CropX Acquires Tule, Further Expands in California

CropX Technologies, a global provider of digital solutions for agronomic farm management, today announced its acquisition of Tule Technologies, a precision irrigation company based in California. This acquisition brings new data capture technologies to the CropX Agronomic Farm Management System and expands its market in California drip-irrigated specialty crops.

The CropX system offers its users real-time mobile and desktop insights and advice on irrigation, disease control, nutrient management and more, based on above-ground crop sensing data and below-ground soil monitoring. Tule brings a complementary new mode of data collection from above the plant canopy that precisely determines crop water use, which will enhance CropX’s artificial intelligence predictions, recommendations, and automations, and add to its solutions for drip-irrigated specialty crops such as tree-nuts and vineyards.

Effective immediately, all Tule employees will join CropX, adding expansive on-farm and client service expertise in the specialty crop and drip irrigation space, as well as technology talent to CropX’s growing global team.

“We are excited to welcome Tule to CropX, expanding our offerings to our customers to solve agronomic problems. With Tule’s canopy data incorporated into the CropX system, CropX is adding a new and powerful dimension to the world’s most complete precision irrigation solution,” said Tomer Tzach, CEO of CropX Technologies.

“At Tule, we’ve admired CropX for their agronomic expertise, engineering excellence, and global ambition,” said Dr. Tom Shapland, CEO of Tule Technologies. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to join the CropX team.”

The acquisition comes at a time of increasing demand for precise watering technologies in agriculture. “The farming industry is at the frontlines of global challenges to balance food security with water and other natural resources,” said Dr. John Gates, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product at CropX. “We are committed to helping our customers manage water confidently and efficiently with technology. Tule’s unique tech and vast experience with California vineyards and orchards are a perfect fit.”

This is the fourth acquisition CropX has made since 2020 and the second US-based company. CropX acquired Nebraska-based CropMetrics in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, New Zealand-based Regen in Q4 of 2020, and Netherlands-based Dacom Farm Intelligence in Q3 2021, in each case adding expertise, technologies, customers, data and expanding markets.

CropX Farm Management System Connects with John Deere Operations Center 

CropX Technologies, a global leader in digital farm management solutions, announced today an integration with the John Deere Operations Center. This integration allows CropX farm management system users with an Operations Center account to share data bi-directionally between the systems. This enhanced functionality enables users to view data and analytics from the CropX system, including near real-time soil sensor monitoring, from within Operations Center. It also allows users to import field data from the Operations Center to simplify field set-up in the CropX system.

“The integration with the John Deere Operation Center supports our mission to bring powerful, easy-to-use digital solutions to all farms,” says Tomer Tzach, CEO of CropX Technologies. “It makes it easier for farmers to capture and share data between these two useful technologies and unlock agronomic insights from the CropX farm management system.”

CropX Technologies is launching several capabilities to round out its farm management system with tools that optimize agronomic activities: fertilization, disease management, and effluent management now join the already existing world-class irrigation management solution. CropX Technologies is committed to making daily operations easier and better for the farmer.

“With integration into the John Deere Operations Center ™, CropX is easier and more convenient for growers to use,” says Paul Cooper with Greenway Equipment, a John Deere dealer using the CropX system. “They can analyze planting, application, yield data, and also analyze moisture across the farm to be more efficient with irrigation practices.”

This latest integration adds to the list of agtech and data companies that connect with the CropX farm management system and enables users to import fields, farms, and data from third party sources including Reinke Irrigation, WeatherLink, and Climate FieldView.

PepsiCo Chooses CropX to Achieve Global Sustainability Goals

CropX, a leading global Ag Analytics provider and PepsiCo México, an American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation headquartered in U.S.A., expand their collaboration to help PepsiCo’s Mexican potato farmers reduce water and fertilizer consumption, improve soil health, lower greenhouse emissions and improve crop yields. By collaborating with CropX, PepsiCo can now help growers in Latin America improve farm input application efficiency and become environmentally sustainable, providing its growers with CropX’s data-driven farm management solutions.

