Customer Stories

TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS Having used predominantly manual methods for mapping and classifying landscapes with IACS, states would now have to create a digital Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) to accurately map their agricultural land at a very high resolution, as well as classify all vegetative features on each parcel by type and height. Without an LPIS, States cannot apply for aid payments; and without a way to effectively archive and update the information to ensure claims can be validated, farmers and States risk financial penalties. Germany's RLP AgroScience saw the opportunity to use advanced spatial technology to automate this monumental task in order to help its local authorities meet the EU's requirements. Using spatial data and technology, RLP AgroScience, together with local authorities, created an operational system that completely automates the process of mapping and classifying vegetation, and quickly produces precise, standardized classification datasets––the root layer of the vegetative features in the LPIS. The first of its kind in Germany, RLP AgroScience has not only proven that large-scale, automated and repeatable landscape- feature classification is possible, it has the operational seeds to possibly grow this system beyond its regional borders. CHALLENGE State authorities need to map their landscapes well enough that they can prove––from their computer screen––that any farmer's aid claim is accurate. This requires that every bush and tree on the ground has its geospatial counterpart in the LPIS. For RLP AgroScience that meant inventorying and classifying individual vegetative features across the Rhineland-Palatinate's 19,000 square kilometers (7,336 square miles). It estimated it would need 15 full-time staff and a full year to manually digitize that volume of vegetation, a timeline that would jeopardize meeting the application deadline. RLP AgroScience needed an intelligent, flexible and efficient image analysis tool that could objectively and automatically identify and classify vegetation. And since the claims application deadline is yearly, the solution for the landscape-feature classification needed to offer repeatable and adaptable workflows that could quickly integrate new data, run new classifications and allow for any unexpected compliance rules issued by the EU. To fully meet the EU classification requirements, the system also needed to produce vector datasets that could seamlessly integrate with the Open Geospatial Consortium, and Inspire- compliant geodata infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate. overview When the European Union (EU) established the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), a spatial-based, technological system to improve the application process for agriculture subsidy payments, it presented a significant challenge for member states. Location NEUSTADT AN DER WEINSTRASSE, GERMANY

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