AgX

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts world food production must increase by 70% in 2050 to meet demand requiring an additional one billion tonnes of cereals and 200 million tonnes of meat. By bringing IoT to crop and meat producers -- broadacre farmers and ranchers, and intensive feedlots -- AgX can solve the growing gap between food demand and supply, while reducing the carbon footprint and environmental damage of these producers.

Using revolutionary nano-satellite technology for perfect digital connectivity, AgX offers cereal and meat producers in even the most remote locations of the world customized IoT insights and solutions, which will cut inputs and increase outputs. AgX’s three core IoT devices are a smartTag for livestock, a soil smartProbe and a smartDrone. The AgX IoT system will be sold for profit in developed countries and provided for free through NGOs in developing countries.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Agency estimates that global food output needs to increase by 70% in 2050 to meet demand. Even though it is widely agreed that technological innovation is key to increasing output, IoT is largely absent from worldwide meat and cereal production. I believe IoT is absent for two main reasons -- poor connectivity in rural areas and the absence of cheap IoT devices that add value.

AgTech devices currently on the market rely on cellular or Medium/High-Earth-Orbit satellite connections, both of which are expensive, have high power consumption and are unreliable in regional areas where broad-acre, feedlot and dairy farming are based. For example, only 30% of Australia’s landmass can get cellular coverage and almost all of its rural areas have no consistent coverage.

Approximately 40% of the Earth’s land area is used for agriculture and 12% is used for crops. Right now that precious resource is being used inefficiently because of an absence of data in decision making and IoT devices that allow for precision production. This means meat and crop yields are a fraction of what they could be while carbon emissions and degradation of the land is far greater than it should be.

AgX is a technology platform for cereal and meat producers with three IoT devices that use nano-satellites for communication, allowing our devices to operate in the most remote areas of the world and at low-cost.

• The smartTag is a livestock ear tag, primarily for cattle, that delivers real-time biometrics including pulse, temperature, location and active RFID.

• The in-ground smartProbe provides micro-climatic information on soil nutrients and moisture for crops and pasture, including dry-yield matter. The smartProbes also form an advanced mesh network that enables Bluetooth triangulation, which in turn reduces the cost and the size of the SmartTag.

• The smartDrone employs local computer vision (object detection and classification), multispectral imaging, a spray system, and a suite of sensors (Lidar, optical flow, GPS, etc) for data collection and weed spot-spraying.

These three IoT devices will together solve a myriad of issues for farmers, ranchers, feedlots and dairies, drastically cutting inputs and carbon emissions, losses and costs, and providing insights into soil, crop and animal health and growth. They will also be a platform for other new technologies and be a compelling method of reducing the world's use of herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, and adding much-needed nutrients to soil.  

AgX targets crop and beef producers. Coming from a cattle-cropping property in Australia, I know first hand the myriad of issues facing broadacre beef and cereal producers in developed countries and the three IoT devices have the capacity to solve them. For example, the smartTag’s biometrics will alert ranchers to cattle trapped in fencing or mud. It will allow ranchers to record the feed-conversion-efficiency and genetics of their breeding stock refining herds to ‘super weight gainers and breeders’. And according to the Department of Primary Industry, the smartTag is the host they have been looking for for their ‘pregnancy sniff test’ eliminating inefficient and costly manual testing. The smartProbe and smartDrone will calculate dry-yield-matter so ranchers no longer guess feed and hold cattle too long or sell prematurely. And the smartDrone will drastically cut chemical usage, costs and soil degradation caused by boom spraying whole fields with herbicides.

According to JBS Australia (JBS is the largest protein producer in the world) the smartTag will aid feedlots including using temperature to quickly identify Bovine Respiratory Disease, the most common cause of illness and death in feedlot cattle, which is currently only observed when it’s difficult to treat and highly infectious. 

AgX’s IoT system is a comprehensive technology-based solution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal as it will drastically increase cereal and meat output to end hunger while enabling these sectors to reduce their carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by overuse of herbicides and pesticides. In achieving its solution, AgX is a combination of both dimension 1 and 2. It enables scale practices for larger farmers and ranchers as they increase output with fewer inputs while also supporting small-scale producers with access to capital and knowledge to improve yields and the fertility of land.

