Eden Concepts has been awarded a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to design, develop, test and deliver a product to reduce labor and production costs for small and mid-sized farmers.

“Small and mid-sized farms comprise more than 95% of America’s farms, offering a variety of vegetables, flowers and specialty crops. However, these farms often do not have access to the technical or financial resources needed to boost productivity, like cost- and labor-saving innovations” said Eden Concepts founder, Walter Cromer. “Increasing productivity of all farms is an essential goal, and we are incredibly honored that the USDA recognized Eden Concepts’ expertise and passion to develop and deliver a quality product that will help farmers plant with the precision they expect while greatly reducing the energy to garner a successful yield.”

To achieve its objective, Eden Concepts will develop and test a novel device designed to greatly reduce labor and production costs for small and mid-sized farmers. The project will include the development of an innovative portable precision fluid drill for planting seeds that will improve productivity and reduce energy compared to the incumbent method of growing and planting transplants for high-value crops. The low-cost system will eliminate the expensive and labor-consuming transplant process. The system will applicable in fields, greenhouses or pots or be adapted to plant microgreens. When commercially deployed, the envisioned system can be used by vegetable, flower, medicinal herb and specialty crop growers worldwide, and this technology can also be adapted for use in larger, automated mechanical planting systems.

The product will be designed, developed, tested and delivered in three phases over the next 18  months. Small and mid-sized farmers 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.

About Eden Concepts
At Eden Concepts LLC, we are working to change the way farmers plant vegetables. Our revolutionary precision system will prepare and plant pre-germinated seeds and replace growing and transplanting seedlings. Save time and energy on your farm with our system! Connect with us on our website: http://edenconceptsllc.com/ or through LinkedIn and Instagram.