{ 0:00 }
OK, so get this right, we’re diving into AI again, but no self driving cars or robots this time we’re talking AI pest control.

Speaker 2: { 0:10 }
Oh wow.

Speaker 1: { 0:11 }
Yeah. And let me tell you, the implications are are huge, especially for those you know, keeping up with all the latest AG tech.

Speaker 2: { 0:17 }
Right.

Speaker 1: { 0:18 }
So we’re doing a deep dive into scoutlabs, this company that’s that’s making waves, you know, claiming to build this, this huge, the world’s densest network of digital pest traps.

Speaker 2: { 0:28 }
Really. Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 0:30 }
Pretty cool stuff.

Speaker 2: { 0:31 }
It’s interesting, isn’t it, How we usually, you know, think about dealing with pests. It’s all kind of manual time consuming.

Speaker 1: { 0:38 }
Yeah, and, and not always precise, exactly like we’re sending somebody out there walking through fields, right, checking traps one by one. It’s it’s like the Stone Age of pest control.

Speaker 2: { 0:47 }
Yeah, and that’s, that’s where scoutlabs comes in. I’m trying to change things up, right, right. Using technology to really upend this, this practice. And it’s not just about, you know, catching pests.

{ 0:57 }
It’s about giving farmers this real time detailed picture of what’s happening.

Speaker 1: { 1:01 }
So instead of just reacting when they see a problem, they can get ahead of it.

Speaker 2: { 1:05 }
Exactly.

Speaker 1: { 1:06 }
That’s got to be, I mean, that’s that’s a game changer, especially when you think about every decision, you know, about pesticide use. Absolutely. It all matters, right? Yeah, yeah. For the bottom line, the environment.

Speaker 2: { 1:16 }
100% and they’re not just targeting these big farms either. scoutlabs is making it a point to be, you know, accessible to all sizes. Oh wow, even claiming to to really slash labor costs like up to 80% Eighty.

Speaker 1: { 1:32 }
Percent. So you’re talking like if you’re a farmer spending, let’s just say, you know, $10,000 a year on traditional pest control. Yeah, Scott Levs is saying we can get that down to $2000.

Speaker 2: { 1:43 }
Yeah, potentially, yeah.

Speaker 1: { 1:45 }
That’s huge. Yeah. OK, so, so big savings. But what’s the secret sauce? What’s the technology?

Speaker 2: { 1:50 }
So it all starts with their solar powered digital traps. OK, these traps, they’re strategically placed throughout a field, right?

{ 1:57 }
And, and they’re not your average traps, you know, they’re decked out with cameras and some really clever AI.

Speaker 1: { 2:02 }
So it’s not just about catching, it’s about identifying too. Yeah, yeah. How does that work? The AI part?

Speaker 2: { 2:07 }
So think like image recognition, but for bugs, right? So the AI has been trained on all these insect images and it can now identify different species really accurately. So when a bug you know gets caught on that sticky surface, the camera takes a picture and the AI gets to work.

Speaker 1: { 2:27 }
So it’s like having like a little entomologist at every single trap. 204 Seven No coffee breaks needed.

Speaker 2: { 2:34 }
No coffee breaks, and all that data is, you know, beamed right to the farmer’s smartphone or computer.

Speaker 1: { 2:39 }
No more like handwritten notes or trying to remember what happened last week exactly. OK, so they log into their app. What are they seeing? What kind of information?

Speaker 2: { 2:47 }
So they can see which pests have been detected, the exact locations, even population density. Wow.

Speaker 1: { 2:53 }
Yeah, so they can pinpoint exactly when and where to take.

Speaker 2: { 2:56 }
Action.

Speaker 1: { 2:57 }
No more just blanket spraying the entire field.

Speaker 2: { 2:59 }
Exactly, that’s the idea.

Speaker 1: { 3:01 }
That’s incredible. Talk about like precision targeting. This is like the difference between using like a shotgun and a laser beam. And less pesticide use, obviously better for the environment.

Speaker 2: { 3:12 }
Absolutely. Sustainability is key here, you know.

Speaker 1: { 3:14 }
So this all sounds incredible in theory, but what about in practice? Are are farmers really adopting this this high tech approach?