AgX is unlike anything else in the AgTech space because unlike other devices, it uses new nano-satellite technology (see next section) to ensure perfect connectivity anywhere in the world, and each of AgX’s three IoT devices are inexpensive and solve for a myriad of issues faced by crop and livestock producers, replacing piecemeal technologies with a fully-integrated system contained in a customised hub. 

While soil moisture probes have been in existence for some time (re Sentek and cropX), these solutions have little uptake as they lack remote-area connectivity, don’t provide support for other integrated devices and are too expensive for widespread usage. Biometric livestock tags are almost non-existent because old technologies have made them prohibitively expensive. Only one company, Moovement, has commercially released an ear tag, which provides basic location and minimal insights. Its price exceeds AgX’s estimated smartTag cost by 800% and AgX’s smartTag is able to communicate with third-party devices, opening up its potential for critical services such as real-time pregnancy testing (being developed by the Department of Industry, New South Wales). Whilst manually controlled drones which perform basic imaging and blanket spraying services exist, no product on market performs the same AI and yield analysis as AgX’s SmartDrone that is crucial to cutting inputs and increasing output. 

AgX’s originality and power also lies in its centralized platform that integrates the three products to deliver critical insights for precision farming, ranching and feedlots. No platform has offered the functionality, price or robustness that AgX promises.

AgX uses a range of new technologies in its devices but nano-satellite technology is what makes it revolutionary. Previously, it was impossible to capture and communicate data with low-cost devices in remote regions because of the unreliability of cellular networks. 

As an alternative, I started using LoRaWAN. I built my own transceiver modules which manipulated the laws of radio physics to enable long range (10-15km), low bandwidth communication at very low-power usage. However, I found LoRa also required terrestrial infrastructure, which suffered from blackspots and I found an alternative in nano-satellites -- CubeSats decked out with advanced payload package management APIs, sent into LEO for low cost. The best of these, Myriota, connects AgX’s devices directly to nano-satellites at low cost and power while revolutionising the design of the devices it serves.

For example, the SmartTag no longer needs the large, power-consuming GPS module, antenna, unreliable solar panels and an RF system to transmit to space. AgX’s SmartTags connect to three SmartProbes using Bluetooth low-energy technology to transmit their data and perform trilateration of the ear tags. That data is then added to SmartProbe data and transmitted to the LEO satellites, which pass it to AgX’s servers. This data is then sorted and put into NoSQL databases where it is ready to be used by a suite of services, like Microsoft Azure's data analytics. This reduces the SmartTag’s size and weight, and cost from about $70 per tag to $5, and has an unprecedented battery charge of 10 years.

Please see the attached schematics and videos to see the technology: AgX Products - Documentation

Additionally, here is a link which provides more information about the technology: Myriota

AgX’s mission statement is to increase world crop and meat output to satisfy increasing world demand with fewer inputs, enabling the sector to have a smaller carbon footprint and improved environmental outcomes. To fulfil this, AgX has built three IoT devices in an integrated system that doesn’t require any terrestrial infrastructure (see questions above). 

The output for the SmartProbe is a design which is inground, cheap, easy to manufacture, durable for a harsh environment and practicable for farmers and ranchers. 

The immediate outcome of the SmartProbe is that it enables farmers to measure, at different depths, soil biochemistry, moisture and nutrients and ranchers to measure pasture height. Farmers will no longer need to send ad hoc, limited soil samples to labs for testing. Soil biochemistry and moisture retention can vary widely just a short distance apart. With SmartProbes scattered throughout fields, farmers will be able to adjust soil moisture/irrigation and biochemistry adding the precise amounts of water and fertilizer to exactly the areas that need it. The longer-term outcome of SmartProbes will be to increase yields where not enough fertilizer/water was being used and crops were not producing as much as they should. Where too much fertilizer/water was being used or at the wrong time, excess nutrients will no longer run off and pollute streams and groundwater, or precious water wasted.

The outputs for the SmartTag will be a small, low-profile design which is inexpensive, low power and practicable for ranchers, feedlots and dairies.

