EarthOptics, a soil data measurement and mapping company, announced today that the company has appointed Colin Steen, industry leader in agribusiness and venture capital investing, to its board of directors.
This board appointment will support the EarthOptics mission to expand use of the company’s proprietary soil mapping technology for increased agricultural yields and soil carbon measurement for carbon market acceleration. It will also provide valuable leadership to propel the company into the next stage of growth.
Colin Steen is the CEO at Legacy Agripartners based in Minneapolis. He has had a life-long career in agriculture and more than 20 years of experience developing go-to-market strategies and successful venture capital investment endeavors.
Steen brings extensive expertise in identifying and strengthening multi-channel marketing partners and resources for global expansion and developing high performance, agile teams able to deliver on aggressive goals.
“The sensor and machine learning technology from EarthOptics to create accurate data maps and measure soil carbon with precision is the first of its kind,” says Steen. “I look forward to bringing these comprehensive insights to more growers, landowners, suppliers and food companies.”
Steen has vast production agriculture experience in Canada and the U.S. Since joining Legacy Agripartners in 2020, Steen helped the sale of the firm to Tillridge Global Agribusiness Partners and recently acquired the assets of TriCal Superior Forage in July 2022. His previous experience includes being the managing director and head of operations for Syngenta Ventures, managing the Golden Harvest business in the Midwest and running the NK Seeds business for Syngenta.
Steen grew up on a grain and cattle farm in Weldon, Saskatchewan, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan and an MBA from the University of Guelph.
“Colin brings vast knowledge and experience to the table as a senior leader,” says EarthOptics CEO, Lars Dyrud. “He’s been engaged with EarthOptics since our founding in December of 2018. I am excited to build upon our strong relationship and work closely together to make intelligent soil data accessible on a large scale.”
