PrecisionHawk and Genera Energy have announced a partnership to develop data management tools for biomass crops.  Genera is a company that supplies biomass feedstocks and services, while Precision Hawk is a premier UAV manufacturer.  PrecisionHawk has successfully developed the DataMapper software program to help interpret the thousands of data points gained by a pass of the UAV through the field, but currently their program works only with traditional crops.  This partnership combines Genera’s expertise in biomass crops with the PrecisionHawk software to create new algorithms for biomass farmers.

“Working with PrecisionHawk to develop advanced data collection and analysis tools elevates commercial-scale biomass supply chains to the forefront of technological innovation for crop management, risk reduction, and efficiency” said Dr. Sam Jackson, Vice President of Business Development at Genera. “PrecisionHawk is the leading company in remote sensing in a variety of industries, including agriculture. Partnering our agronomic knowledge and skills with their outstanding technology platform is a win not only for us, but for the entire biomass industry.”

Since 2008, Genera Energy has grown to be the industry leader in biomass supply and supply chain services. Its expertise in dedicated energy crops allows it to provide unique services and solutions to its customers. The first group of research tools to be developed under the new partnership will focus on lignocellulosic crops, core to Genera’s expertise.

“This partnership is a great opportunity to develop decision support tools that provide a more sustainable and efficient path for energy production,” said Dr. Allison Ferguson, Director of Education and Research Partnerships at PrecisionHawk. “Genera Energy has built an impressive reputation in agriculture and energy, and we look forward to offering this suite of useful solutions for the betterment of the industry.”

The analysis of information could benefit growers in a variety of ways, Dr. Jackson told Chuck in a recent interview. “They can run that data through this platform and really get out some useful management information.  It could be a projection of yield at anytime during the growing season, it could be looking at nitrogen deficiency in the crop, maybe water deficiency or water usage, pests, there’s a whole host of things we can look for there,” he says.

The new information will be useful not only to growers, but possibly to crop insurance companies as well.  Since insurance is built on past performance of a crop, this new information could help companies create a service for growers.

The first version of the tool will be available next spring, with continued updates planned through the next several years.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dr. Jackson to hear the full story. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/genera-precisionhawk-11-11-15.mp3″ text=”Interview with Dr. Sam Jackson, Genera Energy”]