The immediate outcome will be to measure the real-time biometrics of livestock, GPS co-ordinates and accelerometer movements. Users will be able to constantly measure and maximize individual cow and herd performance including weight and rumination and minimize animal ill-health, including viruses and deaths. This will lead to long-term increases in meat produced with fewer cattle inputs.

The SmartDrone (described previously) will have the outcome of being able to select spot-spray weeds as they first appear, drastically reducing herbicide use. In the longer term, this will reduce herbicides harmful persistence in the soil, infiltration into the groundwater, toxicity to nontarget organisms and the spread of resistant weeds.

Currently - alpha trials on one property

1 year - 500

5 year - 50,000

My goal in the next year is to have AgX devices operating for profit on 500 farms and ranches in Australia as well as being in use in JBS feedlots in Australia. In five years, I hope to have AgX devices in 50,000 farms and ranches in Australia and the U.S. generating profits so it can extend its devices to developing countries free of charge. With this in mind, I would want to take AgX’s technology further than currently possible. I want the SmartProbes to be used to address hidden hunger (inadequate nutrient intake) and land degradation in developing countries. Approximately 2-3 billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, especially in developing countries where these affect half of the population. Soil nutrients not only determine crop productivity but nutrients concentration in plant parts consumed as food and feed. Consequently, soil nutrients status has great implications on human health, especially in children. The UN suggests much of the world’s grain crops are grown in soil without adequate zinc. But very few field studies have been undertaken into the impact of micronutrient fertilizer on yields and nutritional quality of crops.

While it doesn’t currently have the capacity, the SmartProbe could be developed to measure micronutrients in soil and analyze the impact of micronutrient-rich fertilizer. Thousands of AgX’s in-ground SmartProbes could be used across whole regions to gather data and return it to geo-chemists thousands of miles away, who could advise on the best practice and adjustments to nutrient-enriched fertilizer as needed. 

To date, my focus has been on developing the technology driving AgX and overcoming hurdles in the application of the technology in devices for my target market. While I have made great progress in the technology, the devices and network, I have not given enough time and I do not have the expertise needed to address the issues of the business plan, raising capital, marketing and legal affairs/patents. My path to financial sustainability is only general, as is my plan for fundraising, including equity.

While I need to continue my focus on developing the technology, I need to find the bandwidth to embrace the commercial growth of the business while also liaising with NGOs like AusAid to understand how we can develop AgX for the needs of the agriculture sector in developing countries. This juggle of progressing the technology, which needs enormous amounts of time and significant funding, while also servicing other aspects of the commercial and legal development of the business, is my greatest challenge.

There are also practical issues that need addressing like the use of the SmartDrone given aviation-authority regulations (e.g. CASA in Australia). 

• Technological hurdles: I hope to connect with various experts, including a number at MIT.

• Commercial growth of business: I would like to start exploring partnerships that bring business expertise and perhaps finance to AgX.

• Aviation Authority regulations: I have been working with companies, such as JAR Aerospace, to navigate these regulations and ensure the solution is workable at a commercial scale.

• The First Act Fund: 12 months ago, I was the joint recipient of a place in Schmidt Futures and Coding It Forward’s First Act Fund. In addition to US$15,000 in prize money the Fund offers mentoring in various aspects of AgX’s growth.

(Explained above in 'Goals in the next five years'.)

Myself, with a number of external advisors and paid developers. (See ‘What organizations do you currently partner with’)

I am well positioned to deliver AgX’s revolutionary IoT system because I am personally driving the technology, I have a track record of solving seemingly insurmountable problems, I am a member of the community I am seeking answers for and armed with a car understanding of the problems we need to solve, I am excited to learn from and collaborate with others to accelerate AgX’s solutions and growth.

• I’m self-taught in all aspects of AgX’s product development including learning eight coding languages, CAD design, and multi-layer PCB circuitry and assembly, which has enabled me to be agile in finding solutions wherever problems have arisen and to stay on top of work undertaken by contractors.

• My solution to digital connectivity is an example of me being able to solve seemingly insurmountable problems (please see section, ‘What Makes Your Solution Innovative”. 

• As my home is an Australian cattle ranch I can test AgX’s system and devices in situ at each stage of the development process, so I’m constantly aware of its functionality and robustness in the field. I am able to consult with my community and this local knowledge has been enormously valuable and will continue to be.

