Case Study: Bayer improves cheatgrass detection and rangeland productivity with Planet

Detecting and Eradicating Invasive Grass Affecting Pasture and Ranch Land

Bayer Environmental Science, a division focused on developing solutions for land management, faced the challenge of detecting and eradicating invasive grasses like cheatgrass, which were reducing productivity on ranch lands. They developed their own digital platform, RangeView, but its initial reliance on individual satellite image tiles and localized UAV data made it difficult to scale and provide a consistent, broad-scale view for users. This limited the ability of ranchers to effectively assess infestations and plan mitigation efforts.

To build a scalable solution, Bayer ES partnered with Planet and integrated their PlanetScope surface reflectance basemaps into the RangeView platform. The vendor's weekly imagery provided the necessary temporal and spatial resolution to accurately detect invasive grass. With the added support of Planet's Professional Services team, Bayer achieved over 90% accuracy in its cheatgrass identification models. This allowed land managers to monitor the effectiveness of treatments over time, significantly improving ecosystem productivity and providing a strong return on investment for their customers.

Bayer

Brent Slone

Director of Geospatial Solutions