Ag Analytics Company aWhere Raises $7M Via Crowdfunding

Joanna Schroeder

aWhere data screenAgricultural data analytics company aWhere has raised $7 million with the help of Elixir Capital and AgFunder, an online investment company. The investment will help aWhere bring its data analytics platform to international markets and help farmers increase yields and profitability as they incorporate cutting-edge technology into their growing operations.

“aWhere’s big data platform brings tremendous value across the agricultural value chain,” said John Corbett Ph.D., President and CEO of aWhere. “To the world’s 570 million farmers, we offer access to down-scaled, localized weather driven content. These data then aggregated over trade areas and across the value chain provide insight from corporate planning to food security and policy.”

Corbett notes that with the unknowns of how climate change will affect agriculture, investor interest in data collection has soared. aWhere is meeting this need through various tools that provide field-level, actionable data such as weather and climate information, agronomic recommendations, pest and disease alerts, and other information that can make the practice of farming more efficient. aWhere’s data is tailored to the location and needs of the individual farmer and has significantly increased yields for rice, soybean and maize. The company is targeting rice and palm oil crops as it expands into Southeast Asia.

AGFUNDER LOGO“Our investment in aWhere highlights how we seek to apply technology innovations to underserved markets. Outside of North America and parts of Western Europe, the application of big data analytics to agriculture is almost unknown. aWhere’s entry into Asia allows one of the largest agricultural production regions in the world to take advantage of the power of data analytics to increase yield, efficiently allocate resources and significantly lower the industry’s environmental impact.” said Abrar Hussain, Managing Director of Elixir Capital. “AgFunder was an important partner — although there are numerous crowdfunding sites which focus on small investments from individual contributors, AgFunder’s platform proved itself to be an excellent source for institutional investors like Elixir to find growth-stage investment opportunities.”

Rob Leclerc, CEO of AgFunder noted that the deal demonstrates how an online investment marketplace and can investor identify new opportunities while bridging geographical boundaries.

Agribusiness, data, Precision Agriculture

Wheat Harvest Documentary Reviews

Cindy Zimmerman

nh-harvest-14-zackWe talked with a couple of the people at the showing last month of “The Great American Wheat Harvest” in Bismark, North Dakota and everyone seemed to give it two thumbs up.

“I think it will open people’s eyes if they see it as to how the whole industry works,” said Zack, a custom harvester from Girard, Kansas who was at the showing with his family. “I’ll let everybody know about it.”

A farming couple from North Dakota was excited to see people they knew on the big screen. “It was just great to see the whole run of the harvest…even though we’re farmers ourselves,” said Bonnie. “American people need to realize what wheat harvest entails and what it does for our country,” agreed her husband Lyle.

“Now everybody can understand what we do,” says Kim from Bowdon, ND, who works with a custom harvest family. Interviews with Great American Wheat Harvest viewers

nh-harvest-14-truckRick Solberg, a cash crop product specialist with New Holland based in Bismark, says there’s a lot of heavy machinery in the movie of all different colors. “There’s certainly a lot of pride working with New Holland and seeing that product in the field and people who own it,” said Solberg. “It’s real life. There’s a big cross section of different manufacturers and equipment in the harvest.”

New Holland is one of the sponsors of the documentary and so is John Deere, Case IH, MacDon, and Claas. Wheat harvesting is color blind! Interview with Rick Solberg, New Holland


New Holland 2014 Harvest Support

Audio, New Holland, Wheat

New Holland Introduces New Product Innovations

Jamie Johansen

fps-cnh-goldIn 2015, New Holland will introduce 25 new product innovations to the market, from award-winning, revolutionary engine technology meeting Tier 4B emissions requirements, to the latest advancements in harvesting technology and precision farming.

The Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa set the stage for New Holland to introduce the new products. There Chuck spoke with New Holland’s Mark Hooper, he shares some of the key products they had on display for farmers to see for the first time.

A few of the products launched include:
– All new Roll-Belt Round Baler was on display replacing the BR7000 and will deliver capacity increases up to 20%.
– The T8 SmartTrax tractor matches the overall versatility of a wheeled tractor with the high traction and flotation of rubber tracks.
– CR Combines give up to 15% more productivity and carry new Harvest Suite Ultra cab that is larger, offering more glass.
– Speedrower Self-Propelled Windrower provide best-in-class comfort, horsepower and efficiency.