PepsiCo has set a number of interconnected goals that aim to contribute to its positive water impact, designing its efforts and partnerships to enable long-term, sustainable water security for its business, and setting the ambitious goal of 15% water reduction by 2025. As part of this effort, CropX collaborates with PepsiCo Mexico (PepsiCo’s largest operation in Latin America) to help the producers supplying the potatoes used for its products reduce the water used for potato production.

CropX ran pilot tests in partnership with PepsiCo Mexico of the sensors and technological solutions offered by CropX, with the objective of demonstrating reductions in water used for potato production under drip and pivot irrigation. CropX’s sensors were deployed across several fields owned by two farmers supplying PepsiCo. The data collected by CropX’s sensors was monitored continuously throughout the season and the actionable insights generated by CropX’s algorithms helped the farmers make science-based decisions. To demonstrate the benefits of sustainable agriculture using state-of-the-art technologies, PepsiCo compared the results of the ‘Best Ag Practices 4.0’ plots vs. the control group, where the farmers used standard practices. The results were significant – ‘Best Ag Practices’ plots where CropX tech was used achieved higher yield, while applying 15% less water and less fertilizers, compared to the control group. The combined water and fertilizer savings had also curbed down greenhouse gas emissions significantly.

“We strongly believe Digital Agro technologies will unlock greater value in the farm system and will become a key enabler in the sustainability journey. We have developed an ambitious digital strategy for México and LATAM aimed at increasing the efficiency across the agro supply chain and reducing the use of resources such as water. In México, the water crisis poses major challenges; that is the reason we are piloting and deploying digital technologies to save water while improving yields” said Servando Valdez, Agro Director Lead for PepsiCo México,

“Water scarcity in Mexico is severe, and with an ever-increasing demand, combined with the fact that agriculture accounts for almost 78% of water use, certain cities in Mexico risk being void of water. “With PepsiCo using CropX’s data-driven soil management platform in large scale we have the opportunity to make a huge impact and to significantly improve water-use inefficiency and soil health for potato production in Mexico.” said Matan Rahav, Director of Business Development at CropX. “The collaboration with PepsiCo will help the Mexican potato farming industry become more efficient and sustainable. We’re very excited to have partnered with one of the world’s leading food corporations which has committed to help tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Producers working with PepsiCo Mexico can now get the benefits of CropX sensor technology and artificial intelligence software – from money savings by irrigation and fertilizer efficiency and higher yields by optimizing water usage, to the peace of mind that comes from maintaining the ideal environment and growing conditions for crops. Together, PepsiCo and CropX will empower Mexican potato producers to improve farm management practices.

CropX is an AgAnalytics whose vision is to revolutionize & automate the farm and the decision-making process by combining above-ground data sets with real-time soil data measured by proprietary in-house-developed soil sensors that transmit the data to a cloud-based platform, and analyzed by AI-based algorithms, to provide insights & automations via the CropX app.

serving over 3,500 paying customers with almost 10,000 installations since its launch in 2017, CropX has demonstrated over 50% water savings across different crop types, with 20% yield increase. Backed by a world-class syndicate of strategic partners & investors and having raised over $20M in funding rounds including a recent B-round, CropX is determined to continue its global expansion, acting as the Big-Data North star for the entire global AgFood value chain.

CropX Awarded as Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum

 CropX, the Israel-based company that produces the world’s first and do-it-yourself (“DIY”) farm management platform based on real-time soil data, was selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers”.  CropX is an Ag-analytics company that revolutionized and automated the farm decision-making process by developing the world’s first and only farm management platform based on real-time soil data measured by proprietary self-installable soil sensors.

The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers are early to growth-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the use of new technologies and innovation that are poised to have a significant impact on business and society.

