FARGO, N.D. - FarmLogs Inc., a Michigan-based agricultural app and information management company, is holding a series of six meetings aimed at row crop farmers in six states, including North Dakota and central Minnesota.
Farmlogs Summer Roadshow stops will be held:
- Aug. 11 - 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Jon Bertsch Farm near Hillsboro, N.D.
Bertsch started using FarmLogs in 2013 and raises corn, soybeans, wheat and sunflowers. The event features a free meal, sponsored by AgCountry Farm Credit Services, and a chance to look at a 2017 Ford Super Duty pickup.
- Aug. 12 - 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., George Elfering Farms at Bird Island, Minn. The Elferings raise corn, soybeans, sugar beets, sweet corn and peas. A meal is provided by United FCS, based in Willmar, Minn.
Registration is requested, a day ahead of either event. Visit go.farmlogs.com for the requested preregistration. Other events are scheduled in Texas, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. John Nowatzki, a North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer who has led some of the institution’s efforts to educate farmers about precision technology, says he’s aware of FarmLogs and says it appears to be one of the legitimate companies serving its information market.
Jesse Vollmar, CEO and company co-founder, says the meetings are designed to meet row crop growers and share experiences about farming in today’s high-tech environment. Vollmar says some 10,000 farmers in the Dakotas and Minnesota have downloaded FarmLogs Standard applications that have been available for nearly four years. The Standard application does things such as track rainfall, growth stage of plants and field conditions.
The paid FarmLogs Advantage program, launched in December 2015, uses satellite imagery to highlight crop health problems, fertilizer and pest or disease problems.
FarmLogs is DBA of AgriSight Inc., incorporated in Aug. 30, 2012, in Delaware. The company uses publicly-available data - market prices, rainfall, crop rotation and inventory. Farmer-clients can get the cloud-based information from the field.
The company is based in Ann Arbor, Mich. He is associated with Vollmar Family Farms Inc., an operation run by his father, Mark, and uncle, Steven. The two-farm 1,200-acre certified organic farm near Caro, east of Saginaw, Mich., on which FarmLogs is an “integral component,” according to the company. Jesse holds a degree in computer information systems from Saginaw Valley State University
In 2014, Jesse, now 27, was named in the Forbes “30 under 30” list of leaders in the Energy and Industry categories. Crain’s Detroit Business publication in 2014 said Vollmar and Koch, now the chief technology officer, had attracted $5 million from investors for the FarmLogs product. Among the sources were Huron River Ventures of Ann Arbor, Hyde Park Venture Partners and Hyde Park Angels in Chicago and Drive Capital of Columbus, Ohio.
