Identify and plan for naturally occurring obstacles such as soil compaction – SIS provides sustainable growers with an in-depth understanding of soil characteristics that may lead to problems in the future. Once identified, areas of high soil compaction can be properly addressed without turning to non-sustainable methods.
Conserve water and prepare for potential scarcity – Sustainable farmers can use SIS to develop and implement watering strategies that ensure adequate crop hydration levels without exceeding the carrying capacity of a regional water supply. Farmers anticipating potentially more stringent regulations on water use can implement SIS to develop minimum and maximum availability models and plan irrigation strategies accordingly.
Reduce chemical inputs and realize the benefits of existing soil fertility – SIS gives sustainable farmers the information they need to reduce or potentially eliminate the application of chemical fertilizers and amendments. Use intelligent modeling to ensure that your sustainably grown crops can be competitive with those conventionally-grown, both in terms of quality and price point. After an inital STI evaluation, growers can track changes in the soil nutrient profile with updated maps from STI for a fraction of the original mapping cost - this ongoing monitoring is an essential element of responsible management.