EarthOptics‘ proprietary sensor technology precisely measures the health and structure of soil through a combination of ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models and agronomic expertise. Today the company announced a round of strategic investments from both existing and new investors.
The US$27.6 million in funding, part of EarthOptics’ Series B investment round, was led by Conti Ventures – an investment team within Continental Grain Company. Rabo Food & Ag Innovation Fund (RFAIF), CNH Industrial, Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, and CHS and Growmark’s Cooperative Ventures join current EarthOptics investors Leaps by Bayer, FHB Ventures, S2G Ventures, iSelect Fund, Route 66 Ventures, and Middleland Capital’s VTC Ventures.
The funding will help EarthOptics to further build out its sensor suite’s hyper-accuracy capabilities to boost acreage growth and bring greater savings. It will also allow the company to scale cooperation with service providers such as agronomists, crop consultants and trusted third party advisors, for data insights. “Our industry-leading technology has huge potential for farmers and agribusiness,” said Lars Dyrud, EarthOptics CEO. “This funding will propel our growth and enable us to scale the SoilMapper™ platform.”
With EarthOptics, farmers can better manage their land and soil health
By providing such a wide range of soil data, EarthOptics’ technology enables farmers to better manage their land and enhance its value. Insights can help them drive multiple improvements from increasing crop yield to reducing fertiliser application, and assessing their farm’s carbon impact, to name a few key areas.
“We believe EarthOptics has a clear advantage in soil measurement technology, as they improve the scalability of measurement while helping to reduce extrapolation error,” said Chris Abbott, Co-Head of Conti Ventures. “As we look for technologies that can verify critical soil measurements for growers, we believe EarthOptics stands out in providing agronomic value as well as verification for initiatives like carbon credits.”
“EarthOptics is a leading agriculture platform that accurately measures key aspects of soil health,” according to James Ramey of Middleland Capital’s VTC Ventures. “Ranging from compaction levels and nutrients through carbon sequestration, the company is perfectly positioned to deliver strong ROI for growers while advancing climate resilience initiatives.”
CNH Industrial takes a minority stake
CNH Industrial, which takes a minority stake in EarthOptics, will begin a pilot testing phase of EarthOptics’ soil sensing technology through its Case IH brand. Commercial plans will be the subject of future announcements. The goal of this technology is to accelerate the company’s work in tillage automation and provide greater agronomic insights for its customers.
Recently, the USDA announced EarthOptics as a partner in their Climate Smart Partnership for six separate proposals. With this new momentum, EarthOptics continues to evaluate additional partnerships and work.
The announcement comes on the heels of a successful 2022 for EarthOptics, which it says saw a ten-fold growth in acres covered and partnerships with global food companies.
