CropX acquires precision irrigation startup Tule, its fourth acquisition

• Ag analytics company CropX has acquired precision irrigation startup Tule Technologies.
• The deal will provide CropX with additional crop data and insights to bake into its farm recommendations platform.
• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Why it matters:

This is CropX’s fourth acquisition since early 2020 when it scooped up US-based CropMetrics. From there, it acquired New Zealand’s Regen in early 2020 and Dutch precision ag startup Dacom Farm Intelligence in 2021.

Through these acquisitions, CropX can provide additional insights and recommendations to farmers based on data. Its hardware/software farm management platform already offers these via below-ground soil monitoring and above-ground sensing data.

Tule’s technology provides data collection from above the plant canopy. It determines crop water use, and CropX says this will strengthen its own system’s predictions and recommendations engine.

It’s something of a timely technology, too, given the ongoing drought in California and elsewhere.

“The farming industry is at the frontlines of global challenges to balance food security with water and other natural resources,” Dr. John Gates, senior vice president and global head of product at CropX, said in a statement. “We are committed to helping our customers manage water confidently and efficiently with technology. Tule’s unique tech and vast experience with California vineyards and orchards are a perfect fit.”

Tule is CropX’s second acquisition of a US-based company. The deal gives CropX entry into drip-irrigated specialty crops in California, such as tree nuts and vineyards. 

Like other companies acquired by CropX, Tule has been developing its tech for nearly a decade, which means it’s bringing not just new tech but additional agronomic and market expertise to the bargain.

“With Tule’s canopy data incorporated into the CropX system, CropX is adding a new and powerful dimension to the world’s most complete precision irrigation solution,” Tomer Tzach, CEO of CropX Technologies, said in a statement.

All Tule employees will join CropX effective immediately.

This is unlikely the last acquisition. In 2021, at the time of the Dacom acquisition, CropX expressed an interest in the emerging carbon credits field and suggested some M&A activity there might be on the horizon.