Acuity Agriculture Puts Data To Work for Farmers

Acuity Agriculture is a California-based precision agriculture company and Steven Dodge is the founder. Steven and his team have done a remarkable job contracting work with farmers in the West and delivering data-based solutions to help farmers manage their crops.

Acuity Agriculture has not raised external funding but they are considering it. Perhaps if they scale with external funding, they could help tackle climate goals such as reducing energy use and improving carbon sequestration in agricultural operations or other markets.

When I talked with Steven over a year ago about how his precision ag venture was successful in a market that is typically very difficult for technologists to succeed in, he noted his farming background where he admitted that getting sold on new technologies nearly every single day got old and that if he did take on new technology and it didn’t work, the supplier would get a call from him letting them know where their stuff was sitting on his farm and they had to remove it as soon as possible. Farmers don’t have time to fuss around and Steven understands that.

Acuity Agriculture claims it helps farmers reduce water and fertilizer use by half. If so, that would be helpful. Also, the data they provide helps farmers cut the run-time of diesel-powered water wells. This is impactful because nearly 20 percent of California’s energy is used on water and much of that is conveying the liquid asset.

Data-management solutions help farmers minimize the use of water and fertilizer in addition to improving crop yields which could significantly support climate goals. Reducing farming inputs such as fertilizers reduces the greenhouse gases that result from producing those fertilizers. And, higher crop yields mean healthier plants and root systems which help sequester carbon in the soil.

In the future, Steven Dodge sees Acuity Agriculture expanding its data management services to solar, wind, and even oil monitoring. This belief is attributed to the company’s use of universally friendly data loggers that plug and play with any sensors in the market. As his technology services have been used to provide dashboards so farmers better manage their water and fertilizer inputs, he wants to improve both traditional and renewable energy sources in similar ways.
If this precision agriculture venture secures external funding to scale and successfully supports adjacent markets, Steven’s ability to put solutions in place that are easily integrated into existing operations may keep him from having to pick up his stuff off the side of a road somewhere. I wish him luck.