like a sprayer, in the future we would probably need to have environmental detection on the implement itself,” Schröer-Merker said. To support safe operation, the ATU uses a suite of cameras and three LiDAR sensors that provide a 360-degree view of its surroundings. Safety functions are managed through Apex.AI software, with additional redundancy measures currently under evaluation. Current tests could see additional safety measures brought in. “We are still testing a range of alternatives because we want to have redundancy in the safety system,” Schröer-Merker said. Important ATU information as well as camera feeds are monitored using an app that can be accessed via computer or mobile devices. This mobile or desktop app allows users to view items like fuel levels and machinery temperatures. It also allows for task planning and for farmers to import maps and other information from ag service providers. The app also allows farmers to provide people they trust, like admins or machine operators, with permission to view machine specs and control certain functions. All the information can be transmitted to external systems through an agrirouter data exchange hub. Future plans include autonomous fleets to allow for multiple machines to work, and for producers to monitor the equipment remotely. They are eyeing 2028 to bring the ATU to market, though that release will likely be restricted to Europe at first, SchröerMerker said. KRONE has its global headquarters in Spelle, Lower Saxony, Germany, where the family-owned company was founded in 1906 and continues to manufacture its hay and forage equipment. The company has grown into one of the world’s leading forage machinery manufacturers, producing disc mowers, tedders, rakes, balers, forage wagons, and self-propelled harvesters. For the North American market, KRONE operates KRONE North America from Olive Branch, Mississippi, serving dealers and customers across the US and Canada. www.krone-northamerica.com. LEMKEN is headquartered in Alpen, North RhineWestphalia, Germany, where the company traces its roots to a blacksmith shop established in 1780. Today, LEMKEN specializes in soil cultivation, seeding, and crop care equipment and operates a global network of manufacturing and sales locations. In North America, the company maintains LEMKEN USA in Des Moines, Iowa, while LEMKEN Canada Inc. operates from SaintHyacinthe, Québec, supporting dealers and producers across Canada. www.lemken.com/us and www.lemken.com/ca-en. | pag PHOTO: Combined Powers
08 Not long ago, agricultural spray drones were viewed by many growers as a niche technology best suited for small-acreage specialty crops or experimental precision agriculture projects. Today, that perception is changing rapidly. Thanks to advances in aircraft capacity, automation, artificial intelligence, and application technology, it has transformed drones from being merely scouting tools into being used as full-scale crop protection platforms. According to Arthur Erickson, Chief Executive Officer of Hylio, Inc. headquartered in Richmond, Texas, modern spray drones are increasingly being adopted because they solve several persistent challenges facing agriculture, including rising input costs, labor shortages, and the need for greater precision. “One of the lingering misconceptions is that drones are toys that cannot cover real acreage,” Erickson said to Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest in a recent interview. “That was a fair criticism five years ago with 2.5-gallon aircraft. Today a 30-gallon class machine covers up to 150 acres an hour, and a swarm of three multiplies that.” Precision Where It Matters One of the primary advantages of drone application is the ability to move away from blanket treatments and toward targeted management practices. Using imagery collected by satellites or drones and paired with AI-powered agronomic analysis, growers can identify specific areas of weed, insect, or disease pressure and treat only those locations. Rather than spraying entire fields, producers can focus inputs where they are needed most. According to Erickson, early spot-spraying programs have demonstrated pesticide reductions ranging from 30 to 90 percent, depending on field conditions and pest distribution. The economic implications can be significant, particularly as chemical costs continue to rise. A spray drone conducts a crop protection application. Advances in payload capacity, automation, and precision application technology are helping drive wider adoption of drones in modern agriculture. From targeted crop protection to labor savings and automated decisionmaking, agricultural drones are rapidly becoming a core component of modern precision farming. SPRAY DRONES: ONCE NICHE NOW MAINSTREAM ANDREW JOSEPH FARMS.COM
