Zema Global adds SatYield satellite crop forecasts

Zema Global has partnered with SatYield to offer satellite-based crop forecasts to agricultural commodity market participants, covering the US and Brazil.

The agreement gives Zema Global customers access to SatYield's in-season analytics on yield and production for crops including corn and soy. The dataset also includes planted and harvested area estimates, condition indicators, growth stage and phenology, harvest progress, weather impact indicators, historical time series, backtesting data and supporting documentation.

The offering is aimed at traders, hedge funds and other market participants seeking a view of crop development between official reporting points. It places SatYield's crop data alongside Zema Global's existing market, weather and supply-and-demand information.

Users can compare satellite-derived estimates with datasets such as USDA and WASDE reports, exchange data and broader agricultural market information within the same system. The partnership is also relevant to energy market participants tracking agricultural output tied to biofuels.

Market timing

Agricultural commodity prices can shift as weather patterns change and expectations for yields and production are revised during the growing season. In that environment, firms often seek earlier signs of whether crop conditions are improving or deteriorating before official estimates are updated.

SatYield combines satellite observations with biophysical crop modelling to track crop conditions and estimate acreage, yields and production as the season progresses. This can give users an independent view of physical crop development in major producing regions across the US and Brazil.

The tie-up is designed to give market participants information they can use in supply analysis, trading strategies and risk management. It can also help them assess regional conditions and the effect of weather on productivity.

For Zema Global, the partnership adds a new agricultural dataset to a broader platform used by companies in energy, commodities and finance. For SatYield, it provides access to an established customer base already using organised market and fundamentals data for trading and analysis.

Independent signal

The two companies presented the arrangement as a way to get a faster read on physical supply. Crop markets can move materially before final official estimates are available, particularly when acreage or yield expectations shift during the season.

"Commodity markets do not need more data. They need earlier, independent signals that help them understand how physical supply is changing before it becomes market consensus," said Gabby Nizri, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SatYield. "SatYield brings the physical crop signal, while Zema makes it decision-ready by synchronizing it with the market, weather and fundamental data customers already use."

The integration is particularly relevant for hedge funds and agricultural commodity traders active in soy and corn markets. It also has applications for participants assessing production trends linked to biofuels feedstocks.

Zema Global said customers would be able to bring SatYield's crop intelligence into models that already use official reports, weather data and market information. The aim is to help users assess how shifts in crop conditions may alter broader supply-and-demand balances.

SatYield said it has demonstrated an ability to identify changes in acreage, yield and production during the growing season, offering a forward-looking signal as crop conditions evolve. That is likely to interest firms trying to judge market direction before government estimates are finalised.

"SatYield brings an innovative source of crop intelligence to the market," said Eric Steimel, Chief Data Officer, Zema Global. "Through the Zema Global Decisioning Infrastructure, customers can bring that signal into a decision-ready data foundation and make faster, more informed decisions as markets become more complex."