Public technical brief

From changing conditions to the next best move

Harvora brings weather, crop and field intelligence together so growers can act earlier, plan with more confidence, and see what is driving each signal. Every surface turns changing conditions and field data into a practical operating decision, with its model method, uncertainty and supporting evidence close at hand. One consistent probabilistic decision layer carries that clarity across crops, regions and use cases.

Evidence ledger

Published results stay beside their evidence boundary. The claim ledger carries the full target, denominator, comparator and truth source for every surface.

Frost
94%
production companion catch rate
Method

XGBoost forecast-bias correction + physical weather ensemble

Decision value

Frost protection starts with a production operating point, then carries the independent reproduction beside it for a current weather-skill read.

How the number is built

Bias-corrected forecast ensembles turn regional minimum temperatures into a prioritised frost-protection operating point.

Calculation detail +
Metric
94%
Comparator
historical production operating point
Evaluation set
24,217 frost nights · 20 NZ sites
Split
production companion; 20 NZ sites
Truth source
Production benchmark record documented across technical briefs v22–v28
Evidence signal

Regional frost-risk indicator

Evidence pathway
Crop-cycle evidence

Annual-crop models, named for the decisions they support

The annual-crop group records 4 models with schema and calibration gates, 3 stacks lifecycle stacks, and 12 crop families · 13 NZ regions. Each card names its model family, forecast horizon or planning target so growers can compare the decision surfaces clearly.

Late blight
7-day
probabilistic crop-cycle outlook
Method

Published disease formulas + gated ML classifiers

Decision value

Potato and open-field tomato carry crop-cycle-aware late-blight conditions through the same national prediction and decision paths.

How the number is built

Published disease formulas and gated classifiers create named potato and tomato blight windows across the crop cycle.

Calculation detail +
Metric
4 models
Comparator
corresponding mechanistic formula label
Evaluation set
4 annual blight artifacts · 2,138 held-out rows per model
Split
region-season group holdout
Truth source
published blight formula labels over regional weather windows
Evidence signal

Formula-based disease pressure

Evidence pathway
Summer-hazard evidence

Summer risks, ready for operational planning

This group turns seven weather-exposed decisions into planning signals. Hail is forecast at each block's coordinates on a roughly 10 km weather grid out to seven days, and each surface keeps its own method, metric and readiness path.

Event-alert release gate

Sunburn, splitting rain, fire weather and crew heat event results remain visible as research-only monitoring evidence unless they exceed 90% recall while staying below 5% false alarms on the untouched chronological test. Research numbers are not live alert claims until that gate passes.

Hail proxy evidence
90.2%
regional proxy recall · not observed hail
Method

Environmental ML over a convective-condition proxy

Decision value

The current seven-day output gives growers a regional convective-event warning surface, with held-out evidence retained beside the observed-hail programme.

How the number is built

Environmental ML scores regional convective conditions on a roughly 10 km grid and carries the highest forecast probability across seven days.

Calculation detail +
Metric
90.2%
Comparator
WMO ≥95 regional convective-event proxy; hail-only WMO 96/99 gate is insufficient
Evaluation set
61 held-out convective-event proxy location-days · 4,834 location-days
Split
held-out location-days; max probability across forecast leads
Truth source
model-analysis WMO codes; regional convective-event proxy
Evidence signal

Regional convective-risk indicator

Evidence pathway
The evidence contract
1,000
Monte Carlo samples in the persisted contract
Evidence-scoped
Claim boundary travels with the output
Hash-checked
Marketing ledger tied to committed artifacts
Fail-closed
Unresolved evidence is not served as validated
Evidence pathways

Operational signals with calibration depth built in

Harvora delivers the screening, planning and prioritisation layer for each published surface today. Every signal carries its method, evidence tier and uncertainty; orchard-specific observations can add calibration depth where greater local specificity is valuable.

A weather-derived operating signal can be a proxy: an indirect signal used to estimate a harder-to-observe outcome. Harvora uses it as a practical screening and prioritisation layer; direct observations can add orchard-specific calibration where greater local specificity is valuable.

Evidence loop

The block record gets stronger with every verified season.

Growers can log what happened in the block, while partner records arrive through the same audited evidence path. Verified field outcomes are reviewed for calibration, then can inform future model versions, helping Harvora build a stronger local track record over time. A live model changes only after the new version passes its evaluation gate and receives explicit release approval.

Operational weather intelligence

  • Frost protection

    Regional minimum-temperature conditions become an operating risk indicator for prioritisation.

    Evidence expansion · The regional frost indicator is ready for prioritisation; independent block observations can add direct frost calibration depth.

  • Sunburn heat

    A physical fruit-surface-temperature proxy sharpens the regional heat-environment read.

