Our Mission
Better Earth Agronomy improves farm soil health for higher crop yields on a healthier planet.
Soil plays a key role in almost every farm on Earth. Healthy soils make farms more productive by feeding crops, managing water, and fighting disease. The Earth's four billion cropland acres need to feed 10 billion people by 2050, and this unprecedented challenge makes soil health a top priority for 21st century agriculture.
Healthy soil also improves our environment. Soils play an enormous environmental role by regulating nitrogen use and carbon flow. Healthy soils can control the environmental impact of agricultural fertilization and help mitigate greenhouse gasses.
The technologies to optimize soil health are just starting to become available. Advances in DNA sequencing, metagenomics, systems biology, and artificial intelligence are finally allowing us to cost-effectively acquire enough data to understand the complex soil environment and ecology. Better Earth Agronomy is at the leading edge of this effort to acquire these insights and harness them to help farmers.
Founders
Joe Levine, PhD
Co-founder and CEO
Joe is a systems and synthetic biology expert, especially in soil bacteria. Joe earned a PhD in Computation and Neural Systems from Caltech, advised by Dr. Michael Elowitz. He previously graduated from MIT with degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering.
Matt Meyerowitz
Co-founder and President
Matt is a Duke graduate with research experience in algal biofuels strain development and gut microbiome research. He previously led the product development and innovation group at Soylent.