• AgX is at an ideal stage to bring in more advisors and initiate partnerships to pressure test and broaden its technology and grow the business.

Fundamental to the success of AgX to date has been the close relationships I have formed with experts, who have offered advice and validated all aspects of AgX’s development. The professionals I consult with include --

-- Anthony Murfett (Deputy Head - Australian Space Agency): nano-satellites

-- Flavia Nadina (CEO - Fleet Technologies): Fleets nano-satellite technology for IoT connectivity in rural locations

-- Thangduc Toan Group (Vietnam-based PCB Design Specialists)

-- Frank Fu (Software engineer - Myriota)

-- John Circosta (Co-founder - Ness Corporation)

-- Frank Hannan (farm consultant)

-- Peter Wright (large-animal vet): smartTag

-- James Palfreeman (Operations Manager, JBS Australia)

-- I have consulted with JAR Aerospace, producer of UAVs, to develop and operate smartDrone under CASA’s laws. 

The First Act Fund has also been a valuable partner for AgX. It has provided financing and regular discussions as to the breadth and pace of AgX’s development.

To ensure that farmers are able to maximise the use of AgX’s services, whilst still providing sufficient funding to continue the development and future exploration of AgX’s products and services, a mix of ‘product to service’ and ‘subscription’ business models will be used. Since AgX is required to pay 3rd party network fees, it is necessary to use a subscription model. By offering products almost at cost, farmers are incentivised to purchase a higher number of products, whilst collect more data points. Farmers are charged a subscription service depending on the size of their operation, which is strategically calculated as a percentage of their expected profits from using AgX’s system. AgX is uniquely positioned to deliver this business model by using innovative methods to manufacture and operate its products at low cost, unseen in other AgTech businesses. 

AgX’s projected revenue streams are listed below. These numbers are heavily dependent on operating size and so during further Beta trials, this model will be adapted. 

All prices are in USD. Estimated costs are for a property size of approximately 10,000 acres.

SmartProbe

Cost to purchase one SmartProbe: $35.

Subscription fee for 250 probes : $8,000

SmartTag

Cost to purchase one SmartTag: $3.

Subscription fee for 1000 tags: $8,000

SmartDrone

Cost to purchase one SmartDrone: $1,500.

Subscription fee for 3 drones: $9,000

I have applied to Solve because the program is exactly what AgX needs now. While I have established AgX’s core technology and the first three devices it will run, the components of this system need to be pressure tested and I know Solve’s staff, collaborators and fellow Solvers will give me access to experts who will help me to forensically examine AgX’s devices and systems and no doubt suggest a multitude of ways they can be improved and built on.

In terms of technology, I would gain enormously from partnering with experts in --

• data science

• artificial intelligence

• computer vision

• high-end robotics and systems 

In terms of business development and legal affairs,  I would -- 

• look for assistance in clarifying the business model, understanding the pitfalls and advantages of my approach to scaling the business

• look for assistance in patenting the technology

• work with mentors to broaden the scope of AgX and scale of the business

I’m sure Solve’s cross-sector community will connect me with entrepreneurs facing similar issues to mine and allow us to share our solutions. I’m excited that Solvers will come from all over the world as one of my main next goals is to understand how best to roll out AgX’s solutions around the globe, particularly in developing countries.

MIT Faculty at CSAIL

Rodney Brooks (Professor Emeritus)

• AI platforms

  • Developing powerful predictive models calculate farmers’ expected yield

  • Computer Vision in respect to smartDrone

  • Autonomous functionality of smartDrone

ALan Willsky (Professor Emeritus)

• AI platforms

  • Improving remote sensing hardware and software components

  • Linking sensor networks and machine learning models

John Guttag (Professor)

• Networking and IoT

  • Software and hardware development to advance the IoT networks AgX leverages

  • Decreasing size, cost, and power of radio platforms with AgX’s devices

  • Developing security and safety protocols within AgX’s IoT network

  • Improving efficiency and lowering costs of AgX’s data pipeline

Berthold Horn (Professor)

• Hardware systems

  • Optimising SmartTag’s trilateration programs without GPS technology

  • Improving remote network communications

  • Computer Vision in respect to SmartDrone

 Nancy Lynch (Professor)

