Like any other industry sector, agriculture is increasingly data-driven and technology-dependent. But the industry has been a late adopter, with much software and technology as siloed as the farming landscape itself.
AgIntegrated of State College is a software developer and consultant to the Ag industry. As its name implies, its goal is to integrate technology products and solutions in order to boost food production and efficiency, says Mike Santostefano, the company's director of marketing
Founded in 2007, AgIntegrated develops customized agronomic and precision Ag software to meet specific agriculture business needs, everything from tracking GPS-equipped tractors and weather data to crop planning, nutrient management and yield analysis.
Its latest product, which attracted a $150,000 investment in mid-2012 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA, is FarmLock, a cloud-based mobile and desktop app that assists with file management and communications to and from the field and includes a social networking component that is specific to agriculture.
AgIntegrated's target market, says Santostefano, are medium to large farms, 500-acres or more, along with Ag product, service and technology providers – “everyone that touches the farmer.”
With the agriculture industry playing catch-up on technology, Santostefano says AgIntegrated is in a heavy growth period, with strong demand for its software development and consulting services. He anticipates further expansion as AgIntegrated continues to fill out its Onsite platform, and launches its sister FarmLock product, which is still in the testing phase.
The company currently employs 18 and that number could more than double with as many as 20 new hires over the next 12 months, he says.
Source: Mike Santostefano, AgIntegrated
Writer: Elise Vider