Sustaining a crop farm in today’s climate, both literally and economically, isn’t what it used to be. While basic plant needs such as water, soil and sunlight still must be met, technology and innovation plays an increasingly important role in the ever-changing landscape of crop production.
To help keep ahead of the curve, Missouri Soybeans interviewed four experts who are forging cutting-edge paths to benefit farmers. The experts represent four different organizations and companies, including: Emergent Connext, NewLeaf Symbiotics, SweetWater Technologies and the Farm for Soy Innovation.
Read on to learn more about the companies working to benefit soybean farmers in the modern world. Companies are listed in alphabetical order for easy scanning.
Bringing Connectivity to Agriculture & Rural America
When talking about ag tech, it’s important to note that some of the latest advances designed for farmers — smart devices, sensors and tools — aren’t as valuable if real-time internet access isn’t available to connect them to a network. It would be like buying a brand-new tractor and not having any fuel to run it.
“Today, in many parts of rural America and agriculture, we know that internet access is limited or not available at all,” said Mike Roudi, CEO of Emergent Connext.
“There’s a big push to bring more broadband to homes in rural America, which is incredibly important. The ag industry has the same problem,” said Roudi. “When we get out into the fields, in many instances, you have no internet access, whether that’s cellular, satellite or what we call IoT networks (Internet of Things). These networks are needed to help digital ag tech connect to the internet.
“At Emergent, we are building a single network that covers all of rural America, including the entire ag-designated landscape, so that farmers and other stakeholders in the ag value chain can be confident that reliable internet access will be available for connecting all of their smart devices.”
Roudi explained that Emergent’s job is to connect IoT-enabled sensors and devices in real time, providing farmers and other end- users with real-time monitoring and measuring to optimize their operations while simultaneously integrating that information into their farm management practices. With this data at their fingertips, farmers can save on labor and input costs while minimizing environmental impacts.
“When we deploy this network across a row-crop farm, you’ll be able to connect sensors that are detecting NPK levels and moisture, tracking assets, monitoring tank and bin levels and so on,” explained Roudi.
“And you can read all of that information in real time. Having your smart sensors connected to the internet will not only allow you to start automating important tasks needed to improve operations and profitability, but it also provides real-time access to data for preventive and prescriptive decision-making when managing your business.”
The capabilities of Emergent’s IoT network and customized dashboards extend beyond row-crop farming as well.
“We’ve launched our first network in California’s Central Valley in partnership with a rural internet service provider, Cal.net,” said Roudi.
The first farm to be covered by Emergent’s network is a prominent specialty crop grower who can now manage irrigation remotely from an iPad thanks to Emergent’s network and custom-designed dashboard, “which enables our customer to see and manage every IoT device on the farm.”
The really big benefit of using IoT devices is that farmers quickly see noticeable improvements in their productivity and profitability.
To learn more, visit www.EmergentConnext.com.
A Five-Year Look into the Future
The Farm for Soy Innovation, owned by the Missouri Soybean Association, launched its SMART initiative focusing on ag technology and innovation in 2022. Much of the research conducted at the Farm for Soy Innovation is funded by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.
We are on our third year of the SMART initiative. We are mostly focused on research projects that will help solve problems in agriculture. We really keep technology in mind when we have research on the farm.
“Our goal is to give Missouri farmers a five-year look into the future, at least, so that they’re prepared to see what’s coming,” said Clayton Light, director of conservation agriculture and farm operations for Missouri Soybeans.
“We are on our third year of the SMART initiative,” he said. “We are mostly focused on research projects that will help solve problems in agriculture. We really keep technology in mind when we have research on the farm.”
The Ag Innovations Showcase hosted on July 31 is an annual event that serves as a hub for research and innovation that will benefit Missouri farmers in the coming years.
Light explained that the technology offerings at the showcase range from see-and-spray technology to ag start-ups, grain bin safety monitoring to biological products and more.
“With our field day, we bring farmers and innovators together,” said Light. “It’s an opportunity for farmers to give feedback to the tech companies developing products they will use in the future.”
To learn more, visit mosoy.org.
Protect Your Soybeans Against the Known and Unknown
Microbial biologicals, despite being microscopic and invisible to the naked eye, play a crucial role in modern agriculture by enhancing crop health and resilience. These tiny organisms, which include beneficial bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, work in various ways to protect crops and improve their productivity.
“At NewLeaf Symbiotics, we’re the pioneer and global leader of a class of microbial biologicals called PPFMs — that stands for pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophs,” said Aaron Kelley, chief commercial officer at NewLeaf.
Kelley explained, “We’ve taken this genus of bacteria, and we’ve harnessed them to address some of farmers’ biggest challenges in helping them to realize more yield, crop protection and nutrient use efficiency.”
These bacteria also, specifically, help with nutrient uptake in the soil. “We’ll see 20% higher levels of iron and manganese in plants that have been inoculated with our technology,” said Kelley.
“You’ll see that soybean plants have typically earlier and more even emergence. It will put on a larger root mass and will typically be a stage or two ahead of an untreated control,” added Kelley. “It really helps the plant get a jumpstart from that point.”
While farmers might not be looking for another crop input, NewLeaf’s technology provides more than just crop protection.
“If we are talking specifically soybeans, we see an overall average of about 3.5 bushels per acre improvement with about a 70%- win rate, which means they’re getting that rate 70% of the time,” said Kelley.
Increased yield, bigger root mass and more efficient nutrient uptake combined with protection from all the abiotic stressors such as drought, excessive heat or excessive water, and you have the perfect recipe for a successful soybean crop.
“The biggest thing is that it helps with peace of mind; it’s almost a form of insurance … because all of these abiotic stressors are things that are out of the grower’s control once the crop is in the ground.”
To learn more, visit www.newleafsym.com.
Drone Application Isn’t a Novelty Anymore
SweetWater Technologies began as a drone service two short years ago.
“We’ve been the first one, really in the whole country, to be able to cover a large number of acres with drones and make drone spraying relevant,” said Chad Gripp, owner of SweetWater Technologies.
“It’s not a novelty anymore,” said Gripp. “We go out and cover tens of thousands of acres with drones. We had really good luck the first year [in 2022] covering 32,000 acres with drones, and the next year we ramped it up [in 2023] and covered 92,000 acres with drones.”
Drone application offers a variety of benefits over traditional spraying methods.
“When compared to a heavy ground rig, a drone is not invasive,” said Gripp. “You can spray after a rain and there will be no wheel tracks.”
“If you compare [drones] to a plane or helicopter … (because of) houses, trees, powerlines, you can’t get 100% coverage.
With a drone, none of that gets in the way because they’re never more than 10 feet off of the crop. It’s very precise coverage.”
Beyond drone application, the benefits that SweetWater Technologies offers are twofold.
“We started a franchise model,” said Gripp. “SweetWater Technologies is not only a drone business, but also a business development company.”
“We are looking for young men and women who have an interest in coming back to the farm, and we are offering them a turnkey business. We are really focused on individuals coming back to the farm or a farmer looking to develop a business,” said Gripp.
He explained that his company is looking to add 30 more franchise partners next year. “We are in central Illinois and have opened our first five franchises with a focus on the Corn Belt.”
“We are trying to empower young people in their local ag community and right now, the drones are a wonderful platform to get kids back on the farm,” said Gripp.
To learn more, visit www.SweetWaterTechnologies.com.
Looking Ahead
As these new opportunities become available for your soybean operation, remember to evaluate them against your farm’s business goals, existing suite of tools and sustainability priorities.
There’s little dispute that the pace of innovation is only picking up, offering Missouri farmers more ways to achieve success on their own terms.
