Purdue digital ag startup focused on crop yield forecasting and improved nutrient management

Philip J. Hess, (left) applications analyst programmer, and professor Brad C. Joern, both in Purdue College of Agriculture's Department of Agronomy, have co-founded J&H Consulting of West Lafayette LLC, which is licensing technology the two have developed to better predict corn crop yields and to optimize in-season fertilizer nitrogen rates. (Purdue Research Foundation photo/Oren Darling) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Software tools that predict the acreage and yield of the U.S. corn crop at county, regional and multistate scales and optimize in-season fertilizer nitrogen rates at the subfield scale have been developed by two Purdue University agriculture experts. 

J&H Consulting of West Lafayette LLC was co-founded by Brad C. Joern, professor, and Philip J. Hess, applications analyst programmer, both in the Purdue University College of Agriculture's Department of Agronomy.

"We have developed a tool that uses digital data sources like soil and landscape properties, weather, cropping patterns and yield history to predict the size of the U.S. corn crop from sub-county to multistate scales on a daily basis," Joern said. "By providing more localized data, we can use a similar tool to predict the optimum in-season fertilizer nitrogen rate for corn at scales smaller than 1/10th of an acre."

"We also have programmed state-specific phosphorus risk-assessment tools and land grant university extension fertilizer recommendation algorithms for the major agronomic crops in 45 states," Hess said.

J&H Consulting has developed the following software libraries, or calculation engines, that are available to license:

* Regional Crop Yield Estimation System

* Soil nitrogen transformation and loss model

* State-specific phosphorus risk assessment tools

* Land grant university extension fertilizer recommendation algorithms

"We are concentrating on corn right now with our Regional Crop Yield Estimation System," Joern said. "This system uses process-based models to predict corn grain yield instead of more traditional survey- and sampling-based approaches. More importantly, our Regional Crop Yield Estimation System can be run daily beginning in mid-June."

J&H Consulting recently licensed its nitrogen model to a large agricultural seed company and is in talks with another large company interested in licensing its fertilizer recommendations library. J&H Consulting is also seeking collaborative development and licensing opportunities with other interested companies.

J&H Consulting is a member of the Purdue Startup Class of 2016, and licensed its technologies through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.

For more information, contact J&H Consulting through Joern or Hess by email at brad@jandhconsulting.com or phil@jandhconsulting.com.

About J&H Consulting of West Lafayette LLC

Co-founded by Purdue agronomy professor Brad C. Joern and Purdue applications analyst programmer Philip J. Hess, J&H Consulting of West Lafayette, LLC develops and licenses agricultural software tools that help farmers and agribusiness improve crop yield forecasting, nutrient management and environmental protection.

About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org

Media contact: Curt Slyder, 765-558-3342, caslyder@prf.org

Sources: Brad C. Joern, brad@jandhconsulting.com

Philip J. Hess, phil@jandhconsulting.com