Farmers edge receives $3.2 million investment to expand into the U.S.

Canadian-based Farmers Edge, who offers precision agriculture and data-management solutions, has secured an additional $3.2 million from Osmington, Inc. Formed in 1995, Osmington, which is located in Toronto, Canada, is a private commercial real estate company owned by David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters.

"We weren't soliciting funds from Osmington," says Wade Barnes, Farmers Edge CEO. "The company exercised a $3.2 million investment option and wanted to invest it in us. We took that as a huge vote of confidence."

A large portion of the money will be put toward the continued expansion of Farmers Edge into the U.S. market. The company's Precision Solutions package provides a comprehensive turnkey system that includes variable-rate technology, soil sampling and analysis, field-centric weather, in-field telematics and data transfer, high-resolution satellite imagery, field-centric data analytics, access to FarmCommand, and a network of trusted advisers. Launched in November 2015, Barnes says the demand for the company's services has exceeded expectations.

"We thought we would do well in the Northern Plains states and the Midwest," he says. "We didn't realize how much interest there would be from the Western Plains, the Delta, and Texas. We actually had to turn some business away in areas where we didn't have strong representation. This spring, our company will have a half-million acres in the U.S."

That's all about to change as more boots hit the ground.

"Right now, we have 25 Farmers Edge employees in the U.S. and are scheduled to bring on another 30 by the end of the year," says Barnes. "We believe we will be over 2 million acres by the end of November 2016."

It's no secret farmers have struggled with how to find value in the information they are gathering on the acres they cover. Barnes says what sets Farmers Edge apart is that they are not here to disrupt the channel. Rather, they will bring together the various pieces of the puzzle into one integrated system.

"We believe you need to put agronomy with software and hardware and have this fully integrated solution for growers because it needs to be easy for them. Farmers don't want 20 different apps and have to work with 20 different companies to get one solution," says Barnes. "If you took five or six of the ag tech data companies out there today and wrap them into one, that's what you get with Farmers Edge. Our focus is good precision agronomy at the ground level using satellite imagery, data movement from the field, weather, and then taking all of that information and doing predictive analytics that include a solution that works."