At the 2021 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show Virtual Event, AgLaunch introduced new startup companies with technologies to help solve key problems within the agriculture industry. Two out of five startups are offering diagnostic technology to improve farm management and efficiency.

From Leaftech Ag's handheld digital lab that analyzes a plant's nutrient and chemical composition to Spornado's early alert system that measures disease presence, these companies have innovative solutions for common drawbacks during the growing season.

About AgLaunch

AgLaunch, a catalyst for new farming technology, helps support agriculture startups and gets new technology to farmers who need it. AgLaunch supports business development, mentors new talent, and discovers novel approaches to farming.

"In the last two years, AgLaunch has supported 38 startup companies through our programming," said Margaret Oldham, who works in business development for AgLaunch. "Twenty-six of those received investment funding. AgLaunch portfolio companies have collectively raised more than 71 and a half million dollars of investment capital to date, and they raised about $28 million through grants and loans. AgLaunch portfolio companies deployed field trials in 20 states and three other countries, which are Canada, Germany, and Spain."

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The AgLaunch Startup Station showcased five startup businesses when the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show site launched in February 2021. These five startups are Weed Seed Destroyer, Grain Weevil, Leaftech Ag, Re Envision Ag, and Spornado.

"This year, we engaged farmers more deeply in the process," she said, "and through their input, five startups were invited to join the AgLaunch portfolio to complete an accelerated program and begin on-farm trials."

Go to http://aglaunch.com/ for more information about AgLaunch.

Leaftech Ag

Farmers often make decisions about nutrient needs in season, but Leaftech Ag has a handheld solution that is designed to be about 98% faster and 90% more cost-effective than the current approach.

"Success in agriculture is measured differently depending on the producer. Their main goal could be maximum yields, profitability, sustainability, or environmental stewardship," said John Mascoe, Founder and CEO of Leaftech Ag. "Regardless of what those goals are, they have two things in common: 1) the need to know and 2) the need to know now."

In corn production, there is normally a 10 to 14-day window that is considered critical.

"We need to know what to apply to a plant for its optimal performance to deliver its optimal nutritional needs," he said. "We are currently solving Monday's problem on Friday. What I mean is we collect leaf samples on Monday, send the samples off for lab analysis, and then by Friday, we can make an application.

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"In that narrow window, lots of things could happen and affect our ability to respond accurately and timely. We at Leaftech Ag are providing a solution to this problem with a handheld digital lab that analyzes a plant's nutrient and chemical composition in near real-time. We are delivering data in minutes versus days and for pennies versus dollars."

Currently, the industry standard is to go to the field, collect a composite sample of 10 to 30 leaves, package those up, and send them off to a laboratory for analysis where the results come back in three to five days. Then the farmer can make an application based upon those lab analyses, which typically cost around $25.

"We will do about 500 samples a year, and it costs around $12,500," Mascoe said. "We are bringing to market the ability to, with the handheld scanner, scan a leaf and get information back quickly. With one scan, we gain 13 and a half million pixels of data that tells us the nutrient content of the leaf.

"With the tens to hundreds of more data points we collect, we can delineate the variation across that field, and then make a prescription based upon the data."

For more information, go to http://www.leaftechag.com/.

Spornado

This startup brings molecular diagnostics to the field. With an early alert system that measures disease presence and guides fungicide applications, Spornado takes the guesswork out of fungicide decisions.

"The co-founders and I have been on the cutting edge of indoor air sampling for over two decades," said Kristine White, CEO and co-founder of Spornado. " When we were approached by a crop protection company wanting a simple air sampler that farmers could use outdoors, we were shocked to find there wasn't one, so we designed Spornado."

Globally, 13 billion are spent on fungicides, and 60 billion are lost to fungal disease.

"You do not know when a disease is in your field until you see it, and it is too late," she said. "Because fungicides must be used preventively, timing is everything. Currently, spray decisions are not as data driven as they could be. Experience, weather modeling, and scouting are all that are available. There is a balancing act between spending money to spray or potentially losing yield if you do not. These decisions potentially cost thousands of dollars without knowing if the disease is present.

"This guesswork can result in ineffective and unnecessary spraying, which costs time and money and has also led to diseases becoming more resistant to fungicides."

Spornado's solution is easy to use and affordable. It is an air sampler powered only by the wind. It collects airborne fungal disease, which is taken to a local partner lab for DNA analysis. Results are reported back to the farmer via text or email within 24 hours.

"The same equipment can be used for any crop and any fungal disease," White said. "Only the test in the lab needs to change. We have also validated in field tests using portable equipment, and unique to Spornado, we can also test for pesticide resistance.

"Spornado detects plant diseases in the air long before they affect crops, removing the guesswork with fungicides and allowing farmers to spray precisely."

For more information, go to https://spornadosampler.com/.