Matt Gunderson is already seeing the benefit of a new tech partnership between Farmers National Co. and Farmers Edge Inc. “Late this year, we had a hail incident on the back corner of an 80-acre field, and we got a notice of a hail occurrence from the system,” says the senior vice president, sales and marketing, Farmers National.

That alert got an FNC manager to reach out to the farm operator to check out the report. He found an additional 5 acres of field that was hail-damaged, and they were able to file a claim on it. “They would not have seen some of that claim based on where it was located and the access point to the field,” Gunderson recalls. “This system will allow us to assess field issues more easily.”

The system is Farmers Edge, and for FNC managers, a new partnership is allowing access to the daily satellite imagery, machine-learning image insights and weather alerts. “It’s going to be deployed on the ground that our farm managers have for the farmers that are crop-share and custom farms," Gunderson says. “This gives our farm managers more data to work with.”

Eyes in the sky

For now, FNC has access to the imagery, alerts and crop health data offered through Farmers Edge. Machine data in-field equipment is being shared with this relationship. Gunderson says that for farmers using Farmers Edge on their operations, they could share that machine data for a specific field.

“If they have that can-plug, we can get access to the data on that field, but we cannot get data on nonmanaged fields,” he adds.

The main benefit is the imagery and interpretation available to users. “This is going to help us manage better,” Gunderson adds. “We’re already asking for data on the managed farm ground and working with managers on getting information to flow seamlessly into the platform.”

But the company is “already out of the gate” with the satellite imagery and weather data. “We’re starting to see when a weather occurrence happens and how that can impact a particular field,” he says.

This is important information that Gunderson says a farmer and farm manager can use when evaluating future capital expenditures — whether that’s more tile on a field or terrace maintenance. And if that ground has irrigation pivots at work, the system can identify when there are nozzle issues with the pivot. “We can identify those drier spots and situations easier and faster with this system,” he adds.

Changing nature of farm management

Wade Barnes, CEO and co-founder, Farmers Edge, notes in a release announcing the partnership that leasing land is a high-stakes investment for everyone involved. “Landowners want to ensure their assets are protected for generations to come, and operators need to be able to demonstrate their commitment to the land while also turning a profit.”

Barnes explains that Farmers Edge and FNC are equipping clients with solutions that improve land value while also bringing a new level of connectivity and decision-support for sustainable crop production. “Digital agriculture is reshaping the industry, and farm real estate is no exception,” he says. “I predict we will see a significant shift in the importance it plays in operator selection, conservation requirements and land prices in years to come.”

Adds Gunderson: “We’ve been evaluating [Farmers Edge] for several years. We’ve been working to refine our use and figure out the data information flow, and we want to use one platform across all we have to streamline ease of use.”

He adds that this relationship gives operators “a second or third set of eyes on that property to help, if a situation arises.”