The featured start-ups are tackling a range of agricultural challenges, with game-changing technologies from pest control to hyperspectral imagery, hyper-precise irrigation, and online agri-marketplaces.

The summit program includes new interactive features to help start-ups showcase their solutions and connect with potential investors and partners among its 1,000+ global industry delegates.

The Start-Up Arena (March 10):

Kicking off day two of the summit, the Start-Up Arena will welcome six dynamic international start-ups to present breakthroughs in robotics, agri-marketplaces, pest control, and crop input solutions, and field questions from the investor experts from Cargill and TechStars Farm to Fork Accelerator.

Agro.Club offers a mobile platform marketplace connecting growers, their suppliers, and crop purchasers into a single network. Providing valuable analytics, marketing, and a networking tool throughout the whole ag value chain from seed to sale, it aims to empower input manufacturers, retailers, and grain companies to run financial and marketing programs with maximum efficiency.

Autonomous Pivot transforms irrigation pivots into an intelligent platform with onboard cameras and sensors that measure soil moisture, nitrogen, and crop health, helping farmers to save on water and fertilizers.

BigSIS: With its artificial intelligence and robotics platform that produces sterile male insects, BigSIS offers cost-effective sustainable insect control solutions that can be combined with established commercial practices in integrated pest management.

Bloomfield Robotics: Using ground-based image capture and deep learning, Bloomfield Robotics complements the work of the crop inspectors by identifying and assessing the same plant characteristics and anomalies that human visual inspection looks for, offering farmers an objective analysis of the health and performance of virtually any plant.

Botanical Solution presents its patented R&D platform based on plant tissue culture, to discover and develop botanical products that are sustainable, highly consistent, and cost-effective. This R&D platform eliminates the major barriers, such as supply and quality issues, that have prevented traditional botanicals from becoming truly commercially successful.

Crop.Zone’s electrophysical solutions combat weeds and manage pre-harvest desiccation within integrated weed management. Its process combines chemical and physical plant protection to create an effective way to kill weeds.

Nanomik Biotechnologies develop micro-encapsulated biopesticides to protect crops against plant pathogens, increasing harvest yield and post-harvest shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

The Innovation Challenge Finals with Nutrien and AGCO (March 10):

The finalists have been revealed for each of the Innovation Challenges set by Nutrien and AGCO, which attracted more than 100 international entries. Each of the start-ups will pitch to the panel of judges and the virtual summit audience on March 10.

Nutrien’s challenge: ‘Crop Input Technologies That Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency, Increase Soil Carbon and Improve Water Use Efficiency’, will feature:

BPS Agriculture has developed a proprietary, aqueous-based solution that can be mixed with a grower’s fertility program to increase the stability and localization of nutrition.

Cotex Technologies offers soil degradable polymer coated seed fertilizers.

Soil Carbon Co applies microbial seed treatment to increase natural carbon deposits in the soil.

AGCO’s challenge: ‘New Sensing, Measurement and Edge Computing Technologies to Monetize Soil Insight and Carbon Sequestration’, will feature:

Cloud Agronomics monitors soil organic carbon and crop nutrient measurements using AI and remote sensing to improve soil health, boost productivity, and unlock farmland as a carbon sink.

EarthOptics specializes in AI, machine learning, edge computing using mobile standoff sensors to detect, visualize and mitigate soil compaction.

SmartCloudFarming uses microbial seed treatments that increase stable carbon in the soil.

The Shark Tank Reverse Pitch (March 9):

In a fresh twist on the usual start-up pitches, this reverse pitch will see leading investors S2G Ventures and Leaps by Bayer pitch to start-up company Leaf, which created an API to transfer data from hundreds of agricultural sources through one integration. Each investor will detail why they have the right strategy, network, and long-term vision to lead Leaf’s Series A round. The live and interactive audience will add their votes to support the start-up in choosing its lead investor.

The Virtual Tech Hub

Delegates will continue their journey of talent discovery at the virtual TechHub networking area within the virtual exhibition, with opportunities to meet the talent behind fresh solutions and learn more about their scale-up ambitions.

