Planet.com partners in agriculture sector

Agrograph

Actionable Data for Managing Ag Risk

• Standardized Credit Risk Analysis
• Automated Farmland Valuation
• Verified Sustainability Reporting
• Modern Crop Insurance Solutions

https://agrograph.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/agrograph/
https://twitter.com/agrograph

Arva intelligence

Profitable sustainability through data-driven agronomics.

https://arvaintelligence.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/arva-intelligence/
https://twitter.com/ArvaIntel
https://www.facebook.com/arvaintelligence
https://www.instagram.com/arvaintelligence

Earth PBC

We’re a public benefit corporation that’s built a social network for the protection of forests, oceans, biodiversity and human rights.

https://earthpbc.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthpbc/about/
https://twitter.com/earthpbc
https://www.instagram.com/earthpbc

ERM

Shaping a sustainable future with the world’s leading organizations.

https://www.erm.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/erm/

Eye in the sky

https://eits.in/
https://twitter.com/EYEINTHESKYTEC1

farnQA

FarmQA provides nuts-n-bolts digital tools for agronomists and other agribusiness. See all aspects of your operation in a single view including your fields, crop scouting reports, weather data, spray records, satellite imagery and more.

https://www.farmqa.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/farmqa/
https://twitter.com/farm_qa
https://www.youtube.com/@farmqa2421
https://www.instagram.com/farmqa

Global green monitoring

Global Green Monitoring uses NASA Satellites to capture detailed photos of greenery, including dense forest cover, and converts those images to uncover deforestation, logging, disease, poor water flow and other disturbance events. This innovation takes urban planning, forestry and agriculture to the next level.

https://www.globalgreenmonitoring.org/

i-Cultivier

Making advanced research and technology accessible to improve food and support agriculture

https://i-cultiver.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-cultiver/about/
https://twitter.com/i_cultiver
https://www.instagram.com/icultiver

Interpine Innovation

Interpine Innovation is a forest consulting and data management company specializing in information technology and optimal decision making across the forest industry. We have a committed management team of professional foresters and backed up by qualified technicians and data analysts that provide credible solutions for forestry-based companies. By basing our core business in the central hub of New Zealand forestry since 1983, Interpine has been able to develop contemporary and applicable ideas, systems and services that have greatly benefited the local, national and international forest industries.

https://interpine.nz/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/interpine-innovation/
https://twitter.com/interpine_nz
https://www.youtube.com/@InterpineInnovation

Nave Analytics, Inc.

Nave Analytics helps agriculture professionals recommend the correct amount of water at the correct time to their clients by fusing satellite, weather, and telemetry data into a singular data stream. Nave Analytics generates 3-D maps of soil water content across the entire field instead of a single point and offers an API integration with the customer's existing user interface.

https://www.naveanalytics.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nave-analytics-inc/

QUDEX

QUDEX is a Land Management SaaS and Business ESG AI SaaS platform that uses AI to convert environmental data into actionable insights. Our platform is revolutionizing land conservation and the revaluation of degraded lands. By leveraging the pioneering technology of Quantitative Environmental Data Evaluation (QUDE), we provide businesses across industries with a tool to mitigate their environmental impact. QUDEX offers an advanced, yet intuitive solution for companies seeking to seamlessly incorporate sustainable practices into their core operations, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable world.

https://qudex.ai/
https://www.instagram.com/qudexai

Swift Geospatial

Swift Geospatial is a GIS and Remote Sensing company specializing in Agriculture, Mining, Forestry and Sustainability monitoring solutions.

https://swiftgeospatial.solutions/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/swift-geospatial/?viewAsMember=true
https://www.youtube.com/@swiftgeospatial5228

Vulcan AI

We are a Singapore-based AI company focused on building AgTech solutions utilizing Vision and Generative AI with remote sensing technology to help improve yield sustainably. Our AI solutions have been trained and calibrated on millions of ground- validated tree level data points, thus allowing a quick-start for our clients without having to go through extensive data collection and training exercise. We help clients detect yield risks, health and nutrient issues across crops such as forestry, maize, oil palm and cassava.

https://www.vulcan-ai.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vulcan-agritech/

How to switch between minified and non-minified javascript/css/html in Flask (Python)?