09 “For a grower spending $30 to $60 per acre on a chemistry program, cutting even a third of that off across a few thousand acres is a very significant number,” Erickson related. The benefits extend beyond chemical savings. Lower application volumes reduce water requirements, while the absence of heavy field equipment eliminates crop trampling and minimizes soil compaction. Both factors can contribute to improved crop performance over time. Solving The Weather Window Problem Timing remains one of the most important factors in crop protection. Whether applying fungicides, insecticides, or other products, growers often face narrow treatment windows that can quickly disappear because of rain, field conditions, or equipment availability. Erickson believes this is where drones often demonstrate their greatest value. “This is one of the most underrated advantages,” he said. “A spray drone is ready to fly in about 10 minutes from the back of a pickup.” Unlike ground rigs, drones do not need dry soils to operate. Saturated fields that would sideline conventional equipment present little obstacle for aerial systems because the aircraft never touches the ground. As a result, applications can be made closer to optimum agronomic timing rather than waiting for field conditions to improve. “If a 90-minute window opens up between rain events with wind under 10 mph, you use it,” Erickson said. Addressing Labor Shortages Labor constraints continue to challenge producers and custom applicators across agriculture, particularly when specialized equipment operators are required. Drones offer a different operating model. Modern aircraft conduct flights autonomously, allowing operators to supervise missions instead of manually controlling every movement. According to Erickson, one licensed pilot can manage multiple aircraft simultaneously while maintaining productivity. Training requirements are also considerably shorter than those associated with experienced aerial applicators or ground-rig operators. “We routinely train new operators to a productive level in a few days,” Erickson said. That shorter learning curve may help attract younger workers while enabling retailers, custom applicators, and growers to expand service capacity without relying solely on increasingly scarce skilled labor. Not A Replacement For Everything Despite growing interest in drone technology, Erickson cautioned against viewing drones as an all-in-one replacement for traditional application equipment. “The last one cuts the other way: some people think drones will replace everything,” he explained. “They will not. They take over the passes where the tractor or plane was the wrong tool, which is a meaningful share of the work, but not all of it.” PHOTO: Hylio, Inc.
Instead, he sees drones becoming another tool within a broader precision agriculture system. Fields that are too wet for ground equipment, irregularly shaped acres, tall-canopy crops, and highly targeted treatment areas are among the situations where drone applications often provide the greatest value. While crop protection currently drives most adoption, Erickson believed the long-term opportunity extends far beyond pesticide application. Many producers are already using drones for spreading cover crop seed, fertilizer, and other granular products. Future systems will increasingly integrate scouting, analytics, and application into a single workflow. An imaging drone may identify weed escapes, drainage issues, disease pressure, or stand establishment concerns, while onboard AI generates treatment recommendations. Those prescriptions could then be executed automatically by application drones operating with minimal human intervention. Erickson also expected continued advances in automated battery management, beyondvisual-line-of-sight operations and coordinated fleets of aircraft capable of handling largescale agricultural tasks. Ultimately, he sees drones becoming an increasingly important decision-support tool that helps growers do more with less. “Ultimately the role is similar to what large language models are doing in offices,” Erickson summed up. “The drone does not replace the farmer’s judgment; it gives that judgment far more reach, better information, and far less wasted effort. A farm that adopts this well over the next five years should be measurably more productive than one that does not.” For information on the company, visit www.hyl.io. | pag Prepped for duty, a heavy-duty agricultural Ares HYL-150 drone is about to spray a corn field. It is capable of carrying up to 13 liters of liquid and can treat as much as 70- acres per hour, ideally with herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, foliar fertilizers, and other crop protection products. The drone can also be configured with a spreader system, to distribute dry fertilizer, seed, soil amendments, and granular pesticides. PHOTO: Hylio, Inc.
