#170 Computer Vision x AgTech, Precision Spraying, Herbicide Usage, & More w/ Tom Gauthier (AgTechLogic)

Each year, about 1 billion pounds of chemicals are sprayed on crops in the US alone - globally, that number is around 5.6 billion.

Our guest today is AgTechLogic, and they are solving this problem.

They do this by helping Farmers retrofit their existing machinery with precision sprayers that use computer vision to identify weeds and spray only on the weeds in a concentrated way that kills the weeds and won't overlap with the crops.

Today, nearly all farmers use broadcast spraying, or spraying everything. By implementing this tech, farmers can save a lot of money and produce healthier produce.

Let's get into it. 🌱🌎

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Topics:
**1:13 Introduction and Overview
**1:43 Reducing Chemical Overuse in Agriculture
**7:36 Validation and Early Discoveries
**11:11 Market Research and Initial Trials
**15:37 Concerns about Herbicide Usage
**20:34Case Studies and Cost Savings
**24:04 Objections and Early Adoption
**24:57 Reducing Water Usage and Regrowth
**26:09 Building Trust and Landing the First Pilot
**28:54 Entrepreneurship Later in Career
**32:07 Collecting New Data
**35:40 IP and Moat
**37:38 Funding Journey
**41:03 Responsible Growth
**42:55 Future Plans and Getting the Message Out
**45:48 Reaching Out and Educating Farmers
**47:54 Takeaways

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Links:
**Tom Gauthier | AgTechLogic
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Chapters

• 1:13 Introduction and Overview
• 1:43 Reducing Chemical Overuse in Agriculture
• 7:36 Validation and Early Discoveries
• 11:11 Market Research and Initial Trials
• 15:37 Concerns about Herbicide Usage
• 20:34 Case Studies and Cost Savings
• 24:04 Objections and Early Adoption
• 24:57 Reducing Water Usage and Regrowth
• 26:09 Building Trust and Landing the First Pilot
• 28:54 Entrepreneurship Later in Career
• 32:07 Collecting New Data
• 35:40 IP and Moat
• 37:38 Funding Journey
• 41:03 Responsible Growth
• 42:55 Future Plans and Getting the Message Out
• 45:48 Reaching Out and Educating Farmers
• 47:54 Takeaways

Transcript

Everybody agrees that, hey, look, we started spraying all this stuff.

0:02

We started getting all these different diseases, right?

0:05

It's a whole combination of lifestyle and things.

0:07

But all human beings believe, though, if we could spray less, 80 or 90 percent less of what we're doing while still killing the weeds, then everybody wins.

SPEAKER 3: SILAS MÄHNER

0:16

Welcome back to the Clean Techies podcast, where we interview the top climate tech founders and investors to share their stories, advice and lessons when it comes to building and investing in climate.

0:26

Each year, about 1 billion pounds of chemicals are sprayed on crops in the U.S.

0:30

alone.

0:31

Globally, that number is around 5.6 billion.

0:34

Our guest today is Agtech Logic, and they are solving this problem.

0:38

They do this by helping farmers retrofit their existing machinery with precision sprayers that use computer vision to identify weeds and spray only the weeds in a way that is concentrated enough that it kills a weed, but it doesn't overlap onto the crops.

0:53

Today, nearly all farmers do broadcast spraying, or in other words, spraying everything.

0:59

By implementing this tech, farmers can save a lot of money, especially on the chemicals and the water involved, and we can have a healthier produce.

1:08