A new leaf wetness sensor has been launched by digital farming and weather start-up Sencrop, which has also been named by tech-tracking index Crunchdex as ‘one to watch’ amongst European technology start-ups.
In the three years since its inception, Sencrop has grown its team to more than 40 employees from seven countries, raised €10m in funding, and attracted the attention of more than 10,000 farmers, winemakers and fruit growers across ten European countries.
It claims that its weather sensor solutions – Raincrop, Windcrop and Sencrop Plus – give farmers a new edge in ‘agro-meteorology’, measuring air temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind speed, and connecting with other local stations, to improve on-farm decision-making and maximise productivity through a simple app. It has a network of more than 300 on-farm weather stations in the UK.
Sencrop is the only agri-tech firm to make the June top ten. The Crunchdex rankings are based on a dozen metrics such as recruitment, fundraising, web traffic, app ratings and social media reach and influence.
“We’re delighted with the ranking,” says co-founder Martin Ducroquet. “It’s a tremendous recognition for all the hard work that our small but growing team has put into innovative product development, reliable customer support and advanced but accessible technological principles.”
The new Leafcrop, a leaf wetness sensor, promises better disease prediction and frost protection for vineyards and orchards.