You can separate your development (human readable) and deployment (minified) files into distinct folders, as illustrated below:

source/
├─ static/
├─ static_dev/
├─ templates/
├─ templates_dev/
...

In your Python code, make your Flask app use the root URL as a static path:

app = Flask(__name__, static_url_path="")

You can switch between development and deployment folders based on your environment or global variable. That really depends on your system and your preferences, so the following code assumes that variable check is abstracted by a function:

if is_development_environment():
    app.static_folder   = "static_dev"
    app.template_folder = "templates_dev"

I am often using Google App engine for my own projects, so the code in my case is:

if not os.getenv("GAE_ENV", "").startswith("standard"):
    ...

Finally, you need to instruct your minify scripts to pick source files from development folders and use deployment folders as output destination. Also make sure that only deployment folders are uploaded to your server, and that they are ignored by your source code control system. 

In my case, I need to add the following two lines to .gitignore:

/static/
/templates/

And the following to .gcloudignore:

/static_dev
/templates_dev

Let me know if you are interested in ant script that does copying/minifying.

CSS on hover icon pulse animation

It took me some time to settle on the appropriate animation. However, the following day, I decided to discard it. I noticed that it gave my website a slightly childish appearance. To avoid losing the code in the depths of source control version history, I chose to showcase it here instead [video]. So, here it is...

The concept was to make the RSS icon pulse in the direction of the feed signal, specifically, the top right:

h5 > a > svg {

    vertical-align: text-bottom;

    margin-left:    0.5em;

    fill:           var(--accent);

    transition:     all 0.3s linear;

}

h5 > a > svg:hover {

    animation: hover-rss 0.2s alternate ease-in-out;

}

@keyframes hover-rss {

    from {

        transform: scale(1, 1);

        transform-origin: bottom left;

    }

    to {

        transform: scale(1.1, 1.1);

        transform-origin: bottom left;

    }

}

And, to have the light mode icon pulse from the center:

#mode-toggle-button:hover {

    animation: hover 0.2s alternate ease-in-out;

}

@keyframes hover {

    from {

        transform: scale(1, 1);

    }

    to {

        transform: scale(1.1, 1.1);

    }

}

There they are. Perhaps they'll come in handy for some other project.

Google App Engine - migrating from Python 2.7 to Python 3.x

Migration should be done in two phases. First, we'll switch from the webapp2 framework to Flask without upgrading the Python version. We'll check that everything is running smoothly, and then proceed switching to Python 3.x.

Before we start, we'll ensure that our existing code is intact in case we want to revert to it for some reason. So:

1. create a separate git branch with old code
   
   If you are using Eclipse, right-click on the project, open the Team submenu, select Switch To, and then choose New Branch. Give the branch a name (e.g. webapp2_p27) and click on Finish. Commit and push your new branch.
   
   We won't be touching this code, so we can now:
   
   
2. switch back to the main branch.
   
   Right-click on the project, open the Team submenu, select Switch To, and then choose main.

Migrating to Flask (Python 2.7)

1. create a separate git branch [flask_p27]
   
   Use the same procedure as above, but now we are not switching back to main branch.
   
   In your source directory:
   
   
2. create a static directory and move your index.html there
3. add a simple main.py [! the link is only for my own convenience] that renders only index.html
   
   Example:
   
   from flask import Flask, send_file
   
   app = Flask(__name__)
   
   @app.route("/")
   def root():
       return send_file("static/index.html")
   
   if __name__ == "__main__":
       app.run(host="127.0.0.1", port=8080, debug=True)
   
   
4. add a requirements.txt [!] file containing Flask
   
5. create lib directory
6. pip install -t lib/ Flask
7. add an appengine_config.py [!] file (if you don't have it already) with the following content:
   
   from google.appengine.ext import vendor
   vendor.add("lib")
   
   
8.  update app.yaml with the following (replace existing handler):
   
   - url: /
     script: main.app
     secure: always
   
   
9. run the app to make sure it works
   
   On Eclipse: right click on source directory, Run As, PyDev: Google App Run.
   
