West Lafayette agricultural tech company expanding global reach

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — An agriculture technology company with its North American headquarters in West Lafayette is expanding its global reach with two partnerships, including with a satellite company and an international ag equipment maker.

Solinftec says it will work with Planet, an operator of a commercial fleet of 200 earth observation satellites.

The Indiana company says the satellite images along with Solinftec’s technology will allow farmers and ag retailers to make agronomic decisions based on real-time data.

“Farmers today make decisions with their entire operation in mind – constantly considering a wide variety of factors that can change day-to-day,” said Henrique Nomura, chief technology officer of Solinftec. “We are focused on incorporating the latest information, which now includes data from Planet—to inform smarter decisions at key stages of the crop production cycle.”

Satellite imagery can cover large growing areas and provide up-to-date data throughout a growing season. The companies say it will also help track historical trends in terms of crop health and nutrient management.

Solinftec also announced a partnership with Georgia-based farm equipment manufacturer AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) to help with the precise application of farm chemicals.

The partnership will give AGCO customers, who are ag retailers, direct access to Solinftec’s portfolio of data through its subscription service without having to purchase additional hardware. The company hopes to expand the offering to individual farmers in the future.

The digital technology will be used in AGCO’s lineup of self-propelled sprayers which are used to apply crop treatments, such as weed killer and crop nutrients.