Four generations of the Samuel family have farmed in the San Joaquin Valley over the past century. Today, they're among the nation's leading suppliers of sugar- and preservative-free dried fruit.
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The problem
Jake Samuel often struggled to get ahead of mite flare-ups at his family-owned farm. His PCA visits less frequently in the summer months—so with limited information to work with, when Jake did discover mites he tended to spray the entire block, just to be safe. Though he'd been working with Ceres Imaging specifically on irrigation management, Jake now wondered if his aerial imagery might also help him detect mites earlier and make targeted interventions with confidence.
The solution
Reviewing imagery from the previous season, Jake found the mite problem was in fact visible before he had spotted the flare-up on the ground three weeks later. Jake now schedules more frequent summer flights to help spot mite problems before they impact the crop. When a pest problem does arise, the detailed imagery helps him save money with precision spraying.
The outcome
Ceres Imaging helped Samuel Farms cut costs by reducing spray applications by 50%.
The mite infestation is visible as more and yellow and red signals in the eastern side of the block, indicating increased stress.
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