   
10. you can even deploy it (better not as an default version) and make sure that everything works on production as well:
    
    gcloud app deploy --no-promote app.yaml

It's time to start committing to the branch and to replace handlers one by one.

It might be that the development datastore admin view will start crashing with the following error message:

raise exception('%s must not be empty.' % name)
BadArgumentError: app must not be empty.

The fix is to export this environment variable BEFORE running your dev_appserver.py.

export APPLICATION_ID=dev~None

See the following StackOverflow question. If you are using Eclipse, you can add this variable by editing Run configuration, tab Environment.

Test your app thoroughly, including both API directly plus cross-origin requests. Once tested deploy as default version and test once again from the live website. 

Merge branch to main (and leave it, do not delete it). 

In Eclipse: right click on the project select Team menu item, then Switch To, and then main. Once you switched, right click on the project again, Team, Merge, and then select flask_p27.

We are ready for the next step, and that is ...

Migrating to Python 3.x

1. create a separate git branch [flask_p3]
2. switch python to version 3.x (google)
   
   In Eclipse, right click on the project name, open Properties, PyDev - Interpreter/Gramar, change Interpreter, click on Apply and Close.
   
   
3. edit app.yaml
• change runtime from python27 to python38
• remove api_version
• add app_engine_apis: true
• remove threadsafe
  
  The app can not be run through "Google App run" as before, run it from the console in python 3.x virtual environment.
  
  
4. add appengine-python-standard and other necessary libraries to requirements.txt
   
   (and install them using pip install -r requirements.txt in python virtual environment).
   
   
5. delete the file appengine_config.py and lib directory
6. add the following to main.py
   
   app.wsgi_app = wrap_wsgi_app(app.wsgi_app)
   
   
7. run python .\main.py
8. Resolve all python errors.
9. replace (if used) os.environ["SERVER_SOFTWARE"] with another method of detecting development environment.
   
10. Test service by service.
11. Deploy and enjoy!
12. Yes! Once everything runs smooth, don't forget to merge that branch with the main one.
    

How to get rich writing WordPress Plugins?

How to get rich writing WordPress Plugins, as an indie developer? If you know, let me know. 😉

Yesterday, another yearly subscription of SEO Meta Description AI got sold. 🎉 That makes it the second one, about three months after the very first one was purchased. In any case, that is a reason for celebration! The project is sustainable since it makes more money than it uses in OpenAI credits. 😎 The current conversion rate (downloads to paying customers) is 0.84%.

The total time invested in the project is 97.5 hours. This includes front and back-end development, all marketing activities and everything else around it. So, my rate is... $0.31/hr. Oh, don't worry, I am not one of those guys who acts like they don't know you once they make it. 😇

Switching from Eclipse IDE to Visual Studio Code

After about 20 years of Eclipse IDE I have decided to gradually switch to Visual Studio Code. I am planing to adopt new keybindings as well. As an alternative, I have started playing with Neovim. From StackOverflow developer survey 2023 (I'm surprised by Notepad++, though I use it too):

 

How to hide HTML elements in text only (Lynx) or JavaScript disabled browsers

The general approach would be to show a no-JavaScript version of a page to everyone and then insert HTML tags via JavaScript in browsers that do support it. Now, I prefer to keep my JS code clean and not mix it too much with HTML, especially for this infrequent purpose. So, I am using the following (in HTML file):

<!-- This template holder div is shown to everyone, but it's empty -->
<div id="template-holder"></div>

<!-- This template is parsed only by browsers with JS support -->
<script id="template" type="text/html">

    <!-- This is the div you want to hide from browsers without JS support -->
    <div id="hide-me">...</div>

</script>

<!-- Use JS (where available) to insert the template into the template holder -->
<script>
    document.getElementById("template-holder").innerHTML =
        document.getElementById("template").innerHTML;
</script>
<!-- We're done! -->

This way all HTML code stayed in the original file, and we kept our original JS code intact.