Agricultural tech start-up aims to provide a revolutionary system for planting commercial vegetables.

(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) July 15, 2021 – Eden Concepts, an agricultural technology start-up company, announced today it was awarded a $256,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  The grant will enable Eden to design, develop, test and deliver a product to reduce labor and production costs for commercial vegetable, flower, and specialty crop growers. 

“Commercial vegetable growers face major production issues with labor availability being a key issue,” said Eden Concepts founder Walter Cromer. “Our goal is to develop a system that eliminates the planting labor component, improves soil health, and reduces the use of fossil fuels on a farm.  We are extremely grateful that NSF has recognized the potential of our solution and chose to provide us with this funding for key product R&D.”

To achieve its objective, Eden Concepts will develop simulation models of the innovation and then design, build, and field-test a prototype over the next year.   The system will eliminate the expensive and labor-consuming transplant process.  The autonomous system will not require any human operators.  It will weigh as much as 75% less than the conventional transplanting system, reducing soil compaction and contributing to improved soil health.  And the all-electric system will eliminate the use of on-farm fossil fuels in the planting process.  When commercially deployed, the envisioned system can be used by vegetable, flower, medicinal herb, and specialty crop growers worldwide.

Design, development, and testing will occur over the next 18 months, with the delivery of the first units after that.  Producers who wish to be part of the product development process can contact Eden Concepts directly at walterc@edenconceptsllc.com or by phone at 865-719-5327.

“SBIR programs are extremely competitive, so we feel fortunate to be awarded this grant from NSF and our SBIR grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture last year. In addition, we are very grateful to LaunchTN for their support through their microgrant program to assist with our grant writing efforts.   Tennessee is a great place for startups.  These grants provide the resources we need to develop this innovative technology, and the vote of confidence from these organizations is encouraging.” said Cromer.

About Eden Concepts
At Eden Concepts LLC, we are working to change the way farmers produce vegetables. Our first products focus on a revolutionary precision system that prepares and plants germinated seeds to replace growing and transplanting seedlings. Save time and energy on your farm with our system! Connect with us on our website: edenconceptsllc.com or through LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the NSF’s Small Business Programs

America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. For more information, visit seedfund.nsf.gov.