Choteau, Montana might not be your first thought for high-tech strides in precision agriculture. However, Choteau native and owner of Farmtech Doug Weist might change your mind.
Weist said, “This is a cool way to apply science to farming.”
Farmtech aims to optimize a farmer’s operation via soil imagery and crop health; however, it does more than give you the data.
Weist said, “[It’s] Taking all that information and not just making a pretty map but actually making decisions for the farmer, which is our FarmIQ platform.”
Farmtech’s growth meant Weist needed to add a programmer to his team, which is a tall order in north central Montana.
Weist explained, “Finding someone you can call or text and have dinner with and can write software is pretty unique in this world.”
Chicago native and new Choteau resident David Cimbalista fit the bill.
Weist said, “The reason I found David is he sold me a batch of firewood to me and had just mentioned, ‘Hey if you ever need programming,’ and [I] kind of blew him off and three months later I was calling him.”
Cimbalista moved to Montana with loads of programming know how, but little to no agriculture knowledge.
Cimbalista said, “I probably didn’t know the difference between a tractor and a combine.”
Cimbalista is not afraid of a challenge. Near his desk you can find multiple chess sets and books. On his desk is a solved Rubik’s Cube. In fact, it was his love of puzzle solving that pushed him to take on this challenge.Cimbalista said, “I love just figuring things out and being able to do things I’ve never done before.”
The partnership has only been working together for about a year, and they are already yielding great results.
Cimbalista said, “Now we have an online platform we’re building for the farmers in the area and it’s really just come so long of a way in the last year or so we’ve been together.”
The pair hope Farmtech will be serving over one million acres in the next few years.Cimbalista said, “To more or less touch that many people’s lives, and to touch the food they eat, all the farmers who depend on it for their livelihood, its gonna save them a lot of money, produce more yield for them.”
It is a perfect partnership that almost never happened. And for Farmtech, the sky is the limit.
Cimbalista said, “There’s really cool stuff out there you can build, and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Weist said, “These farmers need every advantage they can get, and technology is one that can definitely help them...for sure.”
You can learn more about Farmtech by clicking here.
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