Kaiyu Guan, an agricultural scientist dedicated to making farmers’ lives easier and operations more resilient, is developing cutting-edge technologies to boost crop yields and improve farm sustainability.
By pairing satellite imagery with artificial intelligence and supercomputing, Guan and his research team can evaluate how different management practices influence field productivity by ensuring the soil remains resilient.
“Not only can we help farmers but also potentially help government policymakers to design better policies,” Guan says.
From Space to the Soil: Translating Data into the Field
With his research background, Guan blends plant-soil interactions, mathematical modeling and satellite remote sensing to trace the complex relationships among water, climate and crop health. Today, he translates that lab science into practical, field-level solutions.
Most recently, Guan and his team have been developing field-sensing technology to detect in-season nitrogen stress. Through the use of satellites, they are able to understand how much nitrogen stress a corn plant is experiencing over the growing season, which can lead to real-time monitoring. They can also use satellite data to reconstruct historical patterns of individual corn fields.
John Reifsteck, a third-generation farmer in central Illinois, has had the opportunity to apply Guan’s research and technology as it relates to nitrogen management at an elementary level on his farm. For example, making a mid-season rescue pass can fix a deficiency right now, but if you’re coming up short year after year, it’s time to start getting ahead of it, Reifsteck says. By tweaking rates, switching fertilizer sources or split-applying where the crop needs it most, a farmer can target the hungry zones in each field and see a much better return on their fertilizer dollar.
While it’s still too early to see a return on investment, Reifsteck says it has been a joy working with Guan because of the positive outcome the research and technology can have for the future of agriculture.
“If we have better technology that is able to predict yields that helps a farmer make marketing and economic decisions,” Reifsteck says.
One recent Nature Communications study Guan coauthored found nitrogen fertilizer applications across the U.S Corn Belt could potentially be reduced by 12% to 15% with negligible modeled yield-loss risk. For example, reducing nitrogen applications by 20 lb. to 40 lb. per acre at 55¢ per pound could save $11 to $22 per acre in fertilizer expenses.(Actual savings depends on field conditions and fertilizer prices.) He also notes higher yields do not automatically require more nitrogen. The key is matching fertilizer applications to crop needs, soil conditions, weather and economics, he adds.
“As we combine all this information, we generate rich insights that farmers actually can derive and use to better manage their field in terms of nitrogen use,” Guan says.“We not only want the farmers to have the productivity, and be profitable, but at the same time, we want the land to be sustainable for many future generations.”
Guan, the Levenick Professor of Sustainability at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was recently named a 2026 MacArthur Fellow — a prestigious honor commonly known as the “genius grant.” He will receive an unrestricted $800,000 stipend as part of the grant.
To learn more about Guan’s findings and technology, visit Guan’s University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Extension website.