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12 05 How John Deere Is Using AI While Protecting Farmer Data Jackson Baca, Group Product Marketing Manager with Digital Tech at John Deere, introduces JD, a new AI assistant embedded within John Deere Operations Center. 03 CLAAS Xerion 12.650 Explained — Big Power, Smart Efficiency A closer look at the CLAAS Xerion 12.650, a high‑horsepower tractor built to deliver maximum efficiency, ride comfort, and power to the ground. 01 Meet the ALL-NEW John Deere 8R Series Tractor John Deere is redefining high‑horsepower row crop tractors with the completely redesigned 8R Series, engineered to deliver more power, productivity, and precision for modern farming operations. 04 Inside the Newly Updated Gleaner T1 Series Combine The newly updated Gleaner T1 Series combine is built around one mission: helping growers reduce the overall cost of harvest while maximizing uptime and productivity. TECH CLIPS WATCH 02 Meet the updated New Holland T7 Series — What’s New? The New Holland T7 Standard Wheelbase is back with a full refresh—bringing updated transmissions, improved comfort, and enhanced versatility for mixed farming operations. WATCH WATCH WATCH WATCH
13 07 IDEAL Combine Updates | More Capacity, Better Visibility Fendt is bringing major updates to the IDEAL combine lineup, including a brand‑new cleaning system, enhanced lighting, and improved harvest data integration. 06 CLAAS 8500 Walkaround — Features, Updates & Performance CLAAS has expanded its combine lineup with the introduction of the new CLAAS 8500. 08 Meet the All-New JCB Fastrac 6000 Series! JCB has expanded its renowned Fastrac lineup with the new 6000 Series, combining the horsepower growers wanted with the versatility of a more compact chassis. WATCH WATCH WATCH 10 Inside the SB.1436DB — Massey Ferguson’s Double Square Baler Looking for greater baling productivity without sacrificing bale quality? WATCH PHOTOS: DS70/E+ via Getty Images, stefann11/iStock/Getty Images Plus, hudiemm/iStock/Getty Images Plus 09 Inside New Holland’s All-New Speedrower 1 Series Discover the all‑new New Holland Speedrower 1 Series, a lineup designed to deliver more power, precision, and performance than ever before. WATCH WHAT’S NEW IN THE WORLD OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE? WATCH & LEARN TO FIND OUT
14 Autonomous agriculture is moving relatively quickly, but one of its long‑ standing assumptions is beginning to crack: the idea that global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) will always be available, accurate, and trustworthy. For years, GNSS has served as the backbone of positioning for drones, robotics, and ground vehicles. But as real‑world conditions grow more complex—and as interference becomes more common—engineers are being forced to rethink what “trusted navigation” really means. That shift matters to American farmers because autonomy is no longer a distant concept. From unmanned ground vehicles to autonomous scouting drones and robotic implements, more platforms are entering the field each year. Their reliability depends on how well they can navigate when satellite signals degrade, disappear, or are deliberately manipulated. Kendra Gallup, Business Development Manager for Inertial Systems at MicroStrain by HBK, said the industry is undergoing a fundamental redesign. Gallup explained: “In autonomous systems, GNSS has long been treated as a foundation; that assumption is now breaking down.” If the question is no longer how accurate GNSS can be, then it has become about what happens when it fails. RETHINKING NAVIGATION WHEN GNSS FAILS ANDREW JOSEPH FARMS.COM A farmer uses a tablet to monitor guidance data as a GNSS‑equipped tractor follows a digital path in the field. Scenes like this highlight how modern autonomy depends on reliable positioning—and why resilient inertial and sensor‑fusion systems are becoming essential when satellite signals degrade.
