Helsinki, Finland: Wireless soil moisture sensor start-up Soil Scout has closed a significant late-seed funding round led by Husqvarna Group, with private investment closing out the round.

Soil Scout plans to use the funding to scale production so it can help more farmers, sports venues and managers of green spaces around the world better manage their water resources.

“We are extremely excited about the recognition from Husqvarna as they have over a century’s worth of experience in the field and understand the need for water management,” said Jalmari Talola, Chief Executive Officer of Soil Scout, an Associate Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

“This funding is important for us as it allows us to improve our collaboration with new and existing partners and customers, as well as extend our product portfolio,” he added.

Björn Axling, Vice President, Corporate Venture Capital at Husqvarna Group, said: “We were particularly impressed with Soil Scout’s track record, with high-profile sports grounds like Wembley Stadium and Citizens Bank Park (home to the Philadelphia Phillies) already utilising the system.

“This, in addition to a strong team and the truly impressive capabilities of the Soil Scout system, convinced us to invest in Soil Scout.”

Unlike above-ground solutions, Soil Scout’s sensor is the only system capable of transmitting moisture, temperature, and salinity data in near real-time from up to two metres below the surface, for up to 20 years, maintenance-free.

Johannes Tiusanen, 19th generation farmer, doctor in agro-technology and inventor of the Soil Scout solution, built the system to give farmers the data they need to become precision agriculture specialists, both conserving water resources and increasing yields on their land over the long-term.

“Quite contradictory to what people think, precipitation actually is inadequate, even here in Finland: we have plenty of water, but agronomically in the wrong place,” said Tiusanen.

“When it comes to agriculture, topography, draining and soil composition can lead to different parts of the same field having a substantially different yield potential. At Soil Scout, we have built a future-proof below-ground monitoring solution that can stay in operation and in-situ for decades,” he added.

The system also allows farmers and turf professionals like golf course superintendents and sports venue managers to gain a detailed picture of their soil quality while leaving topsoil, pitches and greens undisturbed.

“The Soil Scout moisture units have exceeded my expectations in their usefulness,” said Mike Boekholder,Director of Field Operations at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I feel like we tend to not overwater as much, making management of the clay a bit less guesswork and a bit more science. Any advantage we can get in providing a better-quality surface, I’ll take. They certainly are a nice tool to have and help us tremendously in that regard,” he added.

Husqvarna Group is a global leading producer of outdoor power products and innovative solutions for forest, park and garden care. The Group sells its products to consumers and professionals in more than 100 countries.