SoilCares, a provider of information services for smart farming will extend its products and services portfolio. Next to managing and monitoring soil fertility the company now also provides services to measure nutrients in feed (FeedCares) and leaf (LeafCares). The full services portfolio and products will be available under a new name ‘AgroCares’. All AgroCares’ nutrient analysis services and applications can be delivered using the same innovative, in house developed sensor and database technology consisting of a Scanner, a handheld sensor device and Lab-in-a-Box, a sensor lab.
From SoilCares to AgroCares
SoilCares was founded in 2013. Under the name SoilCares, the company started with the most complex, but also yield determining part: soil fertility in Kenya. Over the years SoilCares has extended its service offerings to more than 20 countries, with clients ranging from organisations working with smallholder farmers in Ivory Coast, large retailers in Myanmar to large agro holdings in Ukraine. The next milestone is to also offer smart farming services to analyse feed and leaf nutrients under the name AgroCares. CEO Henri Hekman: “With AgroCares we can now offer a full package of cutting edge agricultural services to measure nutrients in soil, feed and leaf.“
Apps combined with a handheld sensor and a sensor lab
AgroCares has developed a range of in house developed applications that provide quick on-site access to key nutrients in soil, feed and leaf. These apps are combined with two products: the Scanner and the Lab-in-a-Box. The Scanner is a handheld device using a NIR sensor. The Lab-in-a-Box (or LIAB) is a customized set of equipment using MIR and XRF sensors. The LIAB is designed as the affordable substitute for a traditional wet chemistry lab laboratory.
Services based on a subscription model
The option to provide advice on fertilizer application or feed management can also be added to the services. Clients use a subscription model to pay for the services they need. Depending on the apps they are using, you pay an annual license fee. The subscription gives them the opportunity to perform an unlimited amount of scans.
The real intelligence is in the global database
The real intelligence behind the services AgroCares offers is in the global databases the companies uses and the algorithms it employs to generate agronomical information data, reports and recommendations. For soil it uses and an inhouse developed Global Soil Database, for feed the database of Trouw Nutrition, one of its strategic partners. The leaf database is also an AgroCares development and being launched.
Combining sensor technology with deep learning database technology
This offers the company endless opportunities to grow and deliver valuable agronomical information to its clients. With the brand ‘AgroCares’ the company now covers soil, feed and leaf analysis. In the near future AgroCares expects to add things like manure and milk as well, so that eventually the company will be able to measure everything on a farm.
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