15 Why GNSS Can No Longer Be Treated as a Given In controlled test environments, GNSS often performs flawlessly. But the real world is far less forgiving. You may think that what you have in your car is a GNSS... well, not really. Your car’s navigation system uses a GNSS receiver—usually GPS, sometimes GPS + GLONASS or GPS + Galileo — to calculate its position. It means that your car is not a GNSS system, but it is a device that receives GNSS signals. Think of it like this: GNSS = the radio towers in the sky. Your car = the radio that listens to them. For your farm vehicle, GNSS is different. A farm vehicle uses GNSS very differently than a car— it’s more precise, more complex, and far more dependent on reliability. Your car just needs to know roughly where it is on a road, so GPS provides it with an accuracy of being within 10 to 33 feet. Your tractor or sprayer, however, needs to know where it is within a few centimeters, even when GNSS signals degrade, because it needs to control autosteer, section control, variable‑rate application, and planting and strip‑till alignment. A modern farm vehicle using RTK‑corrected GNSS can steer with repeatable accuracy of about half an inch, far tighter than the typical GPS in your car. And yet, Gallup noted a problem. She explained that “urban canyons create multipath errors. Tunnels block signals. RF jamming disrupts reception, and spoofing attacks can inject false position data.” Agriculture faces its own challenges: tree lines, grain bins, metal structures, and terrain features can all degrade satellite reception. And as more rural broadband and wireless infrastructure is deployed, the risk of unintentional interference grows. For autonomous systems, the consequences of all of this are serious. A navigation stack that depends too heavily on GNSS can drift, jump, or collapse entirely when signals degrade. Gallup said the difference between a system that degrades gracefully and one that fails outright “is the quality of your inertial backbone.” Inertial Sensing Becomes the Primary Reference Modern navigation architectures are shifting away from GNSS‑centric designs and toward inertial‑first systems. As Gallup explained, “A well-designed inertial navigation system like the 3DM-CV7-INS gives you continuous motion propagation built on careful thermal calibration and a synchronised multi-IMU (inertial measurement unit) architecture. It doesn’t depend on satellites. It depends on physics.” IMUs track acceleration and rotation, allowing the navigation system to estimate motion even without any external signals. High‑quality calibration and noise reduction slow the natural drift that accumulates during dead reckoning. That stability gives the system time to survive GNSS outages without losing track of its position. External sensors then act as “aiding inputs” that As GNSS reliability erodes in real‑world conditions, engineers are turning to inertial sensing and sensor fusion to keep autonomous systems on track. PHOTO: Sutad Watthanakul/iStock/Getty Images Plus
16 correct drift, but no longer define the motion estimate. It is the key distinction between a GNSS‑reliant system and one built for resilience. A Growing Ecosystem of Complimentary External Aiding Sensors As autonomous platforms diversify, so do the sensors that support them. Gallup noted that engineers now commonly use “visual odometry and simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) odometry, wheel encoders on ground vehicles, barometric altitude sensors, magnetometers, Doppler velocity sensors, and high-performance external GNSS receivers used selectively.” Each sensor contributes something different: • LiDAR provides strong geometric structure for mapping and motion. • Cameras supply rich visual cues within a structured environment. • Wheel encoders stabilize short‑term motion on ground vehicles. • Doppler sensors improve velocity estimates over the ground. • Barometers help anchor altitude. The goal is not to choose one sensor, but to fuse many. “When you do that well,” Gallup said, “you get a meaningful reduction in drift and much better endurance through GNSS outages.” How Fusion Engines Make the System Work Most embedded platforms use a loosely coupled navigation architecture. External systems—whether LiDAR, SLAM, or a standalone GNSS receiver—compute their own solutions. Those outputs are then injected into the inertial Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). An EKF is a math engine that constantly blends sensor data—like GNSS, IMUs, LiDAR, or wheel encoders—to produce one stable, best‑guess position for the vehicle even when individual sensors get noisy or unreliable. Maybe a better description of an EKF is that it works like a group of hired farm hands comparing notes in the field where the IMU, GNSS, LiDAR, and wheel sensors each tell their version of where the machine is. The EKF sorts through all those stories, throws out the ones that don’t make sense, and gives the vehicle one clean, reliable answer so it stays on the right line. But the real engineering challenge lies in weighting and validating those measurements. “Not all measurements are equally trustworthy,” Gallup explained. While a LiDAR solution in a clean warehouse may be excellent; in a dusty tunnel, it may be unusable. The fusion engine must constantly evaluate reliability and adjust weighting accordingly. A strong inertial core slows drift between updates, giving the system more breathing room when external sensors become unreliable. “Better inertial performance translates directly into better resilience,” she said. Why Timing Matters More Than Most Engineers Expect One of the most overlooked challenges in performing navigation, is timing. Gallup called it “critical, and consistently underestimated.” In an example, she said that if a vehicle is moving at 15 meters per second (49.2 feet/second), even a 1‑millisecond (0.001-second) timing error can cause significant spatial misalignment—especially when aligning LiDAR point clouds with inertial data. High‑performance systems therefore rely on microsecond‑level timestamp accuracy, pulse‑per‑second (PPS) synchronization, and low‑latency data paths. Without tight timing, even excellent sensors can produce poor results. Managing GNSS Degradation, Denial, and Reacquisition A resilient system does not treat GNSS as simply on or off. Instead, it manages through phases: available, degraded, denied, and reacquisition. When GNSS degrades, uncertainty increases and the filter shifts weight toward inertial propagation and other aiding sources. In full denial—such as an RF‑jammed tunnel—the system runs entirely on dead reckoning. Drift grows, but with good bias stability and calibration, it remains manageable.
