FarmGuard
An SMS and app alerting service for row-crop farmers that pauses precision-ag operations during severe geomagnetic storms, preventing the half-billion to billion-dollar GPS-damage losses seen in 2024.
US Midwest row-crop farmers using precision GPS for planting, spraying, and harvest
- 48-hour solar-storm forecast tuned to GPS-degradation risk windows, not just aurora visibility
- Field-by-field alert with recommendation to pause planting/spraying, with reasoning
- Historical storm-impact log for each field to support crop-insurance claims
- Integration with John Deere Operations Center and Climate FieldView to flag affected operations
The 2024 Gannon storm caused $500M–$1B in losses across 12 US states, and a new peer-reviewed grid study confirms future storms will be more intense.
May 2024 Gannon storm caused $500M–$1B in Midwest corn losses with up to 230 ft GPS errors; John Deere officially acknowledged disruptions and peer-reviewed Kansas State study confirmed the impact, with a Nov 2025 superstorm repeating the event.Gannon solar storm cost corn growers a billion dollars ↗May 2024 solar storm cost $500 million in damages to farmers, new study reveals ↗Older GPS Receivers Disrupted by Solar Storm - Deere ↗
No farmer-focused 'pause operations during solar storm' service exists; only general space-weather SMS services (spaceweatheralerts.com, flareaware.com, solaralertapp.com) aimed at preppers/astronomers, plus ChDp Ventures' GNSS status page — a direct ag-specific product is wide open.Home | Spaceweatheralerts ↗Solar Alert | Space Weather Monitoring & Solar Storm Alerts ↗GNSS Status | Technology for the Real World - ChDp Ventures ↗
WTP is real given half-billion-to-billion-dollar loss exposure and farmers already paying for precision-ag subscriptions, but major storms hit only every few years, making steady subscription pricing challenging without bundling with broader precision-ag tooling.A Solar Storm's Billion-Dollar Agricultural Toll and the Race to Fortify GPS Systems ↗Geomagnetic storm scrambles tractor navigation systems ↗
Solar maxima are an ~11-year recurring cycle (current peak2025–2026), peer-reviewed studies warn future storms will be more intense, and growing precision-ag adoption expands the vulnerable footprint over time.Impact of the Gannon Storm on corn production across the Midwestern USA ↗The November 2025 geomagnetic superstorm pushed satellite-positioning errors ↗
NOAA SWPC already publishes free real-time geomagnetic watches/warnings with hour-level lead times, and SMS+app push is off-the-shelf; the only nontrivial work is farm-location geo-targeting and integration with precision-ag telemetry.Geomagnetic Storm GPS Disruption: Nov 2025 Event ↗Older GPS Receivers Disrupted by Solar Storm - Deere ↗