CHOTEAU - 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.
“This is a cool way to apply science to farming,” Weist said.
Farmtech aims to optimize a farmer’s operation via soil imagery and crop health, but it does more than give you the data.
“(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,” Weist said.
Farmtech’s growth meant Weist needed to add a programmer to his team, which is a tall order in north-central Montana.
“Finding someone you can call or text and have dinner with and can write software is pretty unique in this world,” Weist said.
Chicago native and new Choteau resident David Cimbalista fit the bill.
“The reason I found David is he sold 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,” Weist said.
Cimbalista moved to Montana with loads of programming know-how, but little to no agriculture knowledge.
“I probably didn’t know the difference between a tractor and a combine,” Cimbalista said.
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.
“I love just figuring things out and being able to do things I’ve never done before,” Cimbalista said.
The partnership has only been working together for about a year, and they are already yielding great results.
“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,” Cimbalista said.
The pair hope Farmtech will be serving over one million acres in the next few years.
“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, it's gonna save them a lot of money, produce more yield for them,” Cimbalista said.
It is a perfect partnership that almost never happened. And for Farmtech, the sky is the limit.
“There’s really cool stuff out there you can build, and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Cimbalista said.
“These farmers need every advantage they can get, and technology is one that can definitely help them...for sure,” Weist said.
You can learn more about Farmtech by clicking here.