“In addition to the products. We are celebrating quite a few milestones for the brand. Model year 15 will be our 120th year as a brand. 40 years in the round balers business. 40 years in the rotary combine business. New Holland was the first one to launch a rotary combine. With our windrowers, it’s 50 years. To celebrate our golden anniversary, we have a Golden Windrower to promote that 50th year in business.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Mark here: Interview with Mark Hooper, New Holland

Coverage of the 2014 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the 2014 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New HollandCoverage of the 2014 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by FMCCoverage of the 2014 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the 2014 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by AgLeader
Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, Forage, Hay, New Holland

iCropTrak 5 Application Goes Native

Joanna Schroeder

iCropTrak 5 has gone native. Cogent3D has released its newest version of iCropTrak and the application now features “on-board” processing for mobile analytics that is based on technology originally developed for the military. This technology is a bit different than many that are based in the “cloud” or on your desktop. According to Cogent3D, iCropTrak version 5 performs all the iCropTrak 5 logoprocessing needed on your iPad and in the field or wherever you need to be even without a wireless connection.

So how does it work? Imagine this scenario:  you are standing in your field, reviewing your data, stacking it up and analyzing it with correlation graphs to visualize how your chemical application has impacted your projected yield. Then you walk to a spot in your field and inspect where your analysis shows potential for lower yield. This is exactly what you can do and more with iCropTrak version 5.

Cogent3D considers this a technological leap in capturing and analyzing farming data and explains that this technology is considered “disruptive” technology. In other words, distruptive technology describes a process by which a product or service takes root in simple applications at the bottom of the market and then moves up until it takes root, or displaces other technologies. An example is the desktop computer and initial data software.  In this case, Cogent 3D believes that the history of computer technology is repeating itself with the farming industry from standalone pc programs to cloud-based web services and now to native mobile applications.

iCropTrak 5 has some new features. According to Cogent3D, it’s the first of the next generation mobile farming applications to maximize a mobile device’s power, exploiting it and its performance to execute some of the most complex processing tasks, for example, multi-layer and multi-year management zone creation or colorization of 10’s of thousands of tractor data points on a field to provide visualization of your data so it makes sense to you.

The company is confident iCropTrak 5 will change how agronomists and sales teams interact with their clients and perform their jobs. With iCropTrak 5 an agronomist can load data, stand in a field with their client or sit with them at their kitchen table, show them how their prescriptions and recommendations have impacted their fields using quantifiable information and make informed decisions based on solid data from a device that sits in the palm of your hand.

To learn more about iCropTrak 5, visit www.iCropTrak.com and also view the entire product press release here.

Agribusiness, CropTrak, data, Precision Agriculture

Wheat Growers Pleased with Documentary

Cindy Zimmerman

nh-harvest-14-fisherThe North Dakota Wheat Commission is one of the sponsors of the documentary “The Great American Wheat Harvest” which had a special showing in Bismark last month, and they seemed pretty pleased with the outcome.

“It’s primarily focused on the harvest element,” said NDWC administrator Neal Fisher after watching the finished product. “(But) there’s a very human, family element in it and they all refer to how they’re helping to feed their fellow man.”

Fisher thinks the film will be a great educational tool for schools and just the average person. “It’s entertaining and it has that family element … and I think that will be appealing to a good segment of the population,” he said. Interview with Neal Fisher, ND Wheat Commission

nh-harvest-14-movieJim Bahm, a NDWC member and farmer from just west of Bismark, is pictured here at the film showing with producer/director Conrad Weaver and Rebecca Gunderson of New Holland, which is also one of the movie sponsors.

He was very excited to finally get to see the movie and was also very impressed by the family element and thinks that is one of the main takeaways. “It’s not just a business, it’s family,” said Bahm.

Interview with Jim Bahm, ND wheat farmer


New Holland 2014 Harvest Support

Audio, New Holland, Wheat

USDA Announces Conservation Program Success

Cindy Zimmerman

vilsack-usdaAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that $328 million in conservation funding is being invested to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands across the nation. The funding is provided through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which was created in the 2014 Farm Bill to protect critical wetlands and encourage producers to keep lands in farming and ranching.

Vilsack says approximately 380 projects nationwide were selected to protect and restore 32,000 acres of prime farmland, 45,000 acres of grasslands and 52,000 acres of wetlands. “Conservation easements help farmers and ranchers protect valuable agricultural lands from development, restore lands that are best suited for grazing, and return wetlands to their natural conditions,” Vilsack said. “These easements are making a dramatic and positive impact for our food supply, rural communities and species habitat.”

ACEP consolidates three former Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) easement programs – Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, Grasslands Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program – into two components. One component protects farmlands and grasslands, and the other protects and restores agricultural wetlands.

