Aloha and Happy New Year,

As Smart Yields kicks off 2019, we are excited to share our Q4 2018 and January 2019 news with you. We recently launched several major partnerships and projects that will expand our data solutions to communities throughout the Pacific Rim and across the U.S. to major mushroom farming operations in Pennsylvania.

Recent highlights:

  • Smart Yields was a featured presenter at the National Onion Association convention in November/December, Ag 4.0 in San Francisco in December, and the Western Colorado Horticulture Society Annual Conference in January. Our 2019 case study for Colorado has been updated, read more here.
  • Throughout Q4, we participated in Accel-VT, a leading business incubator program in Vermont that has allowed us to connect with state and community leaders and executives at organizations such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to support their agricultural community through data.
  • In December, Smart Yields was honored with the Best in Small Business Award at Business Leadership Hawaii 2018 hosted by Pacific Business News, and we are currently a finalist for the Titans of Technology awards in the startups category, also from Pacific Business News.
  • We opened a new office at the Manoa Innovation Center, which provides additional space and resources for our team.

Smart Yields Partners with Leading U.S. Indoor-Agriculture Initiative on Data

Announced earlier this month, we are part of a new sustainable development initiative to establish the leading mushroom growing region of Kennett Township, Pennsylvania, as a Center of Excellence (COE) for Indoor Agriculture.  With a population of less than 10,000, this 16-square-mile area produces nearly half of the mushrooms available in the U.S. Smart Yields is among the companies working with Kennett growers to monitor key factors such as soil moisture. Mushrooms, like other indoor crops, are grown year-round under tightly controlled conditions. With the help of Smart Yields, Kennett farmers are now working to establish a more structured framework using detailed data analytics so farmers can grow with additional precision. Read more here.

Smart Yields and PREL Launch First-of-its-Kind Crop Research Project in Pacific

This fall we started working with the nonprofit organization Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) to spearhead a first-of-its-kind crop research and education program on islands throughout the Pacific. It is one of our largest projects to date. Under an $83,000, two-year grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Smart Yields will work with PREL to establish four wireless long-range data-transmitter towers and additional soil sensor networks on Guam; the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and Pohnpei, Kosrae and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The soil sensors will provide detailed, real-time data so farmers can better respond to changes in climate and soil salinity. It is the first soil data study of its kind on the islands. Over the first year, technologies will be implemented and data collected, and throughout year two, PREL and Smart Yields will conduct follow-ups and analyze growing trends. Read more here.

#AlohaAg Challenge to Support Agricultural Development in Frost-Prone Areas

In October we launched a new program to help small- and medium-size farmers form collaborative partnerships with research, educational, industry and community partners throughout the U.S. The #AlohaAg Challenge is designed around the needs of horticulture regions affected by climate and weather issues such as late frost. The program focuses on workforce development through the deployment of technology and shared data. Smart Yields supplies state-of-the-art sensors to farmers to monitor everything from soil and water inputs to weather and pests, while partner agencies tap into a national network of data. This collaborative approach allows farmers to gain access to leading crop technologies for as little as 50 cents a day, while partners support agricultural best practices and the growth of agriculture jobs in local and regional communities. Read more here.

Smart Yields Among Global Winners in Swiss Agri & Co Innovation Challenge

We recently announced that Smart Yields was among 16 winners in a global innovation challenge hosted by the Canton of Fribourg in western Switzerland. The Canton of Fribourg launched the publicly sponsored Agri & Co Challenge in January 2018, as an international call for innovative startup companies active in the food, agriculture, and biomass industries. Smart Yields was selected out of 154 candidates from 53 countries by a panel of judges representing industry-leading organizations. Later this year, Smart Yields and other winners will open offices at the Saint-Aubin Innovation Space in Saint-Aubin, a municipality in the Canton of Fribourg. Companies from countries including Canada, Chile, Brazil, Romania, and Germany are also represented alongside Swiss businesses. Smart Yields is one of two winning companies from the U.S. Read more here.

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to additional growth in 2019. Stay tuned on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (@SmartYields) and on Republic, where we will share updates.

Thank you,

Team Smart Yields