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Continuum Ag is offering soil health solutions at scale

November 6, 2019

For the last four years, Mitchell Hora has been developing a system that measures, calibrates and provides recommendations for best practices and products for soil health.

In the fall of 2015, Hora started Continuum Ag, a company the provides soil health consulting to farmers and agricultural companies, around the world, by quantifying and improving soil health.

“No other platforms are really focused on soil health and actually being able to provide value to all the different stakeholders involved. That’s where we come in,” said Hora.

Today, Continuum Ag is up to a team of ten people and deploys its soil health focused program on farms across the country and has done work in eight different countries and over 40 states.

“We’ve really changed over the last four years,” said Hora. “Today, Continuum Ag is really more of a SAAS company. We’ve got an online analytics platform called TopSoil that we’re building right now.”

Continuum Ag’s TopSoil platform works by connecting with leading labs and tech companies, and then providing recommendations for making agronomic decisions for farmers and their farm advisors.

“The question for us is, ‘How do we actually quantify soil health and provide actionable analytics that will help farmers logistically and economically improve their operation?,'” said Hora. “We’ve been doing that direct with farmers but now are at a point where we’ll soon be able to do that a much larger scale.”

In addition to its platform, Continuum Ag has created a Top Soil Network, a global network of leading soil consultants, leading ag companies and farmers. Using this network Continuum Ag is able to expand upon our data analytics platforms.

“Now, we’re able to integrate with other consultants, ag input companies, supply chain companies to be able to help influence acres and provide a consistent soil health message,” said Hora.

Previous coverage

Continuum Ag named “best of show” in ISU pitch competition -Aug. 19, 2019

Ten semi-finalists announced for the 2019 Ag Innovation Challenge -Nov. 12, 2018

Tags: Continuum Ag

Continuum Ag is offering soil health solutions at scale | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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