AgriBusiness

Introducing the SproutX startups – Tie Up Farming

13 March 2019
3 min read

Each month, Findex will profile the startups that have been accepted into the 2017 SproutX Accelerator program.

SproutX is a joint venture between Findex and the National Farmer’s Federation. It’s an innovation hub and startup accelerator designed specifically for the Agtech sector- the first of its kind in Australia.

SproutX focuses on nurturing startups and entrepreneurs to help transform the country’s $60 billion agriculture sector by helping solve a broad range of problems in the industry, using innovative solutions.

11 startup teams have been selected to join this year’s SproutX program; each receive $40,000 in capital, access to ongoing mentoring from industry experts and office space for six months.

The core focus of SproutX is about bringing together the entire agtech ecosystem across Australia into one place. This includes government, corporate, investment, entrepreneurs, industry, and of course the most important stakeholder; the farmer.

This month, we introduce you to our first startup- Tie Up Farming.


What is your startup and what problem is it solving for the agriculture industry?

Tie Up Farming delivers technological and managerial solutions to farmers in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Operating in the SaaS space, Tie Up Farming digitises farming operations and streamlines processes in the field, the orchards and the packing sheds.

We are the first technology solution for horticulture growers that combines precision ag solutions, like weather stations and soil sensors, with practical tools like costings per block and full traceability systems, on the one platform.

Tie Up Farming technology can be fully customised for each agribusiness we work with – we think of ourselves as the Salesforce for agribusiness management.

There is no “one size fits all” in this industry, so many horticulture/agri businesses find it difficult to implement a generic software to suit their exact needs.

We offer tools like QR barcodes, RFID tags, Zebra scanners, mobile scanning devices and more.

Our smart analytics includes disease modelling, weather forecast and yield forecast.

We offer data about;

  • Employee harvest efficiency.

  • Comparison charts of pickers and contractors.

  • Historical Location comparison.

  • Yield by location vs location.

  • Electronic employee database.

  • Mobile devices ‘Check in’ and ‘Check out’ times, breaks, etc. for managing labour.

  • Multi-location farming support system.

  • Reports Integration with Payroll process and ERP systems.

  • Integration with scales, mobile printers, scanning devices and more at the field and at the packing house.

  • Offline mode, data backups and the highest secured infrastructure to store data.

  • On farm label printing capabilities.

  • Weather stations.

  • Soil Sensors.

  • Satellite imagery.

Tell us more about your enterprise and what inspired this idea?****

Today we are working with some of the biggest agribusinesses in the Australian horticulture industry. We also work with publicly listed companies and with small growers who want to gain efficacy.

The inspiration came from the farmers themselves. We were asked from many of our farmers to have the flexibility to change the system and adapt it to their needs because there is no one size fits all in the hort game.

Tie Up Farming took shape as the SalesForce of the horticulture industry helping streamline and digitise operations and gain efficacy.

What hurdles have you faced and conquered on your startup journey so far?

Where many other softwares have failed, we believe that we have created a fully adaptable and customisable solution! We managed to overcome this hurdle by putting our “boots on the ground” and working closely with farmers. We listened to their exact needs and delivered accordingly. A big part of our solution is the service we provide and although we are predominantly an SaaS solution, we also provide on farm tech services for our farmers.

How can interested clients, farmers, or investors contact you?

Tel: 1300 944 318

Email: [email protected]

Roei Yaakobi – CEO