Dan Aberhart chats with Preston Marthey of CropX, a precision ag expert specializing in soil sensors and water management. Preston shares insights on RTK GPS, data-driven farming, and the evolution of ag tech. He emphasizes precision ag as an investment, not an expense, and highlights the importance of balancing innovation and support in ag startups. 📩 Contact Preston: Preston@pmwmc.com | 📞 +1 (870) 819-7151
Preston Marthey works with farmers who have stopped guessing at what their soil needs between the lab report and harvest. Most fertility programs are built on snapshots. The field is doing something different every week.
CropX puts sensors in the ground and streams what is happening: moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity, at depth, in real time. Preston's work is translating that data into decisions producers can act on the same day.
This is the conversation about what that looks like in practice.
What's Inside
- Why point-in-time soil tests miss the variability that costs farmers yield
- What real-time soil sensing actually measures and what to do with it
- How producers are using in-season data to adjust fertilizer and irrigation timing
- The difference between a field that guesses and a field that knows
- What it takes to get started with precision soil sensing and where the ROI shows up first
00:00 Welcome to Growing the Future Podcast
02:25 Introducing Today's Guest: Preston Marthey
03:12 Preston's Early Journey in Agriculture
06:23 Technological Shifts in Precision Agriculture
09:39 Generational Wisdom and Business Evolution
13:15 Challenges and Innovations in Water Management
26:39 Balancing Family and Work in Agriculture
31:38 The Art and Science of Land Forming
47:04 Balancing Simplicity and Precision in Farming
47:28 The Impact of OptiSurface on Land Leveling
48:10 Challenges and Solutions in Soil Management
50:14 Regional Differences in Agricultural Practices
53:33 The Importance of Precision Investment
55:17 Nutrient Management and Technology Integration
01:10:06 Mentorship and Personal Growth in Agriculture
01:27:40 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Related Episodes
- Your Soil Type Is Costing You Yield -- Greg Patterson on fertility planning and the variable the handbooks skip
- Before You Spray: 3 Things That Could Cost You Money This Season (May 2026) -- timing and what the field actually needs
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