Bernardo Cândido

Research Scientist

Division of Plant Science and Technology

Cândido’s research brings together remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and soil science to advance precision agriculture and sustainable land management. The work examines how agricultural landscapes change, with a particular focus on pasture biomass, soil erosion, and the use of environmental data to support practical decisions by farmers and land managers.

A major focus of Cândido’s work is precision pasture management. He integrates satellite imagery, ground-based sensors, and machine learning to estimate pasture biomass and understand changes in forage availability. Through PastureCast, Cândido and his colleagues combine these observations with information about weather, soils, and management practices to help beef and dairy producers make informed decisions about grazing rotations and supplemental feeding. The research also explores forage forecasting, with an emphasis on translating advances in remote sensing and artificial intelligence into practical pasture management tools.

Cândido’s soil conservation research uses drone imagery and three-dimensional photogrammetry to measure changes in the soil surface and improve the assessment of erosion. He also investigates radar remote sensing for soil-moisture assessment and biomass monitoring. Together, these research areas connect agricultural production with the protection of the soil and water resources that sustain it.

Collaboration and student mentorship are important parts of Cândido’s work. He collaborates with researchers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, and mentors students working on remote sensing, pasture biomass estimation, and soil conservation. These partnerships connect methodological advances with agricultural and environmental challenges across diverse landscapes and production systems. Cândido’s work has been recognized with the 2022 Bunge Foundation Prize, in the Youth category for Artificial Intelligence and the Use of Water and Soil, and a 2025 Taylor Geospatial Institute Planet Fellowship supporting the advancement of PastureCast.

Areas of expertise include:

• Remote Sensing
• Precision Agriculture
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Precision Pasture Management
• Pasture Biomass Estimation and Forecasting
• Soil Erosion and Conservation
• UAV Photogrammetry

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Science of Tropical Environments, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
• Ph.D., Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Brazil
• M.S., Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Brazil
• B.S., Agronomy, Federal University of Lavras, Brazil