that's why sandborn has teamed up with michigan state university researcher bruno basso. basso's drone provides farmers with detailed maps, which can help them determine exactly how much fertilizer is needed in a specific location of a field, maximizing crop yield and minimizing harmful nutrient run- off. >> so a uniform application that normally a farmer does, by definition he over estimates this input in one area, and he underestimates the input in another area, and one size fits all is not the case in agriculture, there is a lot of variability, so what does the drone do? it tells us about that variability. >> reporter: understanding field variability is one part of the puzzle, but for all that information to be useful, a farmer has to know what practical measures to take. that's why basso is also developing a predictive modeling software that allows a farmer to digitally test-out a fertilizer application. >> you can simulate your field, and you compare two nitrogen treatments, and you basically learn that 80% of the time 100 kilograms will give you the same response as