Ag company boosts yields without chemistry

A new farming equipment invention from Liberty, Mo.-based TerraManus Technologies has an absorbent waffle-like effect on soil, rather than that of a pancake where the syrup runs off the sides.

Using the breakfast analogy, TerraManus CFO Gregg Whittaker told the Cleantech Group the company’s new ground tilling system addresses soil erosion, water flow management and related environmental problems, while increasing crop yields and reducing input costs to farmers. And the company, which is currently pre-revenue, expects that status to change before the end of the month.

“The concept is very simple, but the science behind it is very complex,” he said. “Each curve on the wheel maximizes the water flow, and consolidates rather than compacting the soil.”

The company’s invention, called the TerraStar, is essentially an inflatable, molded plastic wheel. It uses consolidation to create reservoirs that are walled by various curves and angles. The result helps to increase the surface area of the soil by about 35 percent as well as boosting the water penetration rate into the soil, the company claims.

See a photo of the TerraStar here »

Whittaker said farmers have been able to reduce water and fertilizer needs by 10 to 30 percent. And increased crop yields have been as much as 42 percent for tomatoes and 12 percent for corn, for which demand has been steadily growing in recent years (see American farmers plan to plant more corn this year).

The TerraStar has potential applications in agriculture, biofuel, real estate, land reclamation and road construction. It’s an embodied technology, Whittaker said, meaning it works within the existing framework of farming operations, as opposed to requiring farmers to change how they farm. The company has patented its technology in the United States, and is finalizing global coverage.

TerraManus, a research and development company founded in 2005, is developing strategic partners to distribute its invention, which retails for about $90 for one wheel.

The company is seeking $500,000, most likely from angel investors, to continue its research and commercialization efforts.

The company wants to build and expand its marketing strategy with companies including Hutchinson, Minn.-based agriculture attachments manufacturer May Wes and other strategic partners. May Wes makes three universal farming attachments that work with the TerraStar, and is already selling the TerraStar.

The TerraStar can be attached to both machine and human-powered equipment, and was developed with U.S. and European high-tech industrialized farming in mind.

“We discovered very quickly that it could be used by farmers in less developed countries as well,” Whittaker said.

The company’s TerraSaver is a human-powered tractor and cropping system being developed for third-world farmers. Whittaker said the company is working on manufacturing and distributing its technology in Kenya.

The company’s research has been conducted at Martinsville, Ill.-based Arise Research & Discovery and in Mexico, where a bean crop was tested over five years on a control plot. During one of those years, Mexico experienced a drought. But because the TerraStar increased the soil’s moisture content, though the plot received little rain, it “looked like an oasis in the middle of a desert,” Whittaker said.

With additional funds, Whittaker said the company wants to expand the technology’s applications in twin-row planters, where crops are planted in twin rows and essentially double the amount of yield per acre compared to standard rows. But the soil currently can't support it because there aren't enough soil nutrients. TerraManus believes the TerraStar could change that.

The market potential for the company’s technology is large and growing, Whittaker said. Of the $100 billion in worldwide ag equipment sales every year, $22 billion of that is in North America. Of that, $13 billion of that market worldwide and $2.5 billion in North America could benefit from TerraStar’s equipment, Whittaker said.

The company’s competition comes from traditional standard tillage and planting equipment. Green Bay, Wis.-based ENCAP is also working to improve soil erosion problems and moisture management (see ENCAP aims to profit from biofuel byproducts).

TerraManus is one of 20 potential new investment opportunities the Cleantech Group added to its innovation pipeline this week, available exclusively to members of the Cleantech Network. Members can click here to search the database.

Interested in emerging cleantech innovations? Here are four new companies added to the Cleantech Group's database this week also looking for funding:

• North Carolina-based Rethink Lighting is seeking $1 million for its architectural landscape LED lighting utilizing a unique process. The company plans to use the money to accelerate the manufacturing and commercialization of its product, secure domestic and international distribution deals, and recruit and hire key management personnel.
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• Michigan-based high performance electric motorcycle company BlueShift Motorcycle is seeking $2 million. The company utilizes a lithium-ion battery pack that provides high energy density, low maintenance and no memory loss, among other design advantages.
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