Observant is now part of Rivulis!

We are pleased to announce the merger of Jain Irrigation’s International Business (Observant’s parent company) and Rivulis (Manna Irrigation’s parent company). The merged company, Rivulis, will be a global micro irrigation leader, backed by two strong, long-term shareholders – Temasek and Jain Irrigation, and focused on transforming agricultural irrigation through both traditional products and Smart Farming solutions.

As part of the merger, Observant, Jain Logic and Manna Irrigation are joining to become one company under the name Manna Irrigation.

Existing users of Observant can still expect the same products and services as before, and will gradually have access to additional capabilities over time.

We aim to become a global leader in irrigation management, providing solutions for monitoring, decision support and irrigation automation. We believe that integrating Observant, Jain Logic and Manna will bolster the offering to achieve that goal.

Through the merger of the teams and the combination of in-field data and automation from Observant, crop modelling and analytics from Jain Logic, and remote sensing from Manna, growers and our business partners will benefit from an integrated irrigation management approach. This includes crop monitoring, irrigation monitoring, forecasting, irrigation and farm operation decision support, and remote control and automation. As growers have different needs, we will offer the ability to select the right solution for their unique needs through a multi-tiered offering. Now, even more than before we are committed to:

Business continuity: We will continue to fully support the solutions that growers and business partners have come to rely upon and to provide the high-quality service that you are used to.

Wider Irrigation Management offering: Growers and business partners around the world will benefit from an extensive product and solution offering, combining local & remote sensing technologies, decision support & automation. Together, we combine years of experience and know-how to develop and to support irrigation management technology.

Committed to the mission: Through this merger, we will continue our pursuit to promote sustainable farming, by providing advanced irrigation intelligence tools to improve water use efficiency and increased yield.

Pasha Greenstein will continue to lead the Australian operations of Observant. Israel based Hovav Lapidot will be the CEO of the merged operation.

Jain Acquires Observant Technology — Strengthens Global Commitment to Precision Irrigation

• Observant technology, capabilities and core team join global Precision Irrigation leader.

• Acquisition furthers Jain’s leadership by extending field monitoring and control capabilities and enhancing data-based decision-support tools.

FRESNO, CA – Jain Irrigation, Inc., (“Jain”), today announced that it has acquired the technology and core team of Australian Observant Pty Ltd, (“Observant”). Observant is a world leader in providing in-field hardware and cloud based applications for precision farm water management.The acquisition will combine Observant’s broad field monitoring and control technology with Jain’s global irrigation manufacturing and precision agriculture technology platform to provide farmers with a broad suite of capabilities to increase crop yields while, at the same time, responsibly and profitably manage limited resources.  

“Technology and innovation are core focus areas for Jain” said Aric Olson, President of Jain Irrigation, Inc. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to access the best technology in the industry with Observant, a globally recognized Ag Tech leader. The award winning Observant product line is ready to scale to the tremendous global market that the Jain company services. With Jain’s backing, farmers will have access to the best technology and the backing of a 30-year-old company with 11,000 associates.” 

“In combination with our complementary products technologies from the United States, Australia, India, and Israel, we have unmatched capabilities to help farmers deliver on our promise of ‘More Crop per Drop’”, said Anil Jain, Managing Director of Jain Irrigation Systems Limited. 

Observant was founded in 2003 by Simon Holmes à Court and Matthew Pryor with a mission to transform agricultural water management through the application of innovative technology with practical farm-ready solutions. As early pioneers in Ag Tech, Observant helped to establish the market that exists today for precision farm water management. With more than 5,000 connected devices in the field, and operations in Australia and the USA, Observant is recognized as a leader in the field. 

"We are delighted with the opportunities this acquisition brings" said Simon Holmes à Court, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Observant. “Observant has taken a ‘no-compromise’ approach to developing and delivering farm-ready technology to help optimize agricultural input costs and increase productivity. We’re immensely proud of what we’ve built over the past 14 years and excited by where Jain will take us.” 

"Precision water management is a global opportunity, and by combining our technical leadership with Jain’s global scale and reach, more farmers will have access to the technologies required to meet the food challenges of the 21st century." Matthew Pryor added. 

Co-founder J. Matthew Pryor will take the role of Australian CEO and CTO. Simon Holmes à Court will continue a relationship with Observant in an advisory capacity. Fennebresque & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor and Norton Gledhill as legal advisor to Observant. Ice Miller and Corrs Chambers Westgarth provided legal advice to Jain. 