17 The hardest part is reacquisition. If GNSS returns suddenly, the correction must be smooth. Any jump can destabilize control loops. Gallup emphasized that “that smooth handoff is just as important as handling the initial denial gracefully.” Spoofing: The Most Dangerous Failure Mode Spoofing in the world of technology is a deliberate attack where someone broadcasts fake GNSS signals that look completely legitimate to the receiver. Unlike jamming—which simply blocks the signal— spoofing is far more dangerous because it tricks the system into believing a false position. To the machine, the spoofed coordinates appear clean, strong, and trustworthy, so it begins navigating based on data that has been intentionally manipulated. For any autonomous platform, including those used in agriculture, that kind of false input can pull a vehicle off its guidance line, distort its path planning, or destabilize its control loops without any obvious warning to the operator. The core problem is that spoofed signals don’t look “bad.” They actually look too good, which means the system can’t rely on simple signal‑quality checks to detect them. Instead, it needs deeper consistency checks that compare GNSS updates against what the inertial sensors, wheel encoders, and other aiding sources say should be happening. If the numbers don’t line up, the system must recognize the spoofed data and reject it before it can cause drift or any sort of instability. As Gallup explained, “Inertial continuity becomes your reference for truth.” In contested environments, that continuity is what protects the mission from false position injection. Autonomy in a Jammed Tunnel Gallup pointed to a real‑world test involving an uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) driving through a tunnel where radio‑frequency signals were intentionally jammed. The vehicle relied on a navigation stack built around a CV7‑based inertial core, wheel encoders, LiDAR SLAM, and a trusted multiband GNSS receiver. Each of these sensors contributes a different piece of the localization puzzle, and the fusion engine decides which ones to trust at any given moment. As the UGV entered the tunnel, the GNSS receiver began reporting rising uncertainty—its covariance increased as the signal degraded, and then GNSS dropped out entirely. At that point, the system didn’t stumble or reset. It simply shifted to inertial‑LiDAR‑encoder fusion, using physics and environmental mapping to maintain a stable position estimate while GNSS was unavailable. Near the tunnel exit, the GNSS receiver began picking up signals again, but some of them were spoofed, producing updates that didn’t match what the inertial and LiDAR systems expected. The fusion engine automatically down‑weighted those inconsistent measurements, preventing them from corrupting the navigation solution. When clean GNSS finally returned, the system blended it back in smoothly—with, as Gallup put it, “no reset, no discontinuity in the position estimate.” Building Resilience From the Start Gallup summarized the value of external aiding: “[It] isn’t about piling on sensors. It’s about giving your navigation system more ways to stay accurate when any single source goes unreliable.” For agriculture, where autonomy must operate in unpredictable environments, that resilience is essential. Systems built on precision calibration, multi‑IMU noise reduction, accurate timing, and flexible aiding inputs will be far better equipped to handle GNSS outages, interference, and spoofing. As autonomous platforms continue to expand across American farms, navigation architectures built for resilience—not ideal conditions—will define the next generation of trusted localization. | pag “[IT] ISN’T ABOUT PILING ON SENSORS. IT’S ABOUT GIVING YOUR NAVIGATION SYSTEM MORE WAYS TO STAY ACCURATE WHEN ANY SINGLE SOURCE GOES UNRELIABLE.”
