Biome Makers, a global agritech firm, has launched a new digital platform known as BeCrop®Farm that focuses on soil health and data-based crop monitoring. The platform could therefore help stem rapid soil degradation worldwide and boost production of over 200 crops. According to the United Nations, one-third of the world’s soil has undergone degradation, despite soil supporting 95% of global food production. This is where scientific technology such as BeCrop®Farm and individual soil conservation methods to restore soil health come in handy.
To learn more about how BeCrop Farm’s applicability in practical crop production, Selina Wamucii contacted Adrian Ferrero, CEO at Biome Makers.
Adrian first identifies the BeCrop®Farm as not a sensor but a digital platform applicable to the agronomic side of farming.
Digital Platform With Largest Soil DNA Database
“BeCrop® Farm is not a sensor but an innovative digital platform that is powered by BeCrop® Technology. BeCrop® combines a proprietary DNA sequencing workflow and intelligent computing to monitor key bio-indicators across more than 200 crops in 56 countries. With the largest soil DNA database in the world, Biome Makers has spent a decade building a comprehensive global soil biology database and testing over 400 products and management practices. This extensive data, combined with machine learning, AI, our team of scientists, and agronomics, also allows us to provide brand-agnostic product formulation recommendations and agronomic insights.
“BeCrop® Farm evaluates over 1,000 parameters, including complex biological data and environmental factors. By doing so, it provides precise input recommendations and tailored agronomic insights on soil health, disease risk, and management practices. For example, in a cornfield, BeCrop® Farm can identify specific areas needing attention, such as nutrient deficiencies or potential disease hotspots, while allowing farmers to apply targeted interventions and optimize their crop management.”
Biological Maps
And can BeCrop® Technology reduce soil degradation through its map feature?
“BeCrop® Technology utilizes biological soil functionality metrics to pinpoint areas that need attention at the field level. The high-definition map has advanced analytics to identify where nutrient cycling pathway deficiencies are observed, quantify their levels, and determine how they can be resolved.
“By identifying these critical areas, farmers can implement targeted actions to prevent soil degradation, such as optimizing soil moisture, adding organic matter, or reducing soil disturbance. This proactive approach helps maintain soil health and productivity.
So, are there key recommendations that a farmer can expect from the AI part of this product?
“The AI component of BeCrop® Farm provides several key recommendations based on biological soil analyses.” Adrian continues. “Farmers can expect guidance on which product categories to use, such as microbial inoculants or organic amendments, and specific management practices to implement. These practices might include crop diversification, soil moisture monitoring, and optimization, adding organic matter through amendments, reducing soil intensification and disturbance while also offering other tailored strategies to improve soil health and productivity.
“For example, if BeCrop® Farm detects low potassium solubilization in your soil, it measures this critical pathway and identifies potential solutions such as introducing microbial inoculants known to enhance potassium availability, recommending organic amendments to boost microbial activity, or suggesting crop rotation practices that improve nutrient cycling and soil structure.”
Maximizing Crop Production
There is also much to learn on the extent up to which using this technology can boost crop production, which Adrian expands, in-depth:
“Using BeCrop® Technology can significantly boost crop production. It predicts disease risks, and identifies nutrient cycling pathways, stress adaptation, and hormone production. With these insights, farmers can take necessary actions, such as reducing fertilizer use or adjusting management practices, to improve yields and reduce costs. This leads to healthier crops, more efficient resource use, and ultimately higher productivity. You can see case studies here. We also have video case studies below:
Rasmussen Farms, Customer Success at Biome Makers
LIVENTIA Biostimulants, Customer Success at Biome Makers
Schevichoven Farm Verify Sustainability with BeCrop® Rate”
Worldwide Platform
Finally, while BeCrop® Farm is based in the United States, is it available worldwide?
“BeCrop® Farm is available worldwide. We operate on six continents, providing farmers globally with access to our cutting-edge technology and insights to optimize their soil health and crop production.
“Getting started with BeCrop® Farm involves a streamlined process to ensure accurate and useful data for your farm:
- Define Field Boundaries: Easily map your farm by connecting your preferred digital farming solution, or by uploading, manually selecting, or drawing your field boundaries.
- Smart Sampling System: We optimize the number and locations of soil samples, ensuring robust and reliable results that you can trust.
- Sample Processing: Once the soil samples are received in the lab, we extract and sequence the DNA. The data is then compiled and interpreted using our proprietary technology.
- Results: The results are presented in our user-friendly portal, while providing you with clear, actionable insights to enhance your crop management.
Additional information and resources about BeCrop Farm:
BeCrop Farm Webpage: https://biomemakers.com/becrop-farm
Blog: https://biomemakers.com/blog/tailoring-products-practices-to-soil-needs
BeCrop Technology Webpage: https://biomemakers.com/en/becrop-technology/ “
Additional Material on BeCrop®Farm by Biome Makers
Agriculture’s New Decision-Making Tool: Biome Makers Launches BeCrop Farm
Empowering Farmer Profitability and Soil Health with Precise Biological Product Placement and Management Recommendations
Davis, California, July 16th, 2024 — Biome Makers, a leading global agtech company on a mission to recover soil health and improve farmer profitability, announces the latest evolution of BeCrop® technology. BeCrop® Farm is the first digital platform designed to maximize the potential of every acre. This innovative solution evaluates over 1,000 parameters, including complex biological data and environmental factors, to provide precise input recommendations and tailored agronomic insights on soil health, disease risk, and management practices.
For nearly a decade, Biome Makers has led the industry in building the largest global soil microbe database and scientifically verifying the claims of over 400 biological input products and management practices from ag input manufacturers, retailers, and other agribusinesses around the globe. Biome Makers has now taken a step further to revolutionize agriculture by empowering the industry with real actionable insights to save time and money and recover soil health.
With the increasing adoption of biological products and the expanding options available to farmers each season, proven and precise product recommendations are becoming essential for ensuring consistent performance and ROl. BeCrop® Farm addresses this by eliminating guesswork and providing farmers and retailers with tools to help them choose the right products and receive agronomic insights and recommendations that are easy to visualize and implement.
“Understanding the impact of products and management practices on soil is complex and most often requires experienced scientists and agronomists to make sense of the data.” ” said Alberto Acedo, co-founder and CSO at Biome Makers. “BeCrop® Farm combines biological, chemical, and environmental data and utilizes advanced AI to provide farmers and retailers with an actionable recommendation to make informed decisions and maximize impact.”
Key Features of BeCrop® Farm include:
- Product Recommendations: Tailored, brand-agnostic, data-driven recommendations for biological inputs.
- Hi-Definition Maps: Biological soil functionality metrics pinpointing areas needing attention at the field level.
- Agronomic Insights: Turns biological analysis into clear, actionable guidance on which management practices to implement.
- User-Friendly Digital Experience: A retail and farmer-focused digital platform with intuitive analysis tools.
Biome Makers’ focus is on farm empowerment—providing 21,500+ farmers in 56 countries across 201 crop types with the information they need to validate, prescribe, and manage farms and fields in a more efficient way.
Join Biome Makers Virtual Product Launch, “BeCrop® Farm: Revolutionizing agriculture with agronomic insights and product recommendations.” You can register for the event here.