Protect the yield. Start any conversation in fresh produce this way, and people are immediately on the same page. As companies continue to find solutions for bridging the gap between today’s challenges and modern solutions, companies like Skysense are emerging with capabilities that anticipate the needs of today’s growers. Speaking with Chief Executive Officer Justin Clune, you get a strong sense that his dedication to his craft comes from both a personal and professional place, and that combination has made his commitment to the grower a tangible, beneficial service model.
“Ultimately, we are just really passionate problem solvers. I have seen firsthand what farmers have to manage day to day, and so helping them protect their crop is essential to our service solutions,” Justin begins. “Skysense addresses the needs of today’s growers on three fronts with its drone technology: lowering costs, increasing yields, and food safety. Skysense’s targeted, drone-based deterrence protects farms from bird and wildlife loss, repelling birds and reducing crop loss in a way falconry services can, but with consistency that doesn't succumb to habituation. In the end, farmers harvest more of what they grow.”
With remotely supervised drones that can fly day or night without added on-site labor, the solution becomes continuous and thorough, giving growers another set of eyes over the crop when and where they need them.
Skysense’s patent-pending autonomous wildlife deterrent system uses AI to improve effectiveness and help keep birds and wildlife from getting used to it.
“The experience we’ve gained over many seasons helps us protect crops more effectively and efficiently than simply flying a drone to chase birds away. We provide the equipment, expertise, and ongoing management so Skysense clients can focus on farming while keeping more of what they grow,” Justin adds.
Skysense also carries liability insurance and can legally fly remotely without personnel on-site under its unique FAA authorization, so farmers don’t need to fly drones themselves.
From fall to winter, Skysense is focused on winter lettuce, where birds threaten seedlings and wildlife can introduce food-safety concerns, and West Coast table and wine grapes, where wild hogs and birds can cause significant damage. Regions served so far span Yuma and Imperial through Central California, Salinas, Oregon, and Washington, as well as the Southeast: Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
More broadly, Skysense protects blueberries, cherries, strawberries, peaches, and other high-value fruit approaching harvest, as well as direct-seeded leafy greens during establishment.
“Something as simple as protecting the farm from forces of nature or taking a digital inventory with stand counts—these really simple but strategic elements are still hard to do in practice for many companies,” Justin explains. “Skysense is part of a unique wave of robotics and AI companies that are truly changing the way farms think about and execute efficiency and sustainability.”
The same system Skysense developed for crop protection can also use its drone cameras for stand counts, weed maps, and berry maturity maps—a service currently reserved for university partners with plans to roll it out to farmers as an optional add-on.
“Labor scarcity, oversight, and coverage are all driving forces for automation on farms. While there are many types of solutions out there, this is really the first time that Skysense is creating a new market for automated pest control for birds and wildlife,” Justin reflects.
That drive toward automation is rooted in Justin’s own connection to agriculture and an early recognition that AI and robotics could address practical problems on the farm.
“Both my parents were born on farms, and the first idea for Skysense was born on my dad’s farm when I saw an opportunity to reduce labor with AI drones. We really work on the farm and are very hands-on to make sure that with every customer, we’re delivering value and understanding the real problems farmers face,” Justin adds.
The execution is simple, yet comprehensive. Drone cameras paired with Skysense’s proprietary AI identify areas of highest wildlife pressure, giving growers greater intelligence into wildlife patterns and movement across the farm.
“We make maps of where we had every observation of birds, deer, or hogs or whatever it is, so the farmer could see the hot spots and orchestrate other efforts as well,” Justin details. “It’s a service model that is really easy to integrate. The farm manager doesn’t need to spend time or mental effort figuring out how to get it to work. Skysense does everything from install to flying, and the farm manager just tells us what schedule they want and which fields they want protected.”
While Justin does not call himself a farmer, agriculture is woven into his family history. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a master’s in engineering from the University of Tokyo. His two Co-Founders serve as Chief AI Officer and Chief Technology Officer. The company’s first key hire was an agronomist with 20 years of precision agriculture sales experience at Simplot, respected across Washington and Oregon for integrating ag tech on working farms.
That combination of agronomy, engineering, and firsthand understanding of the farm is where Skysense finds its footing: using autonomy not for technology’s sake, but to give growers another tool to protect what matters most—the yield.
Source - https://www.andnowuknow.com