18 A precision livestock management company is providing farmers with a new tool available for the 2027 grazing season. Nofence, headquartered in Molde, Norway, and with its US operations in St. Paul, Minnesota, has released its N3 virtual fencing cattle collar. The company also has a presence in Canada, but that is only for research purposes. However, it said it does have plans to launch commercially in Canada within the next year. This new N3 collar builds on 10 years of Nofence’s virtual fencing expertise and is a stronger, lighter option than predecessors such as the 2.5. “Nofence was founded by livestock producers in Norway, and the product is continually built to meet what livestock producers are wanting and asking for,” Eric Yates, National Sales Director with Nofence, told the Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest. While bovines are the main audience for the N3, a version of the collar is also available for sheep (and lamb) producers. The N3 and the overall Nofence system use GPSenabled collars and a smartphone app. Once the solar-charged collar is on an animal and synced with the app, farmers can immediately begin tracking and managing livestock movement. “This is real time GPS tracking that allows them to know where the animal is at all times,” Yates pointed out. “And when a producer wants to contain or exclude (animals) from an area, they would draw a virtual fence on their smartphone device. It doesn’t matter the topography, or the terrain, there are zero limitations on where this virtual fence can go.” When a producer makes an update in the app, the collar will reflect that change in about two minutes. NO FENCE POSTS, NO WIRE, NO PROBLEM Nofence’s latest virtual fencing collar enables producers to direct livestock movement, monitor herd activity, and reduce labor demands from a smartphone. DIEGO FLAMMINI FARMS.COM
19 And in the case of a herd with multiple N3 collars, when one animal’s collar is updated, the rest will receive it automatically, thanks to Nofence’s proprietary collar-to-collar communication. This technology supports rotational grazing to ensure pastures aren’t overgrazed. It can also help farmers reduce labor costs. And with a containment rate of 99.7 percent, the animals are almost always right where they are supposed to be, explained Joachim Kähler, Chief Executive Officer of Nofence. Nofence said that as the animal approaches the boundary of the virtual fence, an audio warning is emitted and increases in pitch as the animal gets closer to the boundary. If the animal reaches the boundary, a mild electrical pulse travels through the chain of the collar to redirect the animal back to the herd. A unique feature on the N3 collar is its reproductive management capabilities. The collar tracks rumination, pedometry, and heat cycle scores. “When the animal comes into heat she has an increased movement and a decreased rumination pattern,” Yates said. “And we’re able to track that and identify and automatically record that for the producer in the system. So, they can go back and look and see when a cow returns to cyclicity after calving, (and) how many times a cow comes into heat whenever you have a bull present.” Another available feature is the app’s grazing report. Producers can customize the report to include whichever information is important. “It allows you to download what you’ve done over the course of a time period, and you can select that time period based off of whatever parameters you want, like if you have to submit it for a grant, or if you just want to know what the grazing pattern is,” noted Yates. Two future upgrades are already in the works. One will allow producers to schedule moves ahead of time, and the other is calving detection to alert a producer that an animal may have calved. Currently, farmers across six countries are using an estimated 200,000 N3 collars for their livestock management programs. Kähler was proud to share that producer feedback has been positive. “They’ve been received exceptionally well,” he said. “It’s five times more durable than previous hardware, and we backed that up with a 10-year warranty, which is twice the industry standard.” For more information, visit www.nofence.no/us. | pag PHOTO: Nofence
