FarmSense launches real-time pest monitoring system

Agtech startup FarmSense has announced a limited product launch of its real-time pest monitoring and identification device, FlightSensor. This initial launch, which will consist of approximately 1,000 FlightSensor units, will be distributed to select commercial pest advisors, farm managers and growers in California, USA.

Originally launched as an incubator business at the University of California, Riverside, FarmSense’s FlightSensor utilizes patented technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management efforts. The FlightSensor is a revolutionary step forward in pest management, saving growers not only time, labor, and money, but also reducing the need for pesticide use while improving crop yield.

“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,” commented Dr Leslie Hickle, Co-founder & 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.”

Traditionally, most commercial farmers monitor for pests by using numerous sticky traps that require frequent manual counts, can be wildly 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 FarmSense’s FlightSensor delivers.

Industry interest in FarmSense has grown at a rapid rate. Having won more than US$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 they approach the closing of its first Series A funding round in 2022.

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