With their selection as Technology Pioneer, CEO Tomer Tzach of CropX will be invited to participate at World Economic Forum activities, events and discussions throughout the year. CropX will also contribute to Forum initiatives over the next two years, working with global leaders to help address key industry and societal issues.

“We’re excited to welcome CropX to our 2021 cohort of Technology Pioneers,” says Susan Nesbitt, Head of the Global Innovators Community, World Economic Forum. “CropX and its fellow pioneers are developing technologies that can help society solve some of its most pressing issues. We look forward to their contribution to the World Economic Forum in its commitment to improving the state of the world.”

“It’s great to be acknowledged as pioneer by the World Economic Forum”, said CropX’s Tomer Tzach. “It is a confirmation our technology is among the most unique in the world and can improve the lives of many people. Our technology can help feed a growing population in the face of environmental concerns and we look forward to contributing to the Forum dialogues on this challenge.”

 

For the first time in the community’s history, over 30% of the cohort are led by women. The firms also come from regions all around the world, extending their community far beyond Silicon Valley. This year’s cohort includes start-ups from 26 countries, with UAE, El Salvador, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe represented for the first time.

The diversity of these companies extends to their innovations as well. 2021 Tech Pioneer firms are shaping the future by advancing technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain, biotechnology and many more. The full list of Technology Pioneers can be found here.

Technology Pioneers have been selected based on the community’s selection criteria, which includes innovation, impact and leadership as well as the company’s relevance with the World Economic Forum’s Platforms.

CropX is an AgAnalytics whose vision is to revolutionize & automate the farm and the decision-making process by combining above-ground data sets with real-time soil data measured by proprietary in-house-developed soil sensors that transmit the data to a cloud-based platform, and analyzed by AI-based algorithms, to provide insights & automations via the CropX app.

serving over 1,200 paying customers with almost 8,500 installations since its launch in 2017, CropX has demonstrated over 40% water savings across different crop types, with 10% yield increase. Backed by a world-class syndicate of strategic partners & investors and having raised over $20M in funding rounds including a recent B-round, CropX is determined to continue its global expansion, acting as the Big-Data North star for the entire global AgFood value chain

NASA Harvest and CropX Pto Support Sustainable Ag Initiatives

NASA Harvest (NASA’s Food Security and Agriculture Program) and CropX, a global leader in soil analytics for agriculture, today announced a strategic partnership that will give NASA Harvest unprecedented soil insights for its global agricultural monitoring efforts. Supporting a more sustainable agrifood ecosystem, together NASA Harvest and CropX will provide farmers and industry experts with the data and information they need to improve farming sustainability by conserving resources and improving crop yields.

The partnership will further NASA Harvest’s mission to improve food security and advance sustainable agriculture, supporting farmer productivity while preserving natural resources in the United States and worldwide through the use of satellite data. Combining the power of CropX soil data monitoring, comprehensive insights provided by the CropX ag analytics platform, and NASA’s network of Earth-observing satellites, NASA Harvest aims to deliver critical insights to governments and farmers around the globe in support of informed and science-driven decision making.

“Soil health and nutrient management is at the very root of food security and sustainable agriculture concerns – an accurate understanding of what is actually happening underneath the ground is essential,” noted Nadav Liebermann, CTO of CropX. “Satellite imagery has long been an integral part of CropX algorithms, and our partnership with NASA Harvest will deliver valuable agronomic insights by connecting critical data at different depths underground and from an expansive network of satellites in space. We are looking forward to working with the NASA Harvest team to improve farming decision-making worldwide – in both developed and undeveloped regions.”