20 Precision agriculture can monitor crops from space, but what happens beneath the soil surface often remains a mystery. That’s the challenge UnderGround Weather hopes to address with its new AI-driven reporting platform, UnderGround Weather Reporter. The company, formerly known as AquaSpy and rebranded on August 4, 2026, developed Reporter to transform underground sensor measurements into actionable agronomic insights. The advanced platform combines direct in-soil sensing with artificial intelligence to help growers and advisers understand nutrient movement, root activity, and soil conditions throughout the growing season. Headquartered in San Diego, California, UnderGround Weather has spent nearly two decades developing underground sensing technology, experience that forms the foundation of Reporter. The product is not a standalone application but rather an AI layer integrated into the company’s existing soil intelligence platform. At the heart of the system is the company’s Crophesy LS-N probe, a wireless, battery-powered device available in three-, six-, and nine-sensor configurations. Sensors are positioned every four inches through the root zone, providing continuous measurements of nitrate, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), moisture, salinity, and temperature. An integrated AquaStrip sensor measures nitrate and ORP directly in the soil. Data is delivered through a subscription model that includes the probe, cellular connectivity, software, and reporting tools. Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest talked with Kathleen Glass, Vice President of Marketing, UnderGround Weather, who said that the development of Reporter was driven by a need to help agronomists interpret an overwhelming amount of underground data. “Most growers know exactly how much nitrogen they applied. Very few know what happened to it afterward,” Glass said. “UnderGround Weather measures continuously, at multiple depths, in place, all season. Instead of a snapshot, you see movement.” The challenge, she noted, is that a single field can generate thousands of measurements every week. Reporter was designed to analyze those measurements and explain what is happening underground more efficiently without requiring users to manually review multiple charts and datasets. Data collection begins with probes installed shortly after crop emergence. Measurements are captured every 15 minutes and transmitted hourly through cellular networks using narrowband IoT technology. The probes can operate for approximately five years without recharging. Reporter then analyzes the data alongside weather conditions, soil characteristics, crop growth stages, and management events whenever a user requests a report or asks a question. One of the platform’s distinguishing features is its focus on direct measurement rather than estimation. “Most agricultural AI begins with assumptions. It starts from a model, a satellite image, a drone flight, or a regional estimate, and infers what is likely happening underground,” Glass noted. “Ours begins with direct measurement inside the soil. We call it physical AI.” The system’s multiple measurements are intended to work together rather than independently. Nitrate readings reveal where nitrogen is located within the UNDERGROUND WEATHER BRINGS AI TO THE ROOT ZONE New technology combines continuous underground sensing with AI-powered analysis to help agronomists and growers better understand nutrient movement, crop conditions, and root zone activity. ANDREW JOSEPH FARMS.COM
21 soil profile, while moisture measurements help explain how water is moving through the root zone. ORP provides insight into oxygen availability and potential denitrification risk, salinity tracks salt accumulation, and temperature helps explain biological activity affecting nutrient cycling. By combining these measurements, agronomists can better understand why nutrient conditions are changing rather than simply observing that they have changed. The company’s sensing technology has also undergone independent evaluation. During the 20242025 lettuce season, researchers at the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center compared sensor-generated nitrate readings with laboratory soil analyses in both organic and conventional iceberg lettuce production systems. According to UnderGround Weather, sensor readings tracked the same trends observed in laboratory testing, with differences typically within three to four parts per million. The study monitored nitrate movement throughout the season across multiple soil depths, capturing responses to fertilizer applications and irrigation events. While the platform is designed to support management decisions, Glass emphasized that Reporter does not generate fertilizer prescriptions. “UnderGround Weather Reporter does not issue prescriptions. It will not tell a grower to apply twentyfive pounds,” Glass explained. “It reports what the underground environment is doing and what deserves attention, and the agronomist or grower makes the decision.” As adoption increases, the company said that several unexpected discoveries have emerged. One involves nitrate concentrations deeper in the profile than many growers typically monitor through conventional soil sampling. Another concerns ORP measurements, where field observations are challenging long-standing assumptions derived from wetland and laboratory research. Continuous monitoring has also revealed