Duration: 12 months
Objectives of the Product
The Messium Nitrogen Estimator addresses key challenges faced by farmers and agronomists in optimising nitrogen fertiliser and managing crop nutrient deficiencies. Many farmers currently rely on imprecise methods causing over- or under-fertilisation, leading to financial loss and environmental harm.
Messium’s enhanced product provides an advanced hyperspectral satellite-based system delivering precise, frequent nitrogen concentration estimates at 5m x 5m resolution, enabling variable rate fertiliser application tailored to local soil and crop conditions. It integrates crop growth models and real-time weather data to offer accurate, dynamic fertilisation recommendations, minimising fertilizer waste and maximising yields.
Additionally, the solution detects non-nitrogen nutrient deficiencies (e.g., sulfur, magnesium) in-season, allowing proactive crop health management beyond nitrogen alone. The product includes an intuitive user interface for farmers without existing tech platforms, ensuring accessibility. Delivery combines satellite hyperspectral data, enhanced machine learning models, and integration with farm machinery systems for seamless variable rate applications.
This enables data-driven, cost-effective farming with improved profitability, environmental sustainability, and resilience to fertiliser supply challenges, positioning it as a comprehensive precision agriculture tool for large and small-scale farms across diverse regions. The product is validated through extensive trials with farmers and agronomy partners to ensure suitability and efficacy in operational farming environments.
Customers and their Needs
Targeted customers for Messium’s product are primarily farmers and agronomists who are directly involved in managing crop nutrition. Farmers prioritise reducing costs, increasing crop yields, and improving profitability, while agronomists seek precise data to optimise crop physiology and fertiliser use. Both groups face challenges with existing imprecise, costly, labour-intensive nitrogen management methods that lack scalability and accuracy. The product also involves secondary customers such as fertiliser companies, agronomy groups and research organisations, who serve as partners or distribution channels, broadening market access and adoption.
Farmers need an easy-to-use interface that integrates seamlessly or functions independently if no existing tech system is in place, given that 35% do not currently use technology providers. They require precise, frequent variable rate fertiliser application (VRA) insights tailored to local soil and crop conditions to maximise yield and reduce input costs. Additionally, farmers face challenges detecting non-nitrogen nutrient deficiencies during the season, which the product addresses with alert systems.
Secondary customers, like fertiliser companies, seek to differentiate by integrating Messium’s technology into their services, while agronomy groups and research partners contribute via trials and validation, enabling product refinement and commercialisation. Partnerships with these users are essential for credibility, adoption, and scaling in diverse regional markets.
Targeted customer/users' countries
Europe, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, US & Canada.
Product description
The product is an advanced hyperspectral machine learning precision fertilisation system for wheat, forming an end-to-end digital solution to optimise nitrogen use and detect nutrient deficiencies with unprecedented accuracy. It delivers live, in-season nitrogen concentration maps and variable rate application (VRA) recommendations at a high spatial resolution, leveraging hyperspectral satellite imagery, crop growth models (APSIM, DSSAT), and weather forecasts (ECMWF). The system includes an intuitive user interface that farmers can access independently or via integration with existing farm management platforms, allowing easy viewing and management of their fields and fertilisation plans.
Innovations focus on combining cutting-edge hyperspectral satellite data from multiple global providers with machine learning models trained on extensive spectral libraries and ground-truthed data, enabling real-time, frequent, and cost-effective nutrient analysis beyond traditional NDVI-based approaches. Key innovations include highly granular VRA recommendations and in-season non-nitrogen nutrient deficiency detection, allowing targeted fertiliser application and improved crop health.
Farmers interact with the product primarily through the web-based dashboard, receiving notifications of updated recommendations and alerts for nutrient issues. They can download VRA files compatible with common farm spraying equipment, enabling seamless, data-driven fertiliser application.
Architecture Diagram
Added Value
Messium’s solution brings significant added value compared to existing nitrogen management methods through its use of cutting-edge hyperspectral satellite technology and advanced machine learning and crop growth models. Unlike conventional multispectral satellite tools, such as NDVI, which cannot accurately measure nitrogen concentration, Messium provides highly precise nitrogen estimates at a 5m x 5m spatial resolution. This granular insight enables optimised variable rate fertiliser application (VRA), reducing waste and maximising crop yield potential, especially in large and heterogenous fields.
The solution is also more scalable and cost-effective than tractor-mounted sensors, handheld devices, drone imaging, and lab testing, which face challenges in coverage, labour intensity, frequency of updates, and cost. Messium’s frequent satellite revisit rate ensures timely, near real-time nitrogen assessment, enabling farmers to make informed decisions during the growing season rather than relying on outdated or sporadic data.
Additionally, Messium’s innovation extends beyond nitrogen by detecting in-season, non-nitrogen nutrient deficiencies which current methods cannot address efficiently.
The integrated platform and API allow seamless delivery of actionable insights to farmers and agronomy partners, supporting adoption through existing workflows without requiring major behaviour change. Overall, Messium delivers superior accuracy, cost savings, scalability, and holistic nutrient management unmatched by competitors.
Current Status
The Messium Nitrogen Estimator CCN1 activity was kicked off in September 2025. The work is currently in progress, focusing at present on incorporation of user feedback to deliver MVP UI, VRA capabilities and non-N deficiency detection functionality.