NASA has deployed CropX solutions across a group of alfalfa farms in Arizona controlled by IAF Investments Group to test and finetune the algorithms that will become the foundation of nationwide, and eventually global, agriculture insights. Over a 12-month time period with the integration of NASA satellite data and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) information, the pilot program will quickly establish the parameters for water usage estimates, yield prediction, soil quality and land usage assessments based on multiple crop growing cycles. “We are delighted to collaborate with CropX and NASA Harvest on this most important deployment,” stated Jon-Michael Nahon, a Senior IAF Managing Partner, “Optimal and sustainable use of farm inputs is crucial to meeting the world’s food challenge.” Particularly in light of a renewed focus on soil moisture metrics spurred by NASA’s NISAR mission, the team hopes to build upon the pilot study in the coming years by using the best available technology to analyze and support more cost-effective and environmentally efficient farming methods.

“We are in a constant race to produce and supply enough food in order to feed a rapidly growing global population, with finite land and natural resources. NASA Harvest is dedicated to collaborating with top innovators to make the best possible use of our agricultural land; CropX unites our space-led vision with on-farm intelligence and results,” added Dr. Inbal Becker-Reshef, program director of NASA Harvest. “We were impressed by the accuracy and reliability with which the CropX soil monitoring platform was able to both pinpoint various soil health and environmental challenges, as well as determine opportunities for water, energy and nutrient conservation. CropX offers the advanced tools and global farm footprint needed to understand and improve soil health and water quality tied to farming ecosystems around the world. Paired with satellite data, this provides the opportunity to scale these insights in support of farmer productivity and more effective use of available resources.”

First introduced via their involvement in Farm2050, an ecosystem of agrifood industry leaders led by Innovation Endeavors and Finistere Ventures, the new partnership between CropX and NASA Harvest puts collaboration across the public, private and academic sectors into practice. A multidisciplinary consortium led by the University of Maryland, NASA Harvest is dedicated to creating the partnerships needed to unlock innovation in agriculture. Together, NASA Harvest and CropX plan to quickly scale the program based on learnings from the initial pilot.

Reinke to use CropX Irrigation Technologies

Israel-based CropX and the Nebraska-based Reinke have announced recently a strategic partnership, in which Reinke will offer growers across the US a new solution that incorporates CropX’s smart irrigation scheduling platform into Reinke irrigation systems. The agreement between the two companies also includes an investment in CropX by Reinke. CropX eyes the US Agriculture market. Earlier this year it acquired the agricultural analytic company CropMetrics, also based in Nebraska.

Reinke is one of the leading manufacturers of center pivot irrigation systems in the US, and is operating in roughly 40 countries. The most commonly used irrigation method among growers in the US is central pivotal irrigation, in which the irrigation system is situated in the center of the crop and sprinkles the water in a circular motion. This way, the sprinkler is able to cover a very large circular area of ​​several hundred acres. These systems are cheaper than deploying drip irrigation and require less maintenance and manpower.

Smarter irrigation

Speaking to TechTime, CropX CEO Tomer Tzach points out the main disadvantage of pivotal irrigation systems. “These systems cover large areas, but they shower  the water uniformly throughout the radius, like rain. Agricultural areas are not always homogeneous, and uniform irrigation may result in a waste of water”.

CropX has developed a platform that includes sensors that are embedded in the soil and measure the degree of moisture in the soil. The sensors are able to analyze the type of soil and transmit the data to a smart control system, which gives the farmer accurate information on the irrigation status at each point in the cultivated area, and schedule the irrigation and fertilization plans in a more efficient and data-driven manner. The platform also takes into account information from external sources such as weather forecasts, maps and aerial photos.

Through the partnership, growers using both systems will have access to CropX’s enhanced irrigation data-driven prescriptions that they can incorporate into their Reinke irrigation control system. “Our technology makes these irrigation systems smarter. The integration will make it possible to plan the use of the system based on the agronomic information obtained from our sensors and in accordance with the weather and forecast data.”

This partnership introduces Reinke to the world of digital agriculture, which has been growing rapidly in recent years. “It’s important for them to expand from a manufacturer of equipment to a company that provides an added value to farmers in the field of digital agriculture. CropX will provide the digital layer to their  solutions.”