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
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