SAN FRANCISCO — Washington-based thermal data and analytics startup Hydrosat is expanding its Latin American business.
Mexico’s EE Print Pack, Rex Irrigación Huasteca and Grupo Inders will provide “growers across Mexico and Guatemala” with Hydrosat’s tools to improve water use efficiency, increase crop yields and promote sustainable agriculture, Hydrosat announced Sept. 26.
Hydrosat send its first thermal-infrared instrument into low-Earth orbit in July on Loft Orbital’s YAM-7 mission. Data from Hydrosat’s first mission feeds into the company’s IrriWatch platformwhich also ingests NASA and European Space Agency thermal-infrared data.
IrriWatch is designed to offer farmers “critical insights on essential crop conditions, such as leaf and soil temperatures, soil moisture, water use, and overall agricultural productivity,” according to the news release. Hydrosat’s goal is to help farmers “maximize yields while minimizing water consumption, supporting fertilizer management through leaf nitrogen monitoring, facilitating carbon sequestration analysis, and delivering hyper-local weather data.”
Improving Yields
EE Print Pack will bring Hydrosat’s technology to Mexico via its newly launched Agrolika division.
“Our collaboration with Hydrosat is the next step in modernizing agriculture across Mexico,” said EE Print Pack CEO Alonso García said in a statement. “By incorporating Hydrosat’s data-driven insights, we are equipping farmers with the tools they need to optimize water usage and improve yields, which is vital for both economic growth and environmental sustainability.”
Rex Irrigación Huasteca will integrate IrriWatch with its offerings for Mexico’s Huasteca region.
“IrriWatch is a tool that allows farmers to monitor their fields reliably and accurately to obtain the highest productivity,” Luis Martínez Rosete, Rex Irrigación Huasteca general manager, said in a statement. “All Mexican farmers need this tool to make decisions based on real-time data from their fields. Together, we are enabling producers to increase yields while promoting responsible resource management.”
Grupo Inders of Mexico also signed a contract with Hydrosat. Under the agreement, Grupo Inders will market Hydrosat’s to agricultural operations across Latin America.
Prior to the latest contracts, Hydrosat already was working with Magdalena in Guatemala and EcoSuelo in Chile.
“Through partnerships such as these, Hydrosat can enable hard working growers of all sizes and in all regions to benefit from satellite data to help them make the critical decisions that they face every day with greater confidence and more perfect information,” Hydrosat CEO and co-founder Pieter Fossel said in a statement. “Our new contracts in Mexico and Guatemala not only broaden our reach in Latin America but also demonstrate the growing demand for innovative agricultural solutions.”
With the latest contract, IrriWatch serves customers in 43 countries.
Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco.Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She…More by Debra Werner