situations where healthy-looking crops masked significant underground nutrient dynamics that were invisible from the soil surface. The technology is currently deployed through more than 900 nutrient management subscriptions and is available across the US and Canada, with installations operating in nine countries. UnderGround Weather primarily works through ag retailers, cooperatives, and independent crop advisers rather than selling directly to growers. The Reporter platform can integrate with other farm management and agronomic software, allowing root-zone data to be viewed alongside weather, crop, and field management information. Looking ahead, the company expects continuous underground sensing to refine agronomic thresholds, provide in-season verification of biological and nutrient products, and support measurement-based sustainability reporting. As more field data is collected, UnderGround Weather believes the industry’s understanding of root zone dynamics will continue to evolve. For more information, visit www.UnderGroundWeather.ai. | pag PHOTO: Miha Creative – stock.adobe.com
01 Purdue Develops Low-Cost 3D Printed Groundwater Sensors Purdue researchers have developed affordable 3D-printed groundwater sensors that track underground water movement. The innovation supports environmental monitoring, data collection, and research while making advanced sensing technology more accessible. MORE 22 BITS & BYTES 02 Ancient Insect Inspires High Tech Solutions Dragonflies combine powerful vision, advanced flight skills, and efficient hunting abilities, inspiring engineers to develop better drones, sensors, and aircraft technologies. MORE 05 Advanced Drone Technology in Modern Agriculture ZenaTech earned a major AgTech award for its AI-powered drone technology, highlighting how aerial data and precision farming tools can improve crop management and farm efficiency. MORE 04 AI Mapping System Transforms Orchard Management A new AI-powered system combines drone imagery and ground robot data to create highly accurate orchard maps, improving navigation, automation, and farm management. MORE 03 John Deere Backs Rugged AI Farming Growth John Deere and Reservoir have launched a $10 million partnership to speed up rugged AI innovations, helping farmers improve efficiency, connectivity, and productivity. MORE
23 08 Free Satellite Data Powers Smarter Decisions Free satellite imagery and spray drone research help farmers improve crop monitoring, nutrient management, and field decisions while reducing costs. MORE 07 Post-harvest processing, often overlooked VT Dry Cure Technologies won a 2026 AgTech award for improving post-harvest processing with precision moisture control that helps reduce waste and protect quality. MORE 06 Smart Cart Cuts Turfgrass Herbicide Use A smart turfgrass cart developed by Arkansas researchers reduced herbicide use by up to 62 percent while improving weed control efficiency and lowering costs. MORE 09 Precision Guidance for Smaller Machines Kubota is bringing precision guidance technology to smaller machines with the launch of WorkSmart Autosteer, which is compatible with select tractors, mowers, and RTVs. MORE PHOTO: FluxFactory/E+ via Getty Images 10 Advanced Space Technology is Driving Smarter Farming The NASA-K-State partnership is bringing innovative space-based technologies to Kansas farms, helping farmers conserve resources, increase efficiency and strengthen long-term agricultural resilience. MORE
24 Water remains one of the most unpredictable and economically significant variables in crop production. In some regions, growers struggle through prolonged drought. In others, heavy rainfall events wash nutrients beyond the reach of plant roots. As weather variability increases, farmers are increasingly looking for tools that can help stabilize production while improving input efficiency. Green Evolution Technologies Inc. believes it has one such tool. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based company has spent years bringing a long-developed hydrogel technology to commercial agriculture through its flagship product, InteliGel. According to Dr. Chad Godsey, Chief Agronomist at Green Evolution Technologies, the company’s focus is straightforward: help farmers produce more while using fewer resources. “At the simplest level, we help farmers grow more while spending less on water and fertilizer—and we do it without degrading the ground they farm,” explained Dr. Godsey in a recent interview with Farms.com Precision Agriculture Digital Digest. A hydrogel platform developed by Green Evolution Technologies is designed to help growers improve water-use efficiency, reduce nutrient loss, and increase profitability across a wide range of cropping systems. BETTING ON SMART WATER MANAGEMENT ANDREW JOSEPH FARMS.COM
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