About Jain Irrigation (www.jains.com, www.jainsusa.com) 

Jain is a fully integrated global food / plant production company recognized by Harvard Business to be one of five global sustainability champions, and the G-20 for lifting people out of poverty. Our irrigation manufacturing capabilities include everything from behind the pump to the flush valve at the end of the lateral and everything in between including drip irrigation. We lead the industry in manufacturing technology, owning both our extrusion and mold manufacturing equipment providers. Jain leads plant science research globally across a variety of food crops and is staffed with some of the world’s leading research scientists. With the Gandhi Library, Jain now houses the leading collection of the world’s best plant science knowledge in a single facility. Our agronomic knowledge is integrated from our world class tissue culture operations through our food processing businesses. We research, educate, advance, manufacture, finance, propagate plants, and purchase produce for processing all in an effort to fulfill the Jain mission, “leave this world better than you found it.”

DISCLAIMER: 

The information in this release has been included in good faith and is for general purposes only. It should not be relied upon for any specific purpose and no representation or warranty is given as regards to its accuracy or completeness. No information in this press release shall constitute an invitation to invest in Jain Irrigation Systems Limited. Neither Jain Irrigation Systems Limited, nor their or their affiliates' officers, employees or agents shall be liable for any loss, damage or expense arising out of any action taken on the basis of this release, including, without limitation, any loss of profit, indirect, incidental or consequential loss.

CEO Jim Chambers and CTO Matthew Pryor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – February 8, 2016 – Observant™, a worldwide leader in precision water-management solutions for agriculture, has announced the appointment of James A. Chambers as global Chief Executive Officer. Current CEO and co-founder, J. Matthew Pryor, will focus on the new role of Chief Technology Officer for the company.

Chambers brings an impressive list of business success stories to Observant.  Most recently he served as Director of Marketing for Bayer CropScience, where he implemented dynamic new strategies for Bayer’s $2+ billion portfolio of products. He had previously held a number of key leadership positions with John Deere Water, including Director of Global Product Management and Marketing.

Observant co-founder Pryor was instrumental in establishing and growing the company’s presence in the U.S. and Australia. His transition from CEO to CTO represents an important step in the company’s increasing emphasis on technological superiority. Observant has thrived under his executive leadership, and Pryor’s expertise and passion for innovation and technology strategy make him the ideal choice as CTO.

“It’s a tremendous coup for Observant to bring Jim Chambers onboard,” Pryor said. “For more than two decades, Jim has achieved outstanding success with every position he’s held – especially in water management – and we’re excited about what he can bring to Observant and how he can build on our momentum.”

Observant provides industry-leading, water-management solutions that increase productivity and profitability for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural customers. Using precise, real-time monitoring and automated control of available water resources, Observant helps growers optimize their operations. Whether that means better distribution of water and nutrients to a crop’s root zone, reduced runoff, improved crop protection or a range of other other benefits, the result is enhanced production and profit, and the smarter use of water.

“Matthew Pryor has a talent for identifying market needs and developing innovative and practical technology solutions,” Chambers said. “With the proven products Observant offers and the global leadership team we have in place now, the industry can expect even bigger and better things from us regarding the intelligent and efficient use of water.”

About Observant:

Observant is a world leader in providing in-field hardware and cloud based applications for precision farm water management. Recognizing the vital role of water in all aspects of farming, Observant provides innovative, yet simple solutions built for farmers with a focus on reliable, long term operation. Since the introduction of the revolutionary Observant C1 in 2004, Observant has maintained a relentless focus on driving agricultural productivity through the practical application of technology.

For more information about Observant, visit observant.net or call (877) 730-0700.

Observant Lends Support to Farm Data Integration

Sacramento CA – July 24, 2015 – Observant®, a leader in agricultural field data collection and automation, announced today the availability of its first implementation of an API based on Open Ag Data Alliance (OADA) standards. Observant’s OADA based API provides secure access to data managed on the Observant Global™ cloud management platform. Field level data collected by Observant’s award winning hardware can be accessed by other applications via the API, under the complete control of the grower.

“With a growing range of agricultural data management and analytics applications supporting OADA, growers are in complete control of how their data is shared.”, said Aaron Ault, of the Open Ag Data Alliance. “We have worked hard to make the standards powerful and practical to encourage the development of an entire ecosystem of interoperable tools to drive agricultural productivity.”

Observant now offers great added value to their customers by supporting OADA. “Interoperability is a vital part of getting the most from technology in agriculture. Observant is very clear that growers own their data, and our job is to securely collect and manage it on their behalf, only sharing what is specifically allowed by them.”,said J. Matthew Pryor, CEO of Observant. “The Open Ag Data Alliance provides an excellent framework for sharing that will foster the development of a marketplace of best-in-class solutions that growers can use to perform the tasks they need done. Observant makes the most reliable field hardware available, and we look forward to being part of an open and interoperable future for agriculture.”

ABOUT OBSERVANT.

Observant is an award winning company that combines reliable field deployed hardware with full featured cloud-based software that delivers growers comprehensive irrigation and water management capabilities on an open extensible platform. 

For more information, see www.observant.net or call 877-730-0700

For any questions please contact Observant Support or speak with your Dealer Network Manager.