Equipment and services company CNH’s investment arm, CNH Ventures, took a minority stake in Bem Agro, a Brazilian startup that uses artificial intelligence to convert aerial field images — including those taken from machines, drones and satellites — into agronomic mapping reports.

The reports provide data that enables farmers to make decisions about optimizing field operations, allocating resources and increasing yield while potentially driving improved machine performance and reduced running costs.

In sugarcane, grain and fiber harvesting, where farmers can face low-visibility conditions, Bem Agro’s maps provide guidance lines for course correction and crop damage reduction. The company’s weed mapping also pinpoints specific areas to be sprayed.

This investment from CNH follows more than five years of commercial partnership between the company and Bem Agro. CNH currently uses Bem Agro’s mapping solutions on its Case IH and New Holland brands’ Connected Platforms for sugarcane harvesters, tractors and sprayers in Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand.