Student's fertigation startup awarded first Husker Venture Fund investment

Members of the Husker Venture Fund (HVF), a student-led venture capital fund, awarded their debut investment of $25,000 to startup Sentinel Fertigation and its founder Jackson Stansell. Stansell is a past-DWFI supported student and a current doctoral student in biological systems engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A partnership between the College of Business and Invest Nebraska, the HVF seeks to bridge the funding gap that early-stage startups in Nebraska often experience.

Sentinel Fertigation looks to solve profitability and environmental sustainability issues in agriculture caused by inefficient nitrogen fertilization. By using technologies to improve nitrogen applications in the field, the startup saves farmers money while also being more environmentally conscious. Stansell plans to use the investment for further web application development, helping his ag-tech startup deal with extraneous costs and potentially add more features.

During his time as a DWFI-supported student, Stansell's research focused on using multispectral imagery to inform fertigation decisions in corn production systems with the goal of improving growers' financial outcomes and reducing environmental impacts of irrigated corn production. Much of his early research played an integral role in the ultimate founding of Sentinel Fertigation.