Clemson University Center for Agricultural Technology Nomination
What is the business/industrial problem they are solving?
Sensors are the wild west of agriculture. Claims to help growers abound, while grower uptake has been marginal for sensor technologies (other than tried and true weather stations and yield monitors). The Clemson University Center for Agricultural Technology (CU-CAT) offers a service to test sensors for their ability to predict secondary endpoints like yield or harvest deficit – providing a plug and play sensor testing lab from an independent, trusted Extension Service.
Who are the targeted customers?
Agriculture sensor companies (e.g. drone companies, soil water measurement companies, satellite imagery providers, soil Nitrogen monitoring providers, etc.). Much of the innovation is happening in the startup world, which is the main client base.
Please provide evidence of how the nominated company demonstrates contribution to ROI generation and fast time-to-market in Agriculture from the adoption of IoT solutions.
Clemson successfully piloted the project in 2022 and is now in scale up mode. In the pilot, CU-CAT performed a multi-location field test of 8 sensors (penetrometers, weather stations, soil fertility sensors, nematode sensors/tests, ground imagery, satellite imagery and others). Working with SAS, they were able to harmonize the messy sensor data across measures, downtimes and timepoints, and bring all that data in to compare each sensor (or loss of an individual sensor) for the ability to predict harvest losses.
Demonstrate how nominated company contributes to the effective adoption and advancement of IoT solutions by enhancing sustainability in Agriculture practices.
The ability to use ‘the best’ sensors for each situation is a critical need of US farmers. By comparing sensors “apples to apples,” CU-CAT is simplifying sensor purchasing decisions for growers. Furthermore, by linking sensors to important endpoints like crop loss (which sensors cannot directly measure), they are able to provide actionable field management recommendations to growers (and support sensor providers to do the same). This is an enabling technology on par with the very successful Nebraska Tractor Test lab, which after inception 103 years ago, has made the US the most competitive tractor and ag machinery provider in the world.
How has the nominated company demonstrated an ability to scale its services/offerings in a cost-effective manner to meet the needs of its customers?
In terms of capacity, CU-CAT has dozens of personnel and hundreds of acres to test sensor technology across South Carolina, one of the most diverse cropping regions of the US. Personnel are placed around the state, supporting research from the southern Appalachian Mountains to the Coastal Plain. In terms of execution: CU-CAT’s successful pilot of their sensor testing service has expanded to a replicable industry offering The Ecosystem of Agricultural Technology Sharing (EATS https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/cu-cat/initiatives/eats.html). The program ignites collaboration among industry leaders, researchers, and companies to advance precision agricultural technology – especially including sensor testing. With Clemson leadership, senior faculty and growers coming together, EATS is providing a conduit to support adoption of agriculture sensor technology
