Smaller farms simply can’t afford to install dozens of sensors—yet that’s been the only way to get detailed insights. These sensors are pricey, fragile, and often don’t survive the season. Although sensor-free farming has been discussed in scientific literature, it’s never made it to the real world.

Here, I decided to do something radical: Opt for a sensor-optional solution.

Across interviews and surveys, I kept hearing the same thing: farmers could access plenty of metrics like evapotranspiration and pest pressure—but didn’t know what to do with them. Numbers were everywhere, but guidance was nowhere. The real need? Clear, actionable advice tailored to their fields, like “adjust irrigation by 20 minutes” or “apply soil treatment here.” Whoever bridges the gap between data and decisions with simple, trusted steps will earn farmers’ trust and adoption.

In every interview, cost came up. One farmer told me she skipped trying an agtech tool because the subscription would eat into her fertilizer budget for the season. Another couldn’t afford repairs when their sensor system broke mid-harvest. For small- to mid-sized farms on razor-thin margins, this is normal. The opportunity? Build a solution that respects those limits—no hidden fees, no costly hardware, and clear value from day one.

When I asked farmers what kept them from using the agtech tools they’d already paid for, most talked about feeling overwhelmed. One grower, 68, said he gave up on a dashboard after three logins because he couldn’t figure out how to set up his field zones. Another said the interface felt like “Excel threw up.” With 32% of the surveyed farmers over 65 and only 35% holding a college degree, the opportunity is in removing friction. That means zero-setup onboarding, interfaces that show only what’s needed, and agtech that doesn’t assume a background in data science by meeting farmers where they are instead of expecting them to catch up.