AgroCares CEO Henri Hekman and CCO Rob Beens signed a partnership with Concentric, one of the biggest developers of biological and plant nutrients inputs in Canada, during the Agri Food-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco (19-20 March 2019).
As a result of this partnership, Concentric Ag Corporation will distribute their proprietary NutriScan system based on AgroCares’ sensor technology to farmers in Western Canada and provide them with real-time soil nutrient diagnostics.
Photo source: Food Valley
A complete soil nutrient analysis for growers in Canada
Starting in the fall of 2019, Concentric will offer its NutriScan soil analytical system, developed with AgroCares, to give Western Canada growers a complete soil nutrient analysis and recommendation on their smartphones within 10 minutes.
Concentric has obtained the rights to distribute the AgroCares soil analysis technology and will market it as NutriScan in Western Canada. The next planned stage of product development and commercialization is the Great Plains region of the U.S.
“Soil analytics is an integral part of our long-term business plan,” said Jarrett Chambers, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Concentric. “We believe NutriScan’s real-time diagnostic tool will further help Concentric’s growers apply the correct nutrients to maximize the genetic potential of their crops.”
Collecting and analyzing over 2,000 soil samples
To calibrate the sensor technology, Concentric worked with local agronomists, retailers and the AgroCares’ technical staff to collect and analyze over 2,000 soil samples from across Western Canada. NutriScan combines sensor technology with AgroCares-developed algorithms and artificial intelligence elements to rapidly deliver customized reports to growers.
“This new distribution agreement ultimately benefits Western Canada’s growers,” said Rob Beens, managing director and chief commercial officer of AgroCares. “They’ll be among the first in North America to use our technology to reduce risk and increase crop yields.”
Starting this fall with a subscription model
ATP Nutrition, Concentric’s plant nutrient division, plans to unveil the NutriScan application at its research site during the Ag in Motion outdoor farm show in Saskatchewan, July 16-18. ATP will begin offering the technology to its collaborative retailers and agronomists in the fall of 2019. Under a simple subscription model, its customers will be able to use the tool on an unlimited, rather than per-sample, basis.
“Instead of waiting a week for lab results, our customers will have actionable data on their smartphones within minutes,” said Chambers. “Only 20 percent of the arable fields in North America are soil-sampled and only half receive a complete soil analysis. NutriScan helps more growers adopt accurate precision management systems and also allows more fields to be sampled with no additional analytical cost. The end result is to build a prescriptive nutrient management program based off real-time, complete soil analysis.”
For more information:
www.agrocares.com
www.concentricag.com