With Fertilizer Up 49%, Picketa Systems Closes an Oversubscribed $2.1M Round to Tell Farmers Exactly What Their Crops Need
June 15, 2026 Fertilizer prices are up 49%. Seventy percent of American farmers cannot afford all the inputs they need this season. And most growers still don’t know what nutrients their crops need exactly. That is the problem Picketa Systems was built to solve.
Picketa has closed an oversubscribed $2.1 million round led by Tall Grass Ventures. The round included participation from new investors BDC Seed Fund, Verdex Capital and Skull Diamond & Heart Capital. Returning investors NBIF, Koan Capital, and East Valley Ventures also participated and increased their commitment.
“We have been watching Picketa and the LENS technology develop from an early concept in New Brunswick potatoes to this stage across multiple crops in multiple geographies,” said Wilson Acton, Managing Partner at Tall Grass Ventures. “We believe Picketa is at an important inflection point as the uptake among leading agronomists in North America has continued to accelerate. The current fertilizer pricing dynamic is only a further tailwind to approach application decisions with real-time data instead of guesswork or routine.”
At the core of Picketa’s growth is the LENS (Leaf Evaluated Nutrient System), a portable device that transforms plant nutrient assessment in the field, giving readings on all essential macro and micronutrients in under a minute. Results go instantly into Fieldbook, Picketa’s crop management web platform, giving agronomists and growers the data to act while it still makes a difference. By replacing guesswork with real-time nutrient insights, growers can potentially save up to 20% on in-season fertilizer expenditures.
“Picketa Systems is bringing a differentiated approach to crop health, combining advanced data capabilities with real-time, field level insights,” said Mark Smith, Partner and Team Lead at BDC Seed Fund. “We believe their technology has the potential to reshape how decisions are made on the farm and positions them well to become a leader in this space.”
The funding will support growing demand for the LENS network across the United States and Canada, expanding the ability to manufacture, deploy, and support the growing fleet of units. Over 45 ag retailers already use the LENS to support in-season fertility recommendations, while hundreds of their farmers can now view their crops’ nutrient conditions in real time.
“Adoption in agriculture ultimately comes down to trust and reliability in the field,” said Steve Koeckhoven, Director of Investments at Verdex Capital. “Picketa’s approach to delivering actionable nutrient measurements positions them well as growers look for tools they can depend on during critical decision windows.”
The LENS now supports potatoes, corn, canola, soybeans, and wheat, which together account for over 70% of crop acres in North America. Soybeans and wheat are the latest crops added to the platform. This expansion was supported by strong pilot activity in 2025, with growers collecting thousands of samples to validate the LENS across crops impacted by fertilizer volatility.
Among the first to put the LENS to work in soybeans is Chris Weaver, the world record holder for soybean yield, who is trialing the platform during the 2026 season.
“The ability to get results instead of waiting forty-eight hours completely changes how quickly we can react to problems in the field,” said Chris Weaver, World Record Soybean Yield Winner. “I think tools like this are where high yield agriculture is heading, and the more we can get ahead in technology, the better off we’re going to be.”
Another milestone was reached this spring as Picketa is one of five companies selected for Farm Credit Canada’s recently announced Agriculture Innovation, Validation and Adoption Network. The LENS will be validated across four Validation Hubs: Area X.O, EMILI, Innovation Farms Ontario, and Olds College. FCC has noted that implementing technology innovations in agricultural settings could boost farmer incomes by $30 billion over the next decade.
The project builds on an existing research network that underpins the science behind the LENS. Picketa has worked with agronomists and researchers at the University of Guelph, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Cornell AgriTech to calibrate the platform and build the dataset that powers its nutrient models.
“This is how crop-responsive fertility becomes the standard,” said Xavier Hebert-Couturier, CEO & Co-Founder at Picketa Systems. “I believe that within 10 years, with advances in crop sensing, specialized inputs and autonomous vehicles, we will close the fertilizer loop entirely. Farmers will not need to think about fertilizers anymore, as their systems will sense what the crop needs, prescribe the right application, and apply it automatically.”
The goal is simple: give every agronomist the ability to walk into any field, scan any crop, and know exactly what it needs. Picketa is building a future where fertilizer decisions are guided by real-time crop data instead of guesswork.
To learn more about the LENS and Fieldbook platform for the 2026 growing season, visit here.
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