• Data Science

  • Developing powerful predictive models calculate farmers’ expected yield

  • Optimising AgX’s data pipelines

Nicholas Roy (Professor)

• Artificial Intelligence

  • Embedded devices and edge computing

  • SmartDrone’s autonomous functionality and obstacle avoidance

  • Custom Vision for detecting weeds within the agricultural environment

  • Algorithms to improve SmartDrone’s safety and ‘awareness’

Russ Tedrake (Professor)

• Embedded devices

  • How to lower power consumption of SmartProbe and SmartTag

  • Optimising smartTag’s functionalities interaction with livestock

Joshua Tenenbaum (Professor)

• Modelling and Prediction

  • Developing powerful predictive models calculate farmers’ expected yield

  • How to form predictable links between the data inputs, paddock growth and livestock performance

Brian Williams (Professor)

• AI Systems

  • Creating self-healing systems for smartDrone which can command, diagnose and repair itself using fast, common sense reasoning.

  • Cooperation between multiple smartDrones within an environment

  • Implementing model based reactive planning

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts world food production must increase by 70% in 2050 to meet demand requiring an additional one billion tonnes of cereals and 200 million tonnes of meat. The key to increasing cereal and meat output with fewer inputs (and less impact on the planet) lies in data science and machine learning. Currently, farmers and ranchers use qualitative observations and research to inform their decisions across all aspects of their farm, from potential livestock carrying capacity to the most beneficial times to harvest. This is incredibly inefficient as there are a large number of variables to consider and using reliable quantitative data is crucial to increasing productivity. The primary function of AgX is to form a ‘data pipeline’ which enables reliable, quantitative data to be collected. Having collected this data, machine learning will correlate trends between a vast number of variables and identify the steps the farmer/rancher needs to take to operate with maximum productivity. 

An example of this is for a livestock farmer who originally would walk out into the paddock and eyeball the pasture and look at rainfall forecasts and livestock prices. Considering the factors he thinks he should buy 200 cows. AgX’s platform takes everything from pasture information to current crop and feed prices to determine the most profitable situation. Using AgX, the farmer would have known that feed prices are low, soil moisture correlations indicate signs of an impending drought and cattle prices are currently peaking. Rather than buying 200 cows, he would now self off a quarter of his stock and purchase 400 bales of hay placing the farmer in a sustainable position before the drought. In the future, when AgX is present across regions, it will be able to aggregate the data of its users and recommend to farmers/ranchers when they should sell livestock and buy feed depending if they are going into drought or not.

I am 18 years old and if seen to fruition and scale, the AgX system will in my lifetime not just eradicate world hunger but also hidden hunger, while shrinking the carbon footprint and environmental degradation caused by cereal and livestock producers and rejuvenating increasingly inarable lands. With small amounts of reimagining and progress, the technology already exists to make this goal a reality but until AgX’s nano-satellite-driven system, little has been done anywhere in the world to develop IoT devices for cereal and livestock producers because a data pipeline could not be ensured with the terrestrial infrastructure used by existing AgTech companies.

All of this changed with AgX, which avoids use of any terrestrial infrastructure, instead communicating directly from device to nano-satellites in LEO and back to a server and customized hub designed for the individual user. AgX’s adoption of nano-satellite technology is revolutionary. It doesn’t just give farmers and ranchers anywhere in the world perfect connectivity, it revolutionizes the design of the devices that the communication network serves, making them cheap and practicable where they had been prohibitively expensive and cumbersome. These design changes made possible by the use of nano-satellite technology means AgX can now mass produce cheap, small, robust and incredibly effective IoT devices for cereal and livestock producers.

These devices will be a game changer for commercial cereal and meat producers around the globe. For example, they will enable cattle producers to undertake data analytics of the genetics of their breeding herds and improve them over time. They might look at the data on which breeding cows have easy calving and increase their breeding stock from these cows; or the physical attributes/weight gain of offspring of bulls as well as their joining stats. And AgX’s devices will be a platform for solutions only just being dreamt of. For example, New South Wales’ Primary Industry is developing a ground-breaking application that can determine if cattle are pregnant from hormone droplets in their exhalations, but they don’t have a device to carry the application and AgX’s SmartTag would be ideal. The SmartTag’s temperature chip could also play a major part in minimising bovine respiratory disease in feedlot cattle, which, for example, is responsible for a loss of approximately 5% of stock in Australian feedlots.

