Industries: agriculture, forestry and environment
Satellite data in agriculture, forestry and environment
Satellite data shows the condition of crops, forests, water and habitats over large areas and over time. Farms use it to monitor crops and apply inputs precisely, forest owners to detect damage and deforestation, fisheries to track vessels, and environmental bodies to monitor ecosystems. The use cases below show what satellite data can already do there, and where it stops.
- Terrain, river and parcels
- Field parcels, from low (light) to high (dark)
- Woodland on the upper slopes
- Felled or damaged since the last image
01Use cases
What satellite data can do in agriculture, forestry and the environment
Fields, forests, rivers and coasts cover large areas that are hard to survey on foot. Satellites observe them regularly and over many years.
- UC-26
Crop monitoring and precision farming with satellite data
How satellites help farms monitor crops and apply fertiliser, seed and water precisely: Sentinel-2 vegetation data, GNSS guidance, benefits and limits.
- UC-27
Forest monitoring with satellite data
How satellite data detects forest damage, bark beetle stress and deforestation: Copernicus forest layers, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series, and limits.
- UC-28
Biodiversity monitoring with satellite data
What satellite data shows about habitats and water quality: land cover for Natura 2000 sites, Sentinel-3 water data, and where fieldwork stays essential.
- UC-29
Satellite IoT use cases: connecting remote sensors
How remote sensors send data via satellite: gateways with satellite backhaul, direct-to-satellite IoT and NB-IoT over satellite, with delays and limits.
02Products
How to find solutions in agriculture, forestry and the environment
Spacegraph, the discovery platform we develop, lists providers of space-enabled solutions in a marketplace, with industry categories for agriculture and forestry and for environment and climate, and use-case categories such as forestry management and biodiversity and ecosystems.
03Consulting
Talk to us about your use case
Our consulting covers the whole path for farms, forest owners and environmental bodies: from the first assessment of a use case to a service in operation.
04Topics
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment
T-01
Agriculture
Earth observation monitors vegetation, biomass and soil condition and forecasts crop yields. It also feeds weather and climate services for agriculture and the monitoring of practices required under the EU Common Agricultural Policy. GNSS steers tractors automatically, guides farm machinery and tracks livestock, and together with Earth observation it maps field boundaries and directs variable-rate application and precision irrigation Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). Satellite communication connects sensors in remote fields and can automate irrigation based on soil moisture and weather data Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for the bioeconomyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
T-02
Forestry
Earth observation monitors forest inventories and their health from a distance and detects illegal logging and deforestation. GNSS guides forest machinery, positions drones for hyperspectral or lidar imaging and locates sensors on trees. For the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which sets due diligence requirements for commodities such as soy, beef, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber and timber, EUSPA describes how authorities can draw on GNSS coordinates of the plots of land and on deforestation analysis from Earth observation Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 20242024Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).
T-03
Fisheries and aquaculture
Earth observation helps locate fish stocks, and optical and radar imagery traces fishing vessels to help combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. GNSS tracks vessels through the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and supports safety at sea. In aquaculture, Earth observation supports the selection of sites for new fish farms Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).
T-04
Climate, environment and biodiversity
Earth observation monitors snow, ice caps and permafrost, sea-level rise and the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In ecosystems on land, in water and along coasts, it measures parameters such as soil health and water quality and shows when an imbalance threatens plants and animals. GNSS tracks threatened animals Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). Satellite data also shows the quality and level of water in reservoirs and rivers Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for the bioeconomyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int).
05Limits
When satellite data is not the answer in agriculture, forestry and the environment
Limit 01
Clouds in the growing season
Optical sensors cannot see through cloud, and cloudy weeks often fall exactly when a crop or a forest needs watching. Radar sees through cloud but measures different things.
Limit 02
Field and tree level
Whether a small field, a single tree or a narrow stream can be seen depends on the resolution of the data. Free data covers large areas well; fine detail usually costs more.
Limit 03
Biodiversity needs fieldwork
Biodiversity monitoring still relies heavily on observations on site; Earth observation is increasingly used to assess ecosystem conditions and habitat change at scale Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).
Frequently asked questions
Q1How can satellite data help agriculture?
Earth observation lets farmers monitor crop performance remotely and reduce their use of inputs such as fertiliser, and it gives public authorities and economists data for their analyses. GNSS guides machinery and tracks livestock Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). Satellite communication brings internet access to rural farms and connects sensors in the field for real-time monitoring Source: European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space Solutions, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Space SolutionsESA Space Solutions: Space for the bioeconomyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens business.esa.int). Our use case on crop monitoring and precision farming explains how this works on the field.
Q2Which problems does Earth observation solve in agriculture and forestry, and which does GNSS solve?
Earth observation answers questions about the state of the land and how it changes: crop and forest health, biomass, soil condition, yield forecasts, deforestation and illegal logging. GNSS answers questions about position: steering tractors and forest machines, mapping field boundaries, positioning drones and locating sensors on trees Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). Many applications use both, for example variable-rate application, which pairs GNSS positioning with Earth observation to distribute varying amounts of agrichemicals and seed across a field Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 126 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu).
Q3Is there consulting for satellite data in agriculture in Europe?
Our consulting is not tied to a sector: it takes a use case from the first assessment through requirements and procurement to a pilot. In agriculture and forestry, a good first step is often a market scan, because many services already exist: Spacegraph, the discovery platform we develop, has marketplace categories for agriculture and forestry and for environment and climate. See our consulting overview for how we work.
Q4Do we have to pay for satellite data?
Not necessarily. Copernicus services and data are free of charge Source: European Union, EUR-Lex, 12 May 2021European Union, EUR-LexRegulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme12 May 2021Open source (opens eur-lex.europa.eu). What you usually still procure is the processing, analysis and delivery around the data, which our procurement guide explains.
Sources (4)
- EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
- EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 2024 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
- ESA Space Solutions: Space for the bioeconomy (opens business.esa.int)
- Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (opens eur-lex.europa.eu)
Contact
Talk to us about your use case.
Book a call, or send us a message if you prefer to write.
Prefer to talk?
Tell one of our experts about your project. Together we work out where you stand, whether satellite data and AI can help and what a sensible next step would be.
Both calls are free of charge and take place online. You choose a date in our booking calendar.
Prefer to write? Send us a message.
All fields are required.