Agtech company Arable today announced a new version of its sensor along with a suite of tools to help farmers and food producers monitor and collect data about soil and weather conditions on their land.
At the heart of Arable’s solution is its new Mark 2, the second generation of its solar-powered, connected sensor. Once installed, the Mark 2 sits above the plant canopy and measures 40 different elements like rain, solar radiation, canopy cover, crop water demand, and environmental stresses.
The Mark 2 can be used as part of the company’s new Arable Forecasting product, also announced today. Arable Forecasting combines data from the Mark 2 with third-party weather data and machine learning to provide hyperlocal weather forecasting. This means growers can monitor micro-climates across vast grow areas, and take specific actions on a more granular level.
Along with the new sensor and Arable Forecasting, the company also announced:
- Arable Bridge, which integrates data from auxiliary sensors like soil moisture probes, pressure switches and wind speed monitors into the Mark 2.
- Arable Open, an open-source API for external platform interoperability.
- Arable Mobile, a cloud-based platform for crop consultants, farmers and food processors.
Arable is among a number of startups promising to deliver more precise, data-driven agriculture. Other players in the space include CropX, a soil sensor company that acquired irrigation management tool company CropMetrics earlier this year; Terralytic, a soil sensor that monitors nitrogen, phosphate and potassium; and Taranis, which uses aerial imagery to detect crop stresses.
Arable’s Mark 2 is already available to order on the company’s website for $1,595 plus a $699 per year subscription. According to today’s press announcement, Arable has been used in 37 countries across six continents by companies like BASF, Netafim, and Treasury Wine Estates.
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