Ag Secy Tom Vilsack comments, 9-8-14
Audio, Conservation, USDA

Eco Agro Resources Launches PENXCEL Technology

Joanna Schroeder

Eco Agro Resources expanded its portfolio today with the announcement of a new a delivery system for active ingredients in the agricultural fertilizer market: PENXCEL™ Technology. The unique formulated system was announced during The Fertilizer Institute annual meeting in San Francisco, California and was developed to deliver fertilizer additives for dry and liquid fertilizer. The delivery system drives active ingredients to penetrate deeper into the prills or granules of solid fertilizer and allows the use of active ingredients previously deemed “impossible to be coated” on fertilizer. Patents have been filed for this formulation breakthrough.

Eco Agro Resources Penxcel Tech logosPENXCEL has low viscosity, so it pours quickly even in the cold and easily coats fertilizer. It blends faster than other industry standard formulations, saving time during the critical application season. The end result is consistent fertilizer product that flows freely and performs in the field.

West Texas A&M Research shows that the PENXCEL system excels in the challenging field conditions of Texas, providing consistent results that are amplified under tougher conditions. The benefits of PENXCEL were demonstrated in the positive results with N YIELD™ nitrogen stabilizer. The researcher attributed the better activity to the more consistent application of the product to the fertilizer and to deeper penetration of urea prills.

Andrew Semple, chief executive officer of Eco Agro Resources observes, “Our PENXCEL Technology platform is a launching pad for a full line of innovative new products for improving the efficiency of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. Our fertilizer additive products, including N YIELD, N-BOUND™ and PHOS GAIN™ utilize PENXCEL Technology. It provides superior performance, blending and handling.” Semple concludes, “While Eco Agro Resources is a small, innovative U.S.-based company among a field of giants in the global fertilizer industry; we believe in innovation and remain committed to developing new and improved products for the benefit of the agricultural market.”

Agribusiness, Fertilizer

Water, Food Security Explored in Water for Food Event

Joanna Schroeder

Water for food logoThe role of data in water and food security will be explored in the upcoming Water for Food Global Conference taking place in Seattle, Washington October 19-22, 2014.

Global food demand is growing. With a changing climate and increased competition for scarce water resources, people are now faced with the complex challenge of needing to double agricultural production by 2050 with less water than is used today. A topic of interest is how to use the tremendous amount of data we now have—from technology ranging from remote sensing to smart mobile devices—to effectively address this problem.

WFF_cvent_banner_670px_nogates2Hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska in association with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “Harnessing the Data Revolution: Ensuring Water and Food Security from Field to Global Scales,” will bring together international experts in the fields of science, technology, policy and practice to discuss potential solutions to achieve a more water and food secure world. The conference will focus specifically on how data can improve the productivity and sustainability of small and large farmers.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this important discussion. The early registration discount ends September 18, 2014. For more details, visit waterforfood.nebraska.edu/wff2014/.

Agribusiness, Conservation, Education, Events, Water

Using Data to Create Change

Jamie Johansen

hereford-14-39-editedRecord markets and expansion in the beef industry and especially in the Hereford breed has provided opportunity for investments. The American Hereford Association jumped at this and put together an educational event for their breeders. The Hereford Genetic Summit took place last week at Missouri State University’s Darr Agricultural Center and breeders flooded in with open ears.

“We are really looking towards the future. How do we position the Hereford breed to continually succeed and move forward in market share? How do we become more relevant to the commercial cow/calf industry and the consumer? We really wanted to hone in on where we are today and where we need to go tomorrow.”

The day and a half long event was packed full of experts speaking on the importance of the consumer, the economic side of the beef industry, how genetics come into play with the commercial breeders and how as seedstock producers we need to be thinking about the future.

I asked Craig to share what he thought the number one thing he wanted attendees to take home and truly implement in their herds. He said, “I think the number one thing data. Use the information and turn it in. Use that data and reliable information to make change. That change needs to be in a direction that is helping the commercial producer sell their product at a higher rate.”

Listen to my complete interview with Craig here: Interview with Craig Huffhines, AHA Executive VP

If you weren’t able to attend the event and want to catch up on what you missed Missouri State University’s MediaSite has audio, video and presentations from all speakers.

Animal.AgWired will be posting more on this event.

Find all photos from the event here: Hereford Summit Photo Album.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Education, Events

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

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  • Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings, LLC (“Pinnacle”) has acquired East Kansas Chemical (“East Kansas Chemical”).
  • Nominate your peers for NAFB’s top awards by emailing tom@nafb.com by September 15th!
  • MGEX concluded its fiscal year on Friday with a total volume of 2,019,544, breaking the previous fiscal year volume record set in 2010-2011 and surpassing the previous fiscal year’s mark by 49 percent.
  • AgriLife Studios announces the opening their new stock media web store, www.agrilifestudiosstock.com.
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