Jun 14, 2022
FarmSense to release 1,000 pest control FlightSensor units in California

Agtech startup FarmSense is releasing 1,000 of its FlightSensor units in a limited product launch of the award-winning real-time pest monitoring and identification device.

The units will be distributed to select commercial pest advisors, farm managers and growers in California, according to a news release.

“Our FlightSensor is transforming the agriculture industry and we are excited to see what it can do for Integrated Pest Management on a larger scale,” said Leslie Hickle, co-founder and CEO. “With today’s growing concern with resource management and good farming practices, crop health and sustainability is critical. We enable scalable good farming practices and provide data that will result in better outcomes for farmers and their consumers.”

FlightSensor, a pest identification system, helps growers control pests while reducing the use of pesticides, according to the company. Photo: FarmSense.

FlightSensor began as an incubator business at the University of California-Riverside. Using patented technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management. It is designed to reduce the need for pesticides while boosting crop yields and saving time and labor for growers, according to the release.

Traditionally, most commercial farmers monitor for pests by using numerous sticky traps that require frequent manual counts, can be inaccurate, and can delay data by up to two weeks. Additionally, these manual traps are labor and time intensive, fueling additional costs for growers. Considering that experts estimate pests to be responsible for up to 40% of global crop production loss each year, the commercial agriculture industry was in dire need of the accurate and autonomous solution to pest monitoring systems that FlightSensor delivers.

Industry interest in FarmSense has grown at a rapid rate. It received more than $2 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding in 2021 for the development of biosecurity measures against native and invasive pests. FarmSense continues to garner the attention of investors within the agtech industry as it approaches the closing of its first Series A funding round in 2022.

FarmSense will demonstrate the platform at the 2022 TechCrunch Climate Conference, June 14-16 in Berkeley, California.

Growers and farmers who are interested in participating in the limited launch can apply for inclusion in the limited launch, which includes a FlightSensor and access to FarmSense’s online real-time monitoring platform.




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