Agriculture has always been connected to the land. GIS gives today’s farmers, researchers, and organizations new ways to understand what is happening across the land. Long before today’s dashboards, drone imagery, GPS collars, and knowledge graphs, agricultural decisions were still shaped by questions of location: where the land was productive, where soil conditions changed, where livestock needed to move, and where resources were needed most.
In this webinar, Nick Short, Dr. Sharon Perrone, Terry Giles, and Miles Phillips looked at agriculture through the lens of the America’s 250th celebration, connecting early mapping and soil survey work to current GIS applications across the agricultural value chain. The session moved from history into practical demonstrations, showing how geospatial technology can help users understand production, monitor livestock, trace supply chain relationships, and support animal agriculture planning.
Dr. Sharon Perrone opened the historical portion of the discussion by connecting agriculture, mapping, and the early development of soil survey work. She discussed George Washington’s background as a land surveyor, the formation of USDA, and the long-running role of the National Cooperative Soil Survey. One poll asked attendees about the purpose of the first soil survey, which was tied to mapping soils used for tobacco production in Cecil County, Maryland.
That history provided useful context for the rest of the webinar. The tools have changed significantly, but the underlying need has not. Agriculture still depends on being able to understand conditions across landscapes and use that information to make better decisions.
In this clip, Dr. Sharon Perrone explains how ranchers can use Survey123 with RFID scanning technology to enter cattle tick data into a real-time dashboard. The example shows how a field-based workflow can become more efficient when data collection, animal identification, and operational visibility are connected.
Terry Giles then moved into crop forecasting and production planning. His sugarcane example brought together variables such as NDVI, precipitation, soil moisture, temperature, solar radiation, soil type, irrigation method, crop variety, crop age, and historical yield. These inputs were used to train a model and compare predicted yields with historical yields.
The value of the workflow was not only in the modeling. It was also in the ability to view the results geographically. A map makes it easier to see where the model is performing well, where it is not, and where users may need to take a closer look at field conditions, management practices, or other local variables.
In this clip, Terry explains how ArcGIS can bring together a wide range of information that influences production, including imagery, climate data, soil information, irrigation, and historic yield. The example focused on sugarcane, but the larger idea applies across agriculture: spatial context helps users understand where conditions differ and where decisions may need to change.
Terry also demonstrated how GIS can support ranching workflows. In one example, pasture productivity was mapped to identify areas better suited for grazing. That information could then be paired with GPS collar data to help monitor cattle in relation to pasture conditions.
In this clip, Terry shows how GPS collar data can be incorporated into ArcGIS, moving from a static map to a live operational view. The example shows cattle locations in relation to pasture areas identified as higher-yield grazing areas, giving users a clearer view of animal movement and pasture use.
Miles Phillips continued the webinar by looking at supply chain traceability. His example used a fictional grain scenario involving a feedlot and ethanol plants reporting issues. Rather than trying to manage the investigation through disconnected records, the workflow used ArcGIS Knowledge to explore relationships among growers, grain elevators, feedlots, ethanol plants, shipments, and other connected entities.
This part of the webinar showed how quickly agricultural supply chain questions can become complex. When thousands of growers, facilities, and shipments are involved, it is not enough to know where things are. Users also need to understand how they are connected.
In this clip, Miles shows how a knowledge graph can help narrow a supply chain investigation. The fictional scenario focused on identifying which growers were connected to multiple facilities reporting issues. By querying those relationships, the analysis narrowed the investigation to two growers connected to all three facilities.
Miles also shared an example focused on veterinary access and animal agriculture. The workflow used county-level livestock information and known veterinarian service center locations to help assess where rural veterinarians may be most needed. This was shown through a model in ArcGIS Pro and then extended into a web experience designed for broader collaboration.
That distinction is important. Not every person who needs to use agricultural information is a GIS specialist. A web application can make spatial information easier to explore, share, and discuss with stakeholders such as veterinarians, producers, agencies, and community partners.
The webinar closed with several questions from attendees, and the discussion moved into practical considerations for agriculture users. The questions focused on modeling, drone imagery, deployment, community building, and the relationship between soil science and mapping.
What other modeling tools are available beyond random forest, and why does that matter in agriculture?
During the yield forecasting example, Terry Giles showed a random forest algorithm. One attendee asked whether Esri offers other models and why having multiple modeling options matters for agriculture.
Terry explained that ArcGIS includes many spatial analysis and modeling tools, and that the available options continue to grow as new research and peer-reviewed approaches become more widely used. The reason this matters is that agricultural datasets vary. A model needs to fit the structure and distribution of the data, so having a range of tools helps users select an approach that is appropriate for the question they are trying to answer.
In this clip, Terry explains that ArcGIS includes many spatial analysis and modeling tools, and that Esri continues to incorporate approaches that meet customer needs.
How can GIS support producers who rely on drones?
Another attendee asked how GIS could be used in practical applications for tequila producers that currently rely on drones.
Terry explained that drone technology has expanded what producers can collect in the field, especially when it comes to higher-resolution and multispectral imagery. He noted that ArcGIS supports drone collection and processing, and that finer-grained imagery can help users see variation that may not be visible in broader satellite-derived datasets.
In this clip, Terry discusses drone data collection and processing in ArcGIS, including the value of higher-resolution and multispectral imagery.
How would the veterinary access application be deployed, and why does community matter?
Miles Phillips was asked how the veterinary access application could be deployed and why building a community around the application is important.
He explained that applications like this need to work for people who may not use GIS every day but who understand the problem deeply. A web application can bring geospatial capabilities into a simpler, more accessible interface. Miles also emphasized the importance of two-way communication, where users can provide feedback through surveys, run scenarios, generate reports, and learn from what other states or communities are doing.
In this clip, Miles explains why the application needs to be easy for non-GIS users to access through a web experience.
How does GIS help build community around agricultural challenges?
Nick followed up on Miles’s answer by noting that the tool can help build community. Miles added that having a central source of truth or a shared place for collaboration is critical, especially when different agriculture groups may work in different ways.
That point connected back to a broader theme from the webinar. GIS can support analysis, but it can also give people a common place to see the same information, contribute what they know, and make decisions from a shared understanding.
In this short clip, Miles explains the value of a central source of truth for collaboration.
How has mapping changed soil science, and how has soil science changed mapping?
Sharon Perrone was asked how mapping has changed soil science, and how soil science has influenced mapping over the past few decades.
She explained that NRCS was one of Esri’s earliest partners, dating back to the early 1970s, and that GIS technology was being applied for soil survey work. She described early soil survey as a field-based process, with people walking the landscape, digging holes, recording observations, and developing soil polygons based on soil-forming factors and field knowledge.
As soil survey expanded, the amount of mapped information grew significantly. Sharon explained that modern tools such as lidar, elevation datasets, imagery, vegetation indices, climate data, and related layers now support raster soil survey approaches. These approaches help soil scientists make predictions across the landscape and understand the probability of finding a soil at a given location.
In this clip, Sharon explains how NRCS and Esri’s early partnership connected GIS technology with soil survey work.
Across the webinar, one theme came through clearly: GIS is not just used to make agricultural maps. It helps connect data, workflows, people, and decisions across agriculture. Whether the question is about crop production, livestock movement, animal health, traceability, or planning, geography remains central to understanding what is happening and what to do next.
Watch the recording: https://www.esri.com/en-us/webinars/industry/natural-resources/250-years-of-agriculture-with-gis