    Evidence expansion · The regional heat screen is ready for canopy, shade and harvest planning; an instrumented fruit-temperature layer can add orchard-specific calibration.

  • Fire weather

    Weather-derived FFWI screening gives teams earlier regional preparedness context.

    Evidence expansion · The regional fire-weather screen is ready for work scheduling and preparedness; direct incident evidence can add a deeper validation layer.

  • Hail conditions

    Environmental ML over regional convective conditions provides a warning surface for protection planning.

    Evidence expansion · The regional convective-risk screen is ready for protection planning; an independent observed hail holdout can add direct-event validation depth.

Timing and planning tools

  • Harvest timing

    Thermal-time accumulation provides uncertainty-aware timing for harvest planning.

    Evidence expansion · The heat-unit timing surface is ready for harvest planning; measured maturity, pick-date and packout records can add orchard-specific calibration.

  • Spray planning

    Rule-based weather suitability and forecast uncertainty identify selective operating windows.

    Evidence expansion · Product-specific efficacy and label-compliance registries can add a deeper decision layer alongside weather suitability.

  • Pollination timing

    Temperature, wind, rain and daylight become an operational bloom-weather window.

    Evidence expansion · The bloom-weather window is ready for labour planning; fruit-set and pollinator-activity observations can add local calibration.

  • Wind watch

    Crop thresholds and forecast uncertainty create a day-level protection and labour signal.

    Evidence expansion · The wind watch is ready for day-level protection and labour planning; observed damage can add local calibration depth.

Connected crop signals

  • Water balance

    FAO-56 water-balance modelling and calibration turn weather into a block planning signal.

    Evidence expansion · Connected physical probes can add block-level calibration depth to the weather-derived water-balance signal.

  • Disease pressure

    Published disease methods and guarded classifiers turn crop conditions into probabilistic risk windows.

    Evidence expansion · The disease pressure surface is ready for probabilistic scouting; independent infection observations can add local calibration depth.

  • Seasonal dryness

    ENSO-conditioned history adds context before the operational forecast window opens.

    Evidence expansion · Historical dryness context is ready for seasonal planning; calibrated forecast evidence can add another layer of decision depth.

  • Field access

    Rain memory and documented drainage heuristics support practical access planning.

    Evidence expansion · The access screen is ready for work-window planning; measured soil trafficability can add site-specific calibration.

Field evidence programme

  • Soil Scouter™

    Physical field evidence path: the Soil Scouter™ physical sensor is designed to bring observed soil conditions into block-level calibration and decision context.

    Evidence expansion · Physical sensor evidence can add block-level calibration depth to the platform's decision context.

  • Harvora Microclimate Station™

    The Harvora Microclimate Station™ is designed as a site weather reference, paired with Soil Scouter™ readings distributed through the blocks.

    Evidence expansion · Connected, quality-checked station observations can add local weather evidence for future block-level calibration.

  • Splitting rain

    Rain exposure during ripening becomes a timely planning signal.

    Evidence expansion · The rain-exposure surface is ready for ripe-fruit planning; splitting and packout outcomes can add site-specific calibration.

  • Crew heat safety

    A regional WBGT signal supports earlier work-planning conversations.

    Evidence expansion · The regional heat screen is ready for crew timing, hydration and rest planning; worker-health outcomes can add a dedicated safety-validation layer.

Engineering safeguards

Regression fixtures guard code changes only; they are not independent orchard outcome evidence.

Evidence depth by model family

  • Yield trajectory · The crop trajectory is ready for scenario planning; independent yield and packout outcomes can add field-calibrated skill.
  • Psa pressure · The published Psa pressure surface is ready for scouting prioritisation; infection observations can add local calibration.
  • Chill and GDD phenology · The heat-unit timing surface is ready for harvest planning; measured maturity, pick-date and packout records can add orchard-specific calibration.
  • Water balance · Connected physical probes can add block-level calibration depth to the weather-derived water-balance signal.
  • Disease pressure · The disease pressure surface is ready for probabilistic scouting; independent infection observations can add local calibration depth.
  • Pest lifecycle · Lifecycle timing is ready for scouting windows; field labels and species observations can add crop- and site-specific calibration.
  • Weather and hazard surfaces · Direct damage, worker, fruit and other orchard outcomes can add surface-specific calibration depth as they become available.
  • Release gate · Direct observed-hail validation is not evaluated yet. Harvora now has a fail-closed collection, storm-group split and artifact gate; it will not publish a direct hail result until the independently observed holdout contract is met.
  • Release gate · NDVI→yield remains an estimate: committed artifacts are synthetic-circular and not field-validated, so no independent skill number is published.