Gryfn provides advanced multi-sensor drone solutions, and proprietary processing software that enables customers to accurately and affordably acquire high-resolution data. Its multi-sensor UAV solutions simultaneously acquire visual, laser, and hyperspectral data for multi-modal, multi-temporal data for plot and plant-scale phenomic insights to drive actionable decisions.

Kapsera designs biodegradable microfluidic capsules for greenhouses and open field crops based on alginate, a natural product extracted from brown seaweed. They are compatible with standard farm equipment and optimized for stabilizing active ingredients and improving field performance.

MoA Technologies is discovering the next generation of herbicides, with new modes of action, from both natural and synthetic sources.

Nexus Robotics’ weeding robot, La Chèvre, uses cameras and a neural network to differentiate between weeds and crops and works autonomously, 24/7, removing weeds close to the plant.

Scanworld’s third-party spacecraft is complemented with aerial imagery to deliver hyperspectral imagery, weekly, for any point of the globe, enabling soil organic carbon estimation and early vegetation disease alerts.

Verdi uses hyper-precise irrigation to customize nutrition for every single plant. Using intelligent swarms of microvalves, it closes the feedback loop on precision farm data by enabling unique irrigation on subsections of single crop rows, or even at the plant-level.

The high energy agtech start-up community will be an active component of the virtual World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit on March 9-10, as it brings together over 1,000 global delegates for two action-packed days of 1-1 video meetings, speed networking, live panel sessions, small-group roundtable discussions, and a virtual tour.

Source: World Ag Expo

The post Twenty Start-Ups Share Their Robotics and Crop Input Solutions During Agritech 2021 appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

The resulting 5G blueprint will enable rapid deployment of 5G to rural areas.  This has the potential to dramatically close the Rural/Urban digital divide for farming and rural communities. This could be game-changing, boosting rural investment, creating skilled jobs, and improving prosperity.

The project will develop an affordable, reliable, and interoperable 5G network that is custom-designed for farmers and the particular challenges of rural connectivity. It will look to explore how 5G and its rollout might be able to provide a step-change in the industry. The £7 million project is being part-funded (£4.5m) by the Department for Digital, Media, Culture, and Sport as part of its 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme.

The 5G robotics trial aims to demonstrate a revolution in farming, increasing productivity, yields, and biodiversity while simultaneously reducing environmental impact. Importantly, it also looks to improve soil health and reduce emissions, helping farmers meet the UK agriculture target of Net-Zero by 2040.

Alongside the work with SRC, Wessex Internet is working with other future industry players to trial uses of 5G connectivity in agriculture. The aim is to deliver novel high/mid bandwidth 5G solutions and breakthrough innovation within agriculture. Anticipated benefits include empowering farmers with cost-effective, interoperable agritech; and more localized and efficient supply chains, linking local needs with local produce to improve food security, reduce waste and provide higher-value local produce.

“This 5G blueprint could be a catalyst for rural economies – with our robots demonstrating the potential for 5G to transform agricultural productivity. Connectivity is not a luxury. It’s a utility. And vital to economic performance. 5G technological development within agriculture is vital post-Brexit. One of the biggest obstacles facing UK farmers in adopting new technologies is poor connectivity around the farm. This 5G blueprint will pave the way for growth in the rural economy – and alongside it the greatly-improved quality of life.”

commented Ben Scott-Robinson, CEO and co-founder, Small Robot Company.

Hector Gibson Fleming, Managing Director of Wessex Internet explained:

“Our work taking full-fiber broadband to farms, homes, and businesses in rural communities has shown us how great connectivity can transform countryside communities. But connectivity across farms remains a massive issue. Exciting technological developments in agriculture have the potential to transform farming but are held back by poor connectivity and mobile coverage. We hope the 5G networks we’re building across a number of Dorset farms, and the exciting 5G applications we’re trialing, such as Small Robot Company’s agri-robots, will be a shining example of what the future can look like.”

