hexafarms

hexafarms GmbH is a Berlin company that combines hardware and software for growers of high-value crops under cover. It calls the result an operating system for protected crop production and focuses on three gaps: spotting pests and disease, monitoring the growing environment, and forecasting yield.

The software side has three modules. Yield Forecasting gives a rolling four-week forecast. Pest and Disease Detection scouts crops automatically. Environmental Sensing tracks climate and the growing substrate. The hardware includes AgNode wireless sensors that measure carbon dioxide, electrical conductivity, pH and temperature, Insight Station cameras that count crops, and gateways using LTE-M and NB-IoT connections.

The company says the system targets avoidable yield loss of up to 30 per cent. Supported crops include tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, cucumbers, blueberries, raspberries and lettuce. Customers are greenhouse operators, cooperatives and distributors, and head growers. Named users include Edelrot GmbH, Gardener's Pride, ZON, Dyson Farming and San Lucar, and the site says it operates in 26 countries.

Pricing is described as pay-as-you-grow, with no large upfront cost, no separate SIM fees and no compulsory service contract. Specific prices are not published. The company says it engineers and manufactures in Germany, and its imprint gives a Friedrichstrasse address in Berlin.

Key facts

• Based in: Berlin, Germany
• Legal name: hexafarms GmbH
• Products: Yield Forecasting, Pest and Disease Detection, Environmental Sensing, AgNode sensors
• Chief executive: David Ahmed
• Named clients: Edelrot GmbH, Gardener's Pride, ZON, Dyson Farming, San Lucar
• Pricing model: pay as you grow