Allison Kopf explains what data will mean for the future of farming

When agriculture was invented in 9500 BC it predated writing. What an efficiency boost it must have been for those ur-farmers to be able to write down and record their crop data. We’ve come a long way in lo these 11,000 years, but farming and data are still two peas in a pod.

Here in 2017 AD, Allison Kopf, the founder of Brooklyn agriculture data startup Agrilyst, has some thoughts on fine tuning crop growth.

“Instead of a control system just flicking on or off a light, imagine being able to fine tune wavelengths to adjust based on a plant’s specific need,” Kopf writes in a post on Medium. “Or adjusting lights to not just hit a specific amount of light, but also to give a plant an optimal amount light based on the cost of delivering that light. This is all on the horizon.”

Here's my take on what happens when horticulture goes digital via @Medium #digitalhorticulture https://t.co/WI6Jbe8pNd

— Allison Kopf (@allisonkopf) May 8, 2017

Kopf’s post is called What is #DigitalHorticulture? and it’s worth a read if you’re interested in this stuff (or, you know, if you eat food).

Agrilyst was ranked the No. 4 startup in our 2017 realLIST.