TerraBlaster—a startup using tech first deployed on the Mars rover to determine levels of key nutrients in the soil—has moved from concept to field-validated prototype, with commercial launch targeted by the end of 2026.
Led by agtech industry OG Jorge Heraud, TerraBlaster uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIIBS) in rugged sensors that can be dragged by a tractor or ATV through the soil at a depth of around six inches to provide detailed maps outlining levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in real time.
This can then be used to guide the more precise application of fertilizer, delivering ROI in the form of reduced input costs and increased yield, taking precision ag to a new level, says Heraud, who led precision ag at GPS/GNSS specialist Trimble before cofounding Blue River Technology—which was later acquired by John Deere for $305 million.
Following extensive testing in Iowa last year, TerraBlaster plans to test a second-generation prototype in May–June, with further validation work in the fall, says Heraud, who was approached by Impossible Sensing to build a new company deploying its LIBS technology in agriculture last year.
The initial go-to-market strategy is to sell the system to agronomists at ag retailers and soil-testing service providers.
Right now, the tech works at 5mph, a speed Heraud reckons he can double to 10mph “pretty soon.”
The limits of traditional soil sampling
The price of the hardware is still being finalized, with costs expected to come down as the device gets smaller, says Heraud. But the basic proposition to farmers is that it won’t cost more than what they currently pay for soil sampling, a slow, and labor-intensive process that lacks the granularity of TerraBlaster’s approach.
First, says Heraud, existing methods involve going into the field, taking multiple samples, mixing them, bagging them, and sending them to a lab, which returns results several days later, limiting the ability to make timely adjustments.
Second, he claims, most farmers sample at around 2.5-acre grids, which masks significant variability within a field. For example, an area that looks uniformly high in nutrients at that resolution may contain a mix of high and low zones when measured more precisely, such that farmers either over- or under-apply fertilizer, leaving yield on the table. While they could increase sampling density, he says, this quickly becomes prohibitively expensive.
In the image above, for example, the low-res version suggests the 2.5 acre plot highlighted in red is high in potassium. The more granular map provided by TerraBlaster using 1/3 acre grids shows that the plot actually contains several areas that are low in potassium.
This level of detail allows farmers to apply the correct amount needed to the newly identified low spots, leading to potential increases in yield.
Crucially, says Heraud, TerraBlaster’s information is actionable for farmers, as standard fertilizer spreading machinery enables variable rate application. “You don’t need [a more precise] see and spray type system [to capitalize on the insights from the LIBS data]. If you have a spreader that you bought maybe in the last 15 years, you can handle this.”
The Holy Grail: actionable info in real time
There are other high-tech approaches designed to assess nutrient levels in soil or plants, from Crop Diagnostix’s RNA-based crop health early-warning system, which highlights nutrient deficiencies in plants weeks before visible symptoms appear, to satellite imaging that measures vegetation levels to estimate nutrient levels.
However, these are not much use before a crop is planted, observes Heraud, adding that TerraBlaster’s system is also designed to integrate with spraying systems in real-time so that insights are immediately actionable.
“You’re getting fertilizer nutrient levels instantaneously and making fertilizer decisions [in real time]. That’s the Holy Grail.”
Initially the device would be attached to the back of a tractor or ATV, but could in future be attached to the front of a nitrogen application machine from John Deere, for example. “So you would measure maybe in the front of the tractor and then only apply the amounts needed.”
Competing soil sensing tools
Other sensing approaches, he says, are promising, but not necessarily as accurate or as granular: “We measure in parts per million.”
According to Heraud: “There are companies out there using near infrared spectroscopy [for estimating soil organic matter, moisture, and texture] but it hasn’t been very accurate [for direct measurement of NPK].
“You also have some companies using interpolation, which is a clever way of doing it [by measuring electrical conductivity or other properties in the soil that serve as proxies for nutrient levels]. But instead of measuring every two and a half acres, they measure every 10 acres, maybe.”
Scaling and deployment
TerraBlaster raised a $4 million pre-seed round backed by Khosla Ventures, fertilizer giant OCP and Trailhead capital among others last year, and is now raising a $10-15 million seed round to scale up the tech, says Heraud.
“We have a company that produces the implement for us. There are some custom electronics that we’ve created, but we have a contract manufacturer that builds the boards for us. And the rest of the components you can buy off the shelf.”
Finding farmers for testing is also somewhat easier when you’ve spent a career building relationships in the sector, he says. “It does help knowing a lot of people in the industry.”
Right now, TerraBlaster is targeting open field crops such as corn, soy, wheat and certain vegetables rather than drip-irrigated crops in which fertilizer is added to irrigation systems, as they cannot apply the level of granularity to fertilizer application to benefit from TerraBlaster’s data, he points out.
“Drip irrigation is typically done in very big zones, but I think someday if they start having a more granular way of applying fertilizer, that [using TerraBlaster] would be good.”
What is laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)?
LIBS is a sensing technique that uses a high-energy laser pulse to briefly vaporize a tiny amount of material—such as soil—creating a plasma.
As the plasma cools, it emits light at wavelengths that reveal the sample’s elemental composition.
By analyzing this spectral fingerprint, LIBS can rapidly measure nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in real time without the need for traditional lab testing, says Heraud.
“There is a little bit of AI that is used as part of that as we need to figure out if the elements are in forms that are going to be uptaken by the plant. So we calibrate to the same things that a soil lab would report, which for example in phosphorus, is something called Mehlich 3 phosphorus. We also need to calibrate to each soil type. But we’ve shown that our measurements are as accurate as a traditional soil lab.”
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