From a molecular geneticist to a farmer in the Shenandoah Valley, Margaret Maizel has always let her curiosity guide her work.
“I can’t stand still very easily, there’s always something,” she told Colorado Inno with a laugh.
Now, she’s tackling a new problem, using AI and machine learning to help farmers choose the best seeds for maximum crop yield.
Maizel founded Fort Collins-based Visual Farms as she saw an opportunity to better support farmers through technology. She saw a trend of farmers losing independence, as manufacturers began to drive the decision-making process.
“It was clear that the farmers were getting very concerned about this [independence] and profitability,” she said.
In 2016 and 2017, the Visual Farms team began testing its tools to optimize farmers' crop yield and increase profitability.
The company’s technology takes soil, climate and a host of other vital farming information into account to suggest the correct seed varietal for each farm. While many farmers are forced to choose only the seeds offered to them, Visual Farms aims to open up the seed market, ensuring farmers are considering all the options available.
“We put the farm as the priority, and everything is matched to the seeds and production of the farm,” Maizel said.
In addition to seed recommendation, Visual Farms’ technology can predict crop yields three months ahead of harvest. This allows farmers to more accurately plan for future sales and production.
Maizel pushed back on the idea that farmers were technology-averse, adding that most are receptive to technology that clearly benefits their operations.
“If you pick farmers who are early-adopters, when they start talking about something being good, that’s really the best kind of endorsement you can get,” she said.
Visual Farms continues to build out its platform and is raising venture capital with hopes to launch the technology to farmers in the near future.
“The time is right and our goal is to build an independent, real time, decision-making tool for every farm,” Maizel said.