The introduction of IoT to all facets of cereal and livestock production will lead to enormous gains in output while diminishing inputs and this will no doubt make AgX’s devices/system a viable commercial proposition that can one day generate profits and extend its devices to developing countries free of charge. With this in mind, I would want to use the AI for Humanity Prize to take AgX’s technology further than is currently thought possible. I want the SmartProbes and SmartDrones to be used to address hidden hunger and land degradation in developing countries. Hidden hunger refers to the inadequate intake of micronutrients and in a 2020 article in Geochemistry and Health, Kihara et al, suggest approximately 2-3 billion people worldwide are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies, especially in developing countries where these affect half of the population. This is mainly the result of decades of soil degradation and low and unbalanced application of fertilizers. Soil nutrients not only determine crop productivity but nutrients concentration in plant parts consumed as food and feed. Consequently, soil nutrients status has great implications on human health, especially in children. Globally, zinc and iron are the main micronutrients missing in human diets, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The UN suggests much of the world’s grain crops are grown in soil without adequate zinc. But very few field studies have been undertaken into the impact of micronutrient fertilizer on yields and nutritional quality of crops.

While it doesn’t currently have the capacity, the SmartProbe could be developed to measure micronutrients in soil and analyze the impact of micronutrient-rich fertilizer. Thousands of AgX’s in-ground SmartProbes could be used across whole regions to gather data and return it to geo-chemists thousands of miles away, who could advise on the best practice and adjustments to nutrient-enriched fertilizer as needed. 

While the SmartProbe’s soil-moisture sensor can ensure water is used as needed in irrigation, the SmartDrone could be used in developing countries as another tool in improving soil health. The SmartDrone’s spot spraying of weeds when they first appear means much less chemical is needed. In comparison, many developing countries are turning to GM crops, particularly herbicide tolerant crops, which are then sprayed with less expensive broadleaf boom spraying using large amounts of chemical. Less chemicals will reduce herbicides harmful persistence in the soil, infiltration into the groundwater, toxicity to nontarget organisms and the spread of resistant weeds. If SmartDrones are provided for free to developing countries they could be used in vast regions where individual farmers would never have the means or need to purchase one. Research has shown more technology in agriculture means more children will return to school.

These are just a few of the ways that AgX hopes to end world hunger and hidden hunger while increasing soil fertility and reducing the carbon footprint of cereal and meat producers, who will be generating more output with less inputs.

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts world food production must increase by 70% in 2050 to meet demand requiring an additional one billion tonnes of cereals and 200 million tonnes of meat. The key to increasing cereal and meat output with fewer inputs (and less impact on the planet) lies in data science and machine learning. Currently, farmers and ranchers use qualitative observations and research to inform their decisions across all aspects of their farm, from potential livestock carrying capacity to the most beneficial times to harvest. This is incredibly inefficient as there are a large number of variables to consider and using reliable quantitative data is crucial to increasing productivity. The primary function of AgX is to form a ‘data pipeline’ which enables reliable, quantitative data to be collected. Having collected this data, machine learning will correlate trends between a vast number of variables and identify the steps the farmer/rancher needs to take to operate with maximum productivity. 

An example of this is for a livestock farmer who originally would walk out into the paddock and eyeball the pasture and look at rainfall forecasts and livestock prices. Considering the factors he thinks he should buy 200 cows. AgX’s platform takes everything from pasture information to current crop and feed prices to determine the most profitable situation. Using AgX, the farmer would have known that feed prices are low, soil moisture correlations indicate signs of an impending drought and cattle prices are currently peaking. Rather than buying 200 cows, he would now self off a quarter of his stock and purchase 400 bales of hay placing the farmer in a sustainable position before the drought. In the future, when AgX is present across regions, it will be able to aggregate the data of its users and recommend to farmers/ranchers when they should sell livestock and buy feed depending if they are going into drought or not.

