August 29, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

M&A is afoot in the ag industry, and soil will never be the same. EarthOptics, which is building the “soil cloud,” and Pattern Ag have announced a merger of equals to form a digitization powerhouse that will take soil health to the next level for farmers. The combined company, which will operate under the EarthOptics name, takes a two-pronged approach to predictive agronomy, comprising advanced soil-sensing technology and data insights to create what they call a “high-resolution digital twin” of the soil.

EarthOptics CEO Lars Dyrud and Pattern Ag CEO Rob Hranac shared on the Grounded podcast that they had partnered together previously on various initiatives. However, it wasn’t until earlier this year when the idea of a deal was sparked by a mutual investor that the merger wheels were set into motion. The deal jumpstarts M&A activity in the agtech segment. According to a CropLife analysis of Crunchbase data, the agtech industry saw 28 exits in 2023, all of which occurred through M&A. This compares with 33 agtech exits in 2022.

On its own, EarthOptics is a soil data company that delivers maps to farmers, growers and ranchers to cost effectively bolster their yields while bettering soil health and the climate. The company prides itself in delivering comprehensive soil insights with notably fewer samples at a lower cost and large scale. Pattern Ag specializes in predictive agronomy, using its technology to detect pests and pathogens in the field. Through the business combination, the new EarthOptics will send even more powerful data to farmers, offering them a glimpse into their soil’s precise physical, chemical and biological properties.

In turn, this will enable growers to plan input and farm management decisions with a view toward maximizing profitability and sustainability targets. Through the harnessing of lab-based analysis and field-based sensing technologies, EarthOptics will create what it describes as a “high-resolution digital twin of the soil” from which farmers can glean insights into critical issues such as pests and pathogens, biofertility, nutrients, soil compaction, carbon levels, moisture and more.

While farmers have access to more field data than ever before, there are challenges around the quality and standardization of that information. EarthOptics wants to make it easy for growers to turn soil insights into greater profits and productivity on the farm. Through this merger, “one soil sample will generate more data and predictive power across physical, chemical and biological soil properties,” providing value and relevant insights to farmers around the world.

EarthOptics chief Dyrud, who will take the reins of the combined company, stated, “This merger will give farmers the most comprehensive snapshot of the soil under their feet. Historically, soil measurement insights have been limited in scope and imprecise. We now have the technology to tell farmers what’s in their soil with a high level of precision, and with the addition of Pattern analytics, we can offer them insights into what to plant and how to manage their most impactful decisions throughout the growing season.”

Pattern Ag’s Hranac, a fifth-generation Nebraskan who grew up in row crop land, said, “As the leader in predictive agronomy, our insights help farmers know their risks and opportunities before they plant in order to create the optimal plan for next season. By pairing this with EarthOptics field-based technologies, we can increase the breadth of soil insights into exciting new categories while amplifying the resolution of most analytics by 100 times or more.”

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.