Aerial imagery in HawkEye
The imagery used in HawkEye is supplied by an aerial imagery service provider and is flown by fixed-wing aircraft rather than satellite imagery like Google and others.
There are many reasons we use this imagery, but the primary objective we have is to provide accurate information for precision agricultural use. With Land Information New Zealand [LINZ] and the regional councils working together to fly the country at various timeframes, this base layer is updated when new imagery is made available publicly.
From our own investigations we believe, there is still too much horizontal inaccuracy in satellite imagery products for us to switch to a new provider. The imagery used in HawkEye has a horizontal error of 70 centimetres or less, whereas many satellite providers can have a horizontal error of 20 metres or even more in some cases in rural areas. If we think about precision agriculture and things that matter such as waterway exclusions for spreading and spraying products, accurate nutrient placement and reporting etc, we believe that using data that may be in error of 20 metres is not acceptable.
At HawkEye we also offer a service of uploading your own imagery for your farm should you have had it flown by aircraft or drone/UAV and it is already orthorectified. This will ensure you have the most recent imagery available for you to view your farm within HawkEye. Of course, over time the underlying base layer may become more recent than that provided by you, so we can then remove what you provided to once again show the most recent imagery for your farm.
Links of interest
- Imagery available creative commons attribution
- National imagery coordination
- Imagery acquisition register
Please note – this article is for New Zealand users only
Our Articles
-
Artificial Intelligence to revolutionise fertiliser use for NZ farmers and growers
09 June 2025 -
Ground spreading guesswork gone
Howard Pedersen is closer to the land than almost anyone in the Hawke’s Bay.
Besides running a 600-hectare sheep and beef farm, he is also in charge of a multi-vehicle ground-spreading company. Spreading fertiliser has been their speciality for more than two decades, but these days things are done much more differently.
09 May 2022 -
Aerial spreaders' big move forward
Pinpoint map plotting, precision piloting, and more production.
Aerial spreaders are praising the benefits of HawkEye - farm planning, and mapping software developed and supplied by Ravensdown.
04 April 2022 -
We're ready for July nitrogen reporting, are you?
With the deadline for dairy farmers to report their 2021/2022 nitrogen usage fast approaching, it’s never been more important to record what, when and where your nutrients are being applied. HawkEye Product Manager, Phil Barlow, gives us an insight into what the team has been doing to help farmers get ready for the 31 July deadline.
Phil Barlow
16 February 2022 -
FEP & FEMP Tools: Not all nutrient management reporting is created equally
Planning, managing, and reporting on your farm nutrient usage for compliance is about to get a whole lot easier using HawkEye. We are continually developing custom tools and reports to ensure it's as easy as possible for you to monitor your farm's nutrient usage and quickly provide accurate compliance information when needed.
10 March 2021 -
Preparing for Environmental Management reporting
09 March 2021 -
Take control: Simplifying nutrient management
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step” – so the saying goes. To many, the path to regulated farm environment planning and compliance may feel like a thousand-mile journey.
Tim Roulston - Ravensdown National Services Manger
07 March 2021 -
Taking control with easy ordering
05 March 2021 -
Automated tech leads to greater farm efficiencies
For many farmers, the goal is to be out farming the land, not stuck in the office surrounded by paperwork.
11 September 2019 -
An Eye On HawkEye
HawkEye is focused on delivering solutions for some of the biggest challenges farmers are facing – better management of nutrients, pasture, crops and the on-farm environmental footprint.
Tim Roulston, Ravensdown National Services Manager
01 May 2019 -
Aerial imagery in HawkEye
The imagery used in HawkEye is supplied by an aerial imagery service provider and is flown by fixed-wing aircraft rather than satellite imagery like Google and others.
Phil Barlow
24 August 2018 -
Unpredictable times call for predictive measures
The combination of the dairy industry’s current troubles, market volatility, more frequent weather extremes and rising debt, leads to a greater uncertainty in the farming community. This article talks about putting the predictive back into farming businesses where we can.
Dr Rob Murray - Technology Innovation Manager, Ravensdown
01 June 2018 -
HawkEye® - new technology to enable smarter farming
Introducing HawkEye®, a set of pasture bench-marking and forecasting tools that will help farmers make smarter nutrient decisions by showing planned versus actual nutrient investments over time
14 November 2017 -
User driven technology
Creating technology solutions may seem straightforward: build a new tool, release it to market, then sit back and congratulate yourself on a job well done.
Phil Barlow - HawkEye Product Manager
07 November 2017 -
The future of HawkEye®
Pasture tools and analysis are now available via HawkEye® including actual and predictive feed wedges, growth rates and strategic feed budgets.
Phil Barlow - HawkEye Product Manager
01 November 2017