Telint Ltd’s MD Dave Happy noted:

“Today people typically only think of using low-frequency spectrum for all rural uses. With this work, we are turning that conventional wisdom on its head because the high-speed radio connectivity required here demands the use of shorter-range higher frequencies. We are delighted to be assisting on the spectrum aspects of this exciting work.”

Agricultural Productivity

The project will build a 5G ecosystem within the agriculture/aquaculture industry. Wessex Internet will trial uses of 5G connectivity in agriculture, looking to establish sustainable business models that can be rapidly commercialized. 5G robotics could completely revolutionize the way we farm and bring enormous benefits to the environment. Rural-optimised 5G connectivity also allows for the potential to reduce the cost of operating robots – which is already significantly less than conventional farm machinery.

It is anticipated that 5G robotics will enable real-time capabilities such as the ability to quickly identify pests like slugs and immediately take action; and enabling farmers to act faster to exploit the UK’s dry weather windows. Reducing the use of pesticides by improved precision mapping and weeding without the use of herbicides can improve biodiversity and soil health. It will also provide farmers with live operational information such as soil moisture and crop emergence. Seamless and real-time data and systems integration will also break down vertical silos, eliminating manual data transfer, reducing costs, and greatly improving decision making.

The trials will be the first to demonstrate wide-scale autonomy of robotic farming operation, including the development of the UK’s first 5G-ready’ agri-robot; development of the first scalable, cost, ‘as a service’ agri-robot product; development of SRC’s first ‘ready-for-market, ‘fit-for-purpose agri-robot; and development of SRC’s on-farm 5G-enabled robot ‘kennel’. The 5G-connected Robot Handler App also brings the potential of a remote operator seeing live data or taking live control of the robot.

The within-farm robot-to-kennel communications are fundamental to the real-time capabilities, as well as the farm itself being better connected. The on-farm 5G-enabled robot ‘kennels’ will aim to process huge volumes of data from robots “on the fly,” exploiting the benefits of using higher frequency 5G spectrum and infrastructure so farmers can take more timely corrective action to maximize yields and minimize pesticide use – vital given the British weather!

Mike Donnachie, Farm Manager at Ranston Farms noted:

“Having precise and accurate data to hand so I can make instant decisions will bring great benefit into the future.”

Dorset Council Deputy Leader Peter Wharf remarked:

“Farming in rural areas such as Dorset is a way of life for communities. It is our hope that in making farming operations more sustainable through a partnership with the Small Robot Company we can revolutionize not only the productivity of agricultural operations but also reduce its impact on the environment through novel uses of monitoring and weed control. In doing so we will make agriculture part of Dorset for generations to come.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said:

“As we level up rural communities, we’re proud to be backing 5G RuralDorset and the many innovative projects it’s involved with – from intelligent buoys to 5G seaweed farms. This has huge potential to close the divide between rural and urban areas and transform agriculture as we build back better and greener for a more prosperous future.”

Project details

Wessex Internet will be delivering three farm 5G networks on the back of its existing 2,100km full-fiber network as part of the 5G RuralDorset trials. As a company with a farming background, the rural connectivity provider will be aiming to experiment with a 5G network that is fit for the industry – testing the technical and commercial viability of 5G deployment models in rural areas. The trials with the Small Robot Company robots will be taking place at the Ranston Farm 5G trial site.

SRC is building a 5G-enabled Tom monitoring robot, Kennel and Robot Handler App. In addition, the project scope includes a 5G-enabled Dick non-chemical weeding robot. SRC will test this capability in Dorset from October 2021 to March 2022, writing a report on the resulting outcomes and benefits for its Farming-as-a-Service robotics model.

Sam Watson Jones, President, and co-founder, Small Robot Company, concludes:

“The opportunity is immense. Our technology is closely aligned with the new Agricultural Bill, at the heart of these systemic changes in farming. The 5G RuralDorset Project is an opportunity for us to work with farmers to create a more sustainable and productive farming model. The recent huge advances in agtech finally make this possible: and farmers are integral to the environmental solution.”

The post Small Robot Company Announces Partnership in the 5G RuralDorset to Deliver Blueprint for Rural Connectivity With First 5G-Ready Agri-Robot appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.