Commercializing

Sustainable Agriculture:
Best Practices for
Long-Term Success
How to Document the Impact of Carbon
Sequestration & Biologicals with Drone Technology
 As Earth’s population grows, so do its carbon emissions. In fact, in a 2009 study,
researchers at Oregon State University determined that just one person’s “carbon
legacy” emitted 20 times more greenhouse gases than could be saved through
individual energy-efficient practices – and the United States leads the world as
one of the top offenders. Knowing this, leaders across industries must take the
lead and discover relevant, innovative ways to fight climate change. One such
sector: agriculture.

New agricultural products are developed year-over-year to help further carbon

sequestration initiatives and increase farming sustainability worldwide. While not
always outward-facing, these projects bleed into multiple departments of businesses
and highlight the need for ample documentation and easy data sharing. As a
sustainability program manager or even a member of a marketing team, you’ll need
a way to show that your products are being implemented and have proven results.
As a research and development professional, you’ll have to manage your trial plots to
understand which products work best under certain growing conditions. And as an
agronomist or salesperson, you’ll want to make the best and most informed product
recommendations for your customers – and they’ll want to see the hard data.

Utilizing a drone data solution for your documentation needs streamlines manual
processes and puts your focus back on what matters most: results. As a relatively
new piece of the global agriculture market, proper substantiation is of the utmost
importance as it validates these advancements in farming and propels the industry
forward. Demonstrating best practices, continual progress, and product success leads
to increased adoption, and overall, reduces our carbon footprint worldwide.

If you’re interested in learning more about state-of-the-art farming techniques for

greater environmental stewardship, or are just curious about recording sustainable
agricultural practices for long-term plant success, this is the guide for you.

In this eBook, you’ll learn about:

h The Rising Trend of Sustainable Agriculture
h Reducing Field Emissions with Carbon Sequestration
h A Carbon Trade Network
h Documenting Best Practices for Increased Adoption
h The Product Development of Biologicals
h Drone Data Solutions at Work on the Farm
h How to Get Started with DroneDeploy

Let’s dive in.

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 2
 The Rising Trend of Sustainable Agriculture
Today’s main challenges in agriculture revolve around serving the world’s growing
population while remaining mindful of the climate crisis. After all, farmers are often some
of the first and hardest-hit individuals by climate change’s effects, such as drought,
flooding, freezes, and other extreme weather events. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
has been identified as a top priority for businesses in the agronomy sector, and in the
technology age, this presents a unique opportunity to solve complex agricultural problems
with tools like AI, machine learning, and IoT. Plus, increasing awareness of these issues
spurs greater action, making it even more imperative to record and share new processes.
This is where drone data solutions come into play, as they offer unprecedented insights
into product trials, plant health, and operational testing.

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 3
 Reducing Field Emissions with Carbon
Sequestration
One technique that has quickly emerged as a go-to way of reducing field emissions is
carbon sequestration. To offset carbon gasses in the atmosphere, farmers can instead
capture and store them in their soil. As most conventional agriculture operations strip soil
and release this carbon into the air, this practice can significantly reduce global greenhouse
gases. The best part? Carbon sequestration acts as a domino effect and can also improve
your bottom line in conjunction with other environmentally friendly practices.

For example, if a farmer elects to participate in cover cropping, which protects soil quality
and promotes resilient crops, they’re likely to have a more robust yield. Moving livestock
grazing areas to these cover crops residing in durable soil reduces herbicide and fertilizer
inputs and minimizes fuel usage from fewer tillage passes. As one can see, once someone
begins farming sustainably, it has a significant business impact, too.

“To offset carbon

gasses in the
atmosphere,
farmers can
instead capture
and store them
in their soil.”

A Carbon Trade Network

Industry leaders like Indigo Ag and Bayer have recently introduced experimental programs
to promote carbon sequestration and like-minded practices with monetary incentives for
farmers. To put it simply, by increasing the amount of carbon in their fields or limiting
emissions, they can generate “verified carbon credits” that large corporations can purchase
to offset their carbon output. The farmer then receives either a cash payout or free
supplies. This is a radical new way of doing business and furthers Bayer’s goal of reducing
field GHG emissions by 30% in 2030.

