Agricision, Inc

Drone technology is increasingly a tool used in agriculture—but no one is using it quite like the team behind Agricision, Inc. The woman-owned business took on the task of saving farmers time and money while preventing over spraying. How did they accomplish this? Through innovative thinking.

Traditional methods of pest detection and control are carried out on foot. It takes precious time and can be difficult in cases of flooding or other environmental factors. That's where Agricision’s real-time, all-in-one, scout-sprayer drone comes in.

Diana Warren and her husband, Ken, are farmers who have dealt with their share of pests and weeds. But the idea for their patented drone technology began with a patch of weeds growing up over the canopy in 2016.

To address the small patch, they could either pull the weeds by hand or employ a sprayer. The dangers in blanket spraying were apparent—the costs of spraying an entire field to address a single patch were high, and over-spraying risked weeds becoming chemical-resistant.

The Warrens realized that if they developed a drone that could simultaneously detect weeds and spray for them in real time, they could save time and money. The idea for Agricision, Inc’s scout-sprayer drone, ScoutX2, was born.

ScoutX2 is programmed with a comprehensive database of weeds and pests that can harm crops. The drone also carries the needed chemicals to treat these issues. This means farmers can detect and identify weeds within a thirty-minute fly-over and simultaneously treat the affected crop patches.

Real-time identification and treatment save farmers time, and spot-spraying rather than over-spraying entire fields saves money—up to 90 percent in chemicals.

“We aim to prevent resistance by proactively identifying and targeting pests in the field at an early stage with a higher dose of pesticide— focusing only on the affected areas instead of unnecessarily treating the entire field,” said Sheri Neuhofer, vice president of business development.

Agricision has an impressive team at its helm. Co-Founder and CEO Diana Warren has a background in accounting and a passion for farming that she shares with her husband. Ken Warren, Co-Founder and President, leverages his firsthand farming knowledge to boost data collection and provide valuable insights into customer pain points, emphasizing close relationships with fellow farmers. His 30-plus years of industry expertise equips the company’s workforce with the ability to handle diverse client demands.

From a technical standpoint, VP of agricultural database architecture Jason Gillikin leverages his passion and awardwinning skillsets to guide the technical elements of the system and align it with prevalent demands.

The newest member of this team, Mickey Cowden, VP of software engineering, uses his experience in developing proprietary drone docking stations and modules to ensure the upcoming system's power, data, and payload logistics are up to the mark. Combining these competencies with Neuhofer’s training in business development and Agricision’s proficiency in consistently generating clever ideas and content to boost its footprint becomes clear.

Currently, Agricision is testing its ScoutX2 technology and will plan field days where farmers can conduct real-world demonstrations and gain valuable insights into the system. The testing process will also include the active involvement of data testers to evaluate the reliability and efficiency of data capture and transfer.

Agricision is set to assist farmers in reliably controlling pests and weeds while helping them cut their herbicide expenses by developing and implementing innovative weed detection and targeted spraying processes. This technology is poised to optimize crop production and help avoid potential food sustainability crises.