Company
Date Published
Author
Joey Bartolomeo
Word count
634
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

In 2019, Alexander Mann transitioned from the microchip industry to agriculture technology, founding AgriTech after developing a personal IoT setup to manage his garden remotely. AgriTech, based in Virginia, leverages IoT, AI, sensor data analytics, and Grafana to enhance crop health, maximize yields, reduce costs, and lower CO2 emissions for farmers, notably partnering with Pure Shenandoah, a major industrial hemp fiber grower. The partnership has significantly increased hemp production, from a pilot 15-acre project yielding 8,800 pounds in 2020 to over 750,000 pounds from more than 200 acres in 2021, with plans to expand to over 800 acres. Mann's monitoring system, built initially with a Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant OS, uses Grafana to visualize environmental data, aiding in real-time decision-making and alert systems for optimal plant care. Mann aims to educate on industrial hemp's benefits and the positive impact of technology in agriculture, hoping to foster job creation and community support through AgriTech's initiatives.