Strider, a well-respected, agriculture-focused tech start-up in Brazil, has recently expanded in the US market. Mainly in Texas as of now, Strider is bringing it’s mission of cutting input costs to the American farmer by helping farmers monitor pests, diseases, and weeds. This platform creates value by taking the information collected by scouts on the field to be evaluated by crop consultants and acted upon by growers.
The company’s mobile application allows growers to track information related to crop conditions such as pests, diseases, and weeds, as well as tracking problem areas, control scouting, monitor effectiveness of spraying on pest populations, and record spray records. Working with Strider’s decision making platform will allow growers, or farm managers, to determine when, where and how much to spray for maximum efficiency.
“We all have a mission: we need to make agriculture stronger and stronger to match the challenge that we have in the future to feed 9 billion people. We are changing agriculture today because we at Strider took this as a serious mission and are all coming together to make it happen.” Ed Siatti, VP of Sales for North America, Strider.
Strider has worked with Brazilian farmers for years integrating their decision-making platform into farms covering more than 1.8M acres in Brazil. This platform has allowed grower to make better management decisions as it creates value by taking the information collected by scouts on the field to be evaluated by crop consultants and acted upon by growers.
This digital tool was developed in 2013 and installed in tablets; it allows technicians and field producers to register the exact incidents which may influence in the proliferation of plagues, resulting in a high level control, productivity and, mainly, up to 15% in pesticides cost savings.
Expanding into Texas first wasn’t a random choice for Strider. According to Phillips McDougall Consulting, American growers are 2nd in pesticide use with up to $7.3 billion spent in 2013. Brazil holds the first position, spending up to $10 billion. Texas is also a large cotton-producing area, which demands careful monitoring of the crop and pest populations.
It wasn’t easy to enter in one of the more traditional areas. Even with higher knowledge and a quality product, it was important to be trusted by the locals. “We didn´t have contacts there. I made some connections over the internet. The first positive answer came from Jim Hunt – Regional Sales Manager from Netafim Irrigation. He said that if a stranger was traveling thousands of miles to talk about an unknown technology for agriculture, due to his experience, that means he deserved a chance.” said Siatti.
Siatti is excited about the reaction Strider has had so far, “As I got into Texas, they found that this tool could be useful for them. They started to refer and call other farmers in the area to bring them together to talk about Strider. It has been an amazing experience. I’m excited to say that in 2016 we will have full operation in Texas.”
In only 10 months, Strider is being used by over 115 farms in Texas.
Learn more about Strider’s mobile platform here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/strider-siatti-12-18-15.mp3″ text=”Interview with Ed Siatti, Strider”]