The latest technology and agtech companies were on display at the Purdue Research Farm Tuesday as the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network, or WHIN, held their annual Ag Summit.
“So, WHIN is a nonprofit out of West Lafayette, and our sole job is to accelerate the adoption of technology on the farm,” says Josh Karshen, Director of Business Development for WHIN. “And so we go out all over the world and look at companies of various stages, vet them out, and prove them out, and de-risk them for our farmers so they have a more confident decision.”
The Ag Summit is an opportunity for farmers to come see, touch, and learn about the latest agtech that WHIN is vetting.
“”We have 13 companies here with demonstrations anywhere from a combine to an autonomous see-and-spray robot, to an autonomous tractor and drones. So, it’s definitely a showcase of the new technologies that we’re looking at, and also to show them the work that goes on behind the scenes to give our farmers confidence in the WHIN method.”
Given WHIN’s success in this space over the past several years, they’re now looking to work with progressive-minded farmers across the state. Karshen says you don’t have to love technology, but you certainly need to know its place in the industry today and in the future, as well as the benefits technology can bring.
“When we do have a company that we feel confident about, we lean heavily on our farmers’ expertise and guidance. They’re the professionals. They do this every day. So, when they put it in their operation and they give us either a thumbs up or a thumbs down with a list of concerns, we take that very seriously because at the end of the day, they’re the ones out there using it. It’s their farm. It has to have the impact.”
If you’d like to learn more, check out the archived livestream of the event below. You can also visit their website, whin.org.
