NASA Harvest is partnering with the European Space Agency to refine and test its WorldCereal crop mapping system for use in more complex agricultural settings. At a recent workshop, we joined our partners and a national government agency in Zambia to test the system using localized data, focusing on how it performs in real-world conditions.

NASA Harvest scientists reviewed a decade of satellite-based yield modeling in smallholder systems, where limited ground data and complex field conditions continue to constrain performance. Their findings explain why models often struggle to transfer across regions and point to improved field data and sampling as the main path to more reliable estimates.

Planet has launched a planetary security initiative that explicitly connects Earth observation to food and water risk. A central component is its collaboration with NASA Harvest through the RAAPID initiative, which focuses on rapid, data-driven responses to emerging agricultural shocks. By combining Planet’s high-frequency satellite imagery with Harvest’s analytical frameworks, the effort aims to detect disruptions earlier and translate them into actionable signals for food security planning.

Members of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and Kentucky Corn Growers Association traveled to NASA Headquarters to engage directly with the agency’s Earth science leadership and research teams.

The visit included discussions with Karen St. Germain, Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, our sister consortium NASA Acres and the broader NASA agriculture team.

NASA is continuing to further develop our relationship with America's farming community and develop satellite-based tools to support farm-level decision making.