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 4
Documenting Best Practices
for Increased Adoption
Now that we’ve covered concrete steps to becoming
more environmentally friendly in the field, we can
discuss how to document these practices to exemplify
progress tracking and eventual product success. As
an independent farmer working with a large
agriculture corporation, you’ll need to have physical
evidence that you’ve implemented set standard
operating procedures in order to unlock the benefits of
such a partnership. Drone insights offer a unique but
reliable way to do so.

“Continually flying
your fields as you
implement carbon
sequestration
techniques serves
as a visual record of
proof of work done.”
Continually flying your fields as you implement
carbon sequestration techniques serves as a
visual record of proof of work done. In a drone
map full of annotations, viewers can clearly see
if “no-till” practices were implemented, where
cover crops reside, and which plants came to
fruition. Not only does this immediately prove
trial, product, or practice successes, but these
maps can also be compared year-over-year to
examine the effectiveness of this on plant health.
This kind of data is primarily helpful to research
and development teams, but it can also aid
marketing departments and sustainability
program managers as they try to increase the
adoption of their products.

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 5
 The Product Development of Biologicals
This need for proper documentation is especially prevalent in the product
development of biologicals. Biologicals, a product that increases soil health, works
to reduce the number of pesticides needed when farming and diversify traditional
agricultural practices with cleaner materials. As research and development teams
conduct trials to understand product success, they’ll need repeated proof of growth
in trial settings. Once ready to bring to market, sales teams will need enablement
materials to sell these products. Drone imagery and the insights gleaned from such
evidence aids representatives throughout the sales cycle: identifying new
opportunities, building relationships with clients, and making the best
recommendations to customers.

“Drone imagery and the insights

gleaned from such evidence
aids representatives throughout
the sales cycle.”

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 6
 Drone Data Solutions at Work on the Farm
In February 2019, we detailed how Corteva Agriscience deployed the largest agricultural
drone fleet in the world to diagnose pest and product concerns, suggest locations for
optimal crop placement, and evaluate agronomic tools. Globally, using 400+ drones
equipped with DroneDeploy software, Corteva utilizes drone technology across their R&D,
production, and commercial departments to streamline field operations and provide best-
in-class services to customers. Their full-scale drone operation runs like a well-oiled
machine - in less than 15 minutes, drone technology enables them to conduct stand
counts and analyze variability on fields up to 160 acres. Since Corteva owns some of the
most recognizable brands in agriculture (Pioneer, Brevant seeds, and Granular), aerial
technology is essential to carrying out data-driven decisions.

© 2021 DroneDeploy Commercializing Sustainable Agriculture: Best Practices for Long-Term Success | 7
 How to Get Started with DroneDeploy
As our CEOs and board members get the call to take action on sustainability initiatives,
digital agriculture will be there to document and format this new information. As drone
technology becomes an essential piece for your operations, drone data will demonstrate
product and trial successes, sell more biologicals, and promotes the use of “green”
agricultural practices worldwide - reducing our global carbon footprint. And with
DroneDeploy features designed specifically for agronomy, such as Stand Assessment,
Live Map, and Plant Health, this process is even easier.

Detailed, referenceable documentation is needed now more than ever, as we’re just in the
early stages of quantifying sustainability programs’ successes. But by employing drone
technology on your farm, you’re taking the first step in measuring sustainable agriculture
initiatives. If you’re interested in getting started with drone insights, download our eBook
on precision agriculture, or cut right to the chase, and contact us.

Stand Count Report

Field 1 - 03/11/2021

Pilot: Chris L. | Images Captured: 50 | Flight Plan: Crop Report | Acres: 162

Site Population Summary

41% Median Population Crop Type

38% 23,550/ac Corn

21%

Median Spacing Median Plant Gaps

22.3K 24.5K 8.26” 600/ac

Map No Data Available

28.5K
22.9K
26.9K
27.5K 12.6K 25.5K 23.7K
27.3K 23.8K
14.5K 24.8K
11.0K 22.1K
13.2K 22.6K
14.2K
22.4K 24.5K
19.4K 24.2K
23.7K
21.5K 22.1K
18.5K 23.6K
20.3K 22.5K
22.5K 21.5K 22.5K
22.1K 23.8K
22.6K
22.4K
23.4K
23.1K 22.5K
27.1K
22.8K
26.5K
23.5K
25.8K
17.4K
24.2K
22.9K
21.4K
23.7K

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