I am 18 years old and if seen to fruition and scale, the AgX system will in my lifetime not just eradicate world hunger but also hidden hunger, while shrinking the carbon footprint and environmental degradation caused by cereal and livestock producers and rejuvenating increasingly inarable lands. With small amounts of reimagining and progress, the technology already exists to make this goal a reality but until AgX’s nano-satellite-driven system, little has been done anywhere in the world to develop IoT devices for cereal and livestock producers because a data pipeline could not be ensured with the terrestrial infrastructure used by existing AgTech companies.

All of this changed with AgX, which avoids use of any terrestrial infrastructure, instead communicating directly from device to nano-satellites in LEO and back to a server and customized hub designed for the individual user. AgX’s adoption of nano-satellite technology is revolutionary. It doesn’t just give farmers and ranchers anywhere in the world perfect connectivity, it revolutionizes the design of the devices that the communication network serves, making them cheap and practicable where they had been prohibitively expensive and cumbersome. These design changes made possible by the use of nano-satellite technology means AgX can now mass produce cheap, small, robust and incredibly effective IoT devices for cereal and livestock producers.

These devices will be a game changer for commercial cereal and meat producers around the globe. For example, they will enable cattle producers to undertake data analytics of the genetics of their breeding herds and improve them over time. They might look at the data on which breeding cows have easy calving and increase their breeding stock from these cows; or the physical attributes/weight gain of offspring of bulls as well as their joining stats. And AgX’s devices will be a platform for solutions only just being dreamt of. For example, New South Wales’ Primary Industry is developing a ground-breaking application that can determine if cattle are pregnant from hormone droplets in their exhalations, but they don’t have a device to carry the application and AgX’s SmartTag would be ideal. The SmartTag’s temperature chip could also play a major part in minimising bovine respiratory disease in feedlot cattle, which, for example, is responsible for a loss of approximately 5% of stock in Australian feedlots.

The introduction of IoT to all facets of cereal and livestock production will lead to enormous gains in output while diminishing inputs and this will no doubt make AgX’s devices/system a viable commercial proposition that can one day generate profits and extend its devices to developing countries free of charge. With this in mind, I would want to use the Future Planet Capital Prize to take AgX’s technology further than is currently thought possible. I want the SmartProbes and SmartDrones to be used to address hidden hunger and land degradation in developing countries. Hidden hunger refers to the inadequate intake of micronutrients and in a 2020 article in Geochemistry and Health, Kihara et al, suggest approximately 2-3 billion people worldwide are suffering from micronutrient deficiencies, especially in developing countries where these affect half of the population. This is mainly the result of decades of soil degradation and low and unbalanced application of fertilizers. Soil nutrients not only determine crop productivity but nutrients concentration in plant parts consumed as food and feed. Consequently, soil nutrients status has great implications on human health, especially in children. Globally, zinc and iron are the main micronutrients missing in human diets, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The UN suggests much of the world’s grain crops are grown in soil without adequate zinc. But very few field studies have been undertaken into the impact of micronutrient fertilizer on yields and nutritional quality of crops.

While it doesn’t currently have the capacity, the SmartProbe could be developed to measure micronutrients in soil and analyze the impact of micronutrient-rich fertilizer. Thousands of AgX’s in-ground SmartProbes could be used across whole regions to gather data and return it to geo-chemists thousands of miles away, who could advise on the best practice and adjustments to nutrient-enriched fertilizer as needed. 

While the SmartProbe’s soil-moisture sensor can ensure water is used as needed in irrigation, the SmartDrone could be used in developing countries as another tool in improving soil health. The SmartDrone’s spot spraying of weeds when they first appear means much less chemical is needed. In comparison, many developing countries are turning to GM crops, particularly herbicide tolerant crops, which are then sprayed with less expensive broadleaf boom spraying using large amounts of chemical. Less chemicals will reduce herbicides harmful persistence in the soil, infiltration into the groundwater, toxicity to nontarget organisms and the spread of resistant weeds. If SmartDrones are provided for free to developing countries they could be used in vast regions where individual farmers would never have the means or need to purchase one. And more technology in agriculture means more children will return to school.

These are just a few of the ways that AgX hopes to end world hunger and hidden hunger while increasing soil fertility and reducing the carbon footprint of cereal and meat producers, who will be generating more output with less inputs.