One major highlight in Monsanto’s R&D pipeline update today was the Climate Corporation’s extensive 35-plus projects in its research and development pipeline. The Monsanto subsidairy also announced plans to expand its industry-leading Climate FieldView digital agriculture platform into new international geographies over the next few years.
“Climate has made incredible progress this year and the digital ag pipeline is now the most robust in the industry with more than 35 projects in R&D, including six advancements to commercialization that are all part of the paid elements of our platform,” said Robert Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto’s chief technology officer, in Monsanto’s R&D pipeline update today.
The science behind the company’s widely adopted Climate FieldView platform leverages data from the soil, field, and atmosphere to help farmers better understand field variability and customize their agronomic practices to get the most out of every acre.
The Climate R&D pipeline highlights include:
Seeds & Planting Product Selection – Through the collection and analysis of millions of data points on seed product performance across many geographies, Climate’s seed product selection research is designed to help farmers select the most ideal seed products for their fields.
Fertility Prescriptions – To help farmers efficiently manage fertility and maximize productivity, Climate is working to develop variable rate prescription tools for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. With these tools, Climate expects to provide the industry’s first comprehensive fertility solution, delivering customized insights for crop nutrition and fertility management, tailored to farmers’ unique goals.
Field Health – Disease Insights – Climate’s field health R&D is focused on providing data that helps farmers see what’s happening in each field, prioritize in-season crop management, and use satellite imagery and other field data to make input decisions for the next season. A first for the digital ag industry, Climate is also developing a new directed scouting tool to help farmers understand which fields to prioritize during scouting, helping them save time and protect their yield before it’s impacted at the end of the season.
“There’s a tremendous opportunity for farmers to maximize their yield potential by tailoring their management practices to address field variability,” said Sam Eathington, chief scientist for The Climate Corporation. “Farming at the zone level is the new reality. Climate is already delivering advanced seed scripting and zone-level nitrogen monitoring capabilities, and our robust research pipeline ensures we will continue to provide farmers actionable insights to help them operate more efficiently and sustainably, while supporting all of the key decisions they have to make each year to optimize yield.”
