CNH Industrial has announced it has taken a minority stake in the US-based agricultural technology company EarthOptics.
EarthOptics’ proprietary sensor technology precisely measures the health and structure of soil through a combination of ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models and agronomic expertise. By providing such a wide range of soil data, this technology enables farmers to better manage their land and enhance its value.
Insights gained can then help them drive multiple improvements from increasing crop yield to reducing fertiliser application, and assessing their farm’s carbon impact, to name a few key areas.
The CNH Industrial funding – part of EarthOptics’ Series B investment round – will help the firm further build out its sensor suite’s hyper-accuracy capabilities to boost acreage growth and bring greater savings. It will also allow the company to scale cooperation with service providers (agronomists, crop consultants and trusted third-party advisors) for data insights.
CNH Industrial will begin a pilot testing phase of EarthOptics’ soil-sensing technology through its Case IH brand during 2023. The goal of the technology is to accelerate work in tillage automation and provide greater agronomic insights for customers.
