Agtech startup FarmLab embarks on soil management mission, with $1.1 million in grant funding

New South Wales startup FarmLab has secured $1.1 million in government grant funding for its Soil Tech Project, in collaboration with the University of Sydney, and agtech consultants Andrea Koch and AGRIvision.
The project, funded through the National Landcare Program Smart Farming Partnership grant, will allow FarmLab to develop soil science research into digital tools available for all farmers, free of charge.
FarmLab was a graduate of the SproutX agtech-focused pre-accelerator program back in 2015, where it developed its digital soil- and plant-testing technology.

The startup has now completed testing on the product, and is scheduled to launch early next year.
However, FarmLab co-founder Sam Duncan tells StartupSmart he and his co-founder Shahriar Jamshidi connected with the University of Sydney and fellow SproutX alumni Koch, who is leading the Soil Tech Project, about 18 months ago.
While Koch — a well-known thought leader and entrepreneur in the agtech space — is heading up the project, AGRIvision’s role is “to get the software we build out there among farmers”, Duncan says.
“The science literature is already in the public domain, but hasn’t really been picked up,” he adds. Read more

Stephanie Palmer-Derrien - SmartCompany - 12 December 2018