The idea came from the co-founder of Nave Analytics, Jessi Korinek’s dad, a farmer in Minnesota where the springs are very wet; he asked her when she started the company, “With what you’re doing, can you build maps and tell me where it’s too wet, where I’m going to get the tractor stuck?”

Korinek answered, “It’s probably something that can be done.”

NASA’s Space Apps Challenge

In a global competition of more than 10,000 teams, a collaboration with Nave Analytics, a Nebraska-based AgTech startup, and VITech, a Ukraine-based software and data engineering solutions company, won the Galactic Impact Award in the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge. 

The NASA Space Apps Challenge is an annual global hackathon encouraging participants to leverage Earth observation data from NASA and other space agencies to create novel solutions addressing real-world problems. 

Nave Analytics, known for its satellite-powered irrigation optimization tools, took on the challenge to develop the already stirring idea for new software, a planting tool that could help farmers make more informed decisions before the start of the growing season.

Val Kovalsky, a remote sensing scientist and co-founder of Nave Analytics, encouraged the team to join the hackathon in October 2024. The hackathon is split into regional categories, and Nave entered the Kyiv region, one of Ukraine’s most developed agricultural and industrial regions.

Nave came to the competition equipped with science expertise, while their partners at VITech specialize in software development; both companies decided to participate with the common goal of creating 2Plant or not 2Plant. 

“We entered it on such a whim and with 10,000 teams, you’re like, ‘what are the chances?’” said Korinek. 

In early November, the team was notified that Nave had won their region and had been selected as one of the global finalists. From there, Nave was chosen as the winner of the Galactic Impact Award. One of only 10 award categories.

About the winning app

The planting app uses satellite data, weather data and hydrology modeling to provide information about soil moisture levels, optimal planting windows and frost risks. The goal is to help farmers and growers make informed decisions about when to plant their crops and avoid issues like getting tractors stuck in wet fields while planting. 

The next step for Nave is to secure the intellectual property rights for the planting tool. The startup will release the tool to their existing irrigation customers for beta testing this upcoming planting season. 

During the beta, Nave will evaluate the performance of the models to get feedback before bringing the tool to full commercial availability. Korinek says the tool may be offered as an additional tool alongside Nave’s main irrigation product, or as a standalone offering for non-irrigated growing acres. 

Korinek says that winning in this category, along with the international recognition, validates the work Nave is doing to help farmers.