CropX, a leading global soil sensing and agricultural analytics company, announced the acquisition of Nebraska-based CropMetrics, a provider of cloud-based, precision-irrigation tools. Current CropMetrics and CropX partners and customers will now have access to an “unmatched combination of in-soil data, advanced farm management analytics and decision-support tools,” the company said in a statement.

CropX chief executive officer Tomer Tzach said, “We intend to lead the market for on-farm irrigation and nutrient management tools in the years ahead, and the acquisition of CropMetrics completes a critical step towards that goal. By strengthening our partner network, growing our U.S. sales footprint and expanding our product offering, the acquisition will help us continue to provide affordable, scalable solutions for farmers dealing with mounting profitability challenges, resource limitations and sustainability demands. The digital ag arena is on the verge of a shakeout, and we plan to maintain and grow our leadership position by providing best-in-class real-time, in-soil insights that will set the new performance standard for irrigation and nutrient management.”

CropMetrics will add more than 500,000 acres under management and 10-plus years of in-depth U.S. farm data to the CropX farm management platform. With a vast distribution network, best-practice service model, user-friendly decision support platform and a patented Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) platform for pivot systems, CropMetrics provides exceptional quality, service and irrigation results, the announcement said.

“Adding CropMetrics’s solutions, extensive dealer network and experienced support team furthers CropX’s mission to become the global leader for in-soil IoT [internet of things] solutions for today’s producers,” CropX president John Vikupitz said. “Combining the power of CropX and CropMetrics will help us deliver the most advanced in-soil data analytics, decision support tools and data-driven irrigation prescriptions to growers worldwide.”

CropX said as a proven IoT pioneer in the grower community, the company provides “highly accurate, proprietary soil sensing technology and an award-winning, feature-rich, decision support platform built by in-house agronomic, data science and software teams. By analyzing soil data and integrating it with crop models, satellite imagery and weather forecasts, the CropX farm management platform helps farmers around the globe cut crop input costs and increase profitability by driving water, fertilizer, energy and labor savings.”

“Since its founding, CropMetrics has become a trusted irrigation advisor for farmers looking to use soil health and moisture data to deliver higher yields and boost profits by improving water, nutrient and energy efficiency,” CropMetrics CEO Lee Addams said. “Farmers and our network of CropMetrics partners will benefit from the addition of CropX’s real-time, in-soil analytics and IoT solutions. We are looking forward to working with the CropX executive team to evolve the platform with the addition of our solutions so more farmers can realize the massive, untapped profitability lever in managing water.”

Effective immediately, the CropMetrics team will join CropX, adding valuable on-farm agronomy and irrigation management expertise, according to the announcement.