The Barn Owl Precision Agriculture elevator pitch:
We provide farm weeding robots as a service to cut labor budgets in half and field and crop analysis to help get farm information faster!
How did you get the idea to start your company?
In 2017 we moved back home to rural Colorado to be closer to our family. We got to know our farm neighbors and communities and saw the lack of agriculture technology support in our area. We decided to figure out how to use our experience in drone analysis and software development to help our farmers and the seed of Barn Owl was planted. We started by flying drones to give farmers a different view of their fields and have worked to develop operations support in the form of autonomous micro-tractors and software to get information out faster.
What does it mean to be part of Plug and Play’s North Dakota Agtech Program?
This program is helping us be the best we can be for our farmers. For us, it is important that we have a well-rounded system that makes farmers’ lives easier. Plug and Play is helping us polish and scale so that we can integrate our systems into every farm operation that needs it.
If your product/service was already being used by everyone… globally…what impact would that have?
Our services would provide labor support where it is severely lacking or cut labor budgets and put money back into farmers’ pockets. They would allow farmers to make earlier decisions and prevent massive crop loss. This combination would increase profits and yields, allow for wide adoption of climate-smart farming practices and help to secure our global food supply.
How are you incorporating growers into your business plan?
Growers are the most important member of the Barn Owl team. When we decide to bring our services to a region, we connect with local farm unions, research/extension offices and Departments of Agriculture to understand the farmers’ needs. We build relationships with the growers in these regions to make sure we stay in line with what will really make a difference. If our services are a fit we work closely with our growers to integrate our systems into their current operation so they don’t have to worry about it.
Where do you see your company in 10 years?
In 10 years we will be providing operational support to every farmer that needs it in the U.S. This will include planting, harvesting, weeding and soil sampling robotic support and field and crop analysis from the air and the canopy level. We will be able to help farmers maximize the square foot of their fields. Our farmers will know that Barn Owl has their back!
North Dakota, Minnesota and the Upper Midwest are embracing Agtech like never before. By participating in the North Dakota Plug and Play Agtech program, what do you hope to accomplish? Have you considered expanding your operations in the upper midwest?
We are hoping to build connections in this region so we can eventually expand our services to farmers in these areas. After seeing the support for Agtech in this region we might be there sooner than expected.
This magazine reaches 16,000+ farmers. In one sentence, what would you like to tell them?
You are vital to our health and futures and have been let down so many times with different Ag Tech solutions but we are working hard to get you the systems that you need!
