Setting up imagery requires a Planet or Sentinel-2 imagery subscription on your account. To buy acres, contact FarmQA.
Once you buy imagery acres, you choose which fields use them and what imagery loads. You pick the layers and metrics you want, set which months and how much cloud cover to accept, choose how far back to pull historical imagery, and then subscribe your fields. New images load onto subscribed fields automatically from then on.
| Action | Where | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Set up an imagery subscription | Web | Enterprise Administrator |
| Subscribe fields to imagery | Web | Enterprise Administrator |
For every role and what it can do, see Breakdown of user permissions.
Before you start
Finalize your field boundaries before you subscribe. Imagery acreage is counted against each field's boundary for the billing year. If you change a boundary after subscribing, both the old and the new area count against your purchased acres.
Choose your layers and metrics
- Select Settings, then select Imagery.
- In the Configure map layers and metrics section, turn on the toggle for each imagery layer you want loaded onto your fields.
- Turn on the metrics toggle for any layer you want to track in Analytics.
Not sure which layers to turn on? See Satellite imagery layers for what each one shows and when it's most useful.
Set when imagery loads
- Under Select the months you want imagery for, turn off any months you don't need, such as the winter months. All months are on by default.
- In % maximum acceptable cloud coverage, enter the most cloud cover you'll accept on an image. We recommend 10%.
- In Get images starting on, choose the date to pull historical imagery from. You can go back up to 5 years. Only fields you're subscribing now get historical imagery.
When an image has more cloud cover than your limit, FarmQA still loads the true color image so you can see why it was skipped, but it doesn't create the index layers.
Subscribe your fields
- In the Planet imagery or Sentinel imagery section, select the Subscribed fields box.
- In the Select fields window, check your acreage at the top:
- Purchased — the total acres on your subscription.
- Selected — the acres already subscribed plus any you've just selected.
- Remaining — the acres you still have available.
- Select the fields to subscribe. You can pick them from the list or from the map.
- Select Update.
If your selection goes over your purchased acres, the window shows Exceeded. Deselect fields until you're back within your limit.
Imagery usually appears on newly subscribed fields within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Q: It's been more than 24 hours and I don't see imagery on my fields. What should I do?
A: Contact FarmQA Support. Clouds can delay the first usable image, and Support can check whether an image is on its way.
Q: I need Sentinel-2 imagery right away. Can I get it sooner?
A: Yes. Contact FarmQA Support after you subscribe your fields. Support can usually load Sentinel-2 imagery within 1–2 hours.
Q: I see a true color image but no NDVI for that date. Why?
A: That image had more cloud cover than your % maximum acceptable cloud coverage setting. FarmQA loads the true color image so you can see what happened, but it doesn't create index layers from a cloudy image.
Q: I don't see Imagery under Settings.
A: Only Enterprise Administrators can open imagery settings. Ask an Enterprise Administrator on your account to set up the subscription or change your role.
Related articles
- Compare Planet and Sentinel satellite imagery
- Satellite imagery layers
- Viewing map layers
- Zone Designer overview