Speaker 2: { 3:24 }
Yeah, and scoutlabs has some, you know, farmer testimonials on their.

Speaker 1: { 3:27 }
Website I love a good success. Yeah, what are they saying?

Speaker 2: { 3:30 }
So 1 farmer William Stern, he was raving about the accuracy. He was saying it’s it’s amazing to know exactly which fields need that treatment. Wow. And it allows him to be much more strategic with his pesticide use.

Speaker 1: { 3:44 }
That’s huge, Yeah. Not just for his crops, but for, you know, for everything, for the environment. Yeah, absolutely. It’s like giving giving him X-ray vision for his fields, but instead of seeing bones, he’s seeing pests. Exactly. That’s great. And and.

Speaker 2: { 3:58 }
Then you have Barbara Tilley.

{ 3:59 }
She runs a smaller farm, and for her, the affordability was key, right? She said before scoutlabs, this kind of technology just wasn’t even an option.

Speaker 1: { 4:07 }
That’s amazing. I I love that they’re that they’re making it accessible to, to all sizes, but I have to ask, even if it’s affordable farming, it’s a lot of work. Is it? Is it easy to?

Speaker 2: { 4:20 }
Use. Yeah, It is, It is ease of use is, is essential, you know, and it seems like they’ve really, really focused on that. scoutlabs, their website, they say, you know, installing these traps. 2 minutes, 2 minutes. Seriously.

Speaker 1: { 4:35 }
That’s what they’re saying.

Speaker 2: { 4:36 }
I it takes me longer to pick a YouTube video I think can’t be that easy.

Speaker 1: { 4:41 }
They’re saying it is, they’ve designed it to be, you know, super user friendly. So the traps they come with this pre installed SIM card. It automatically connects to the best network. So farmers don’t need to worry about, you know, right, right, setting anything up or finding the right, you know, cell plan or anything. So it’s like.

Speaker 2: { 4:58 }
Plug and play pest control.

{ 4:59 }
I like that exactly. But I am curious about the data. I mean, we talk about, you know, receiving it, but what does it look like? Are we getting like spreadsheets and graphs? No, no, no, none of that. That’s where the app, you know, really comes in. It’s all it’s presented in this, this really clear visual way. You don’t need like a data science degree to understand it. So no.

Speaker 1: { 5:21 }
Crash course in data analysis, just to see if I’ve got, you know, a bunch of weebles moving in.

Speaker 2: { 5:27 }
So you can, you can visualize, you know what’s happening, which pests are there, you know how those populations are changing over time and, and they have these real time alerts as well, right? So if there’s like a sudden like surge in pest activity.

Speaker 1: { 5:44 }
So you get like a text message like hey, field 3 aphids. Yeah, like.

Speaker 2: { 5:49 }
You might want to check this out. Yeah, yeah, something’s going on.

Speaker 1: { 5:52 }
It’s like having that 247 pest control expert.

Speaker 2: { 5:56 }
Right.

Speaker 1: { 5:56 }
But but in your pocket, you know, no more driving out there just to just to check if there’s a problem.

Speaker 2: { 6:02 }
And because the craps are solar powered, right, you don’t have to worry about batteries or wiring, right? Right. It’s very low maintenance.

Speaker 1: { 6:08 }
That’s that’s huge, I bet for farmers. This all sounds amazing. I mean, are there any, any practical, you know, questions? How do you even know how many traps you need?

Speaker 2: { 6:17 }
Yeah, so that’s where, you know, scoutlabs, they, they really work with you. So they recommend like 1 trap for say every 5 acres for most, you know, specialty crops. But but they they do offer these consultations to help you figure out what you need.

Speaker 1: { 6:35 }
So they’re not just handing you this box and saying good luck.

Speaker 2: { 6:37 }
Exactly.

Speaker 1: { 6:38 }
OK, good, good. You know, we’ve been talking a lot about the tech and all this stuff, but I’m, I’m curious about the people behind it. You know, they seem, they seem really passionate about, you know, changing this industry. It’s, it’s more than just a business, you know?

Speaker 2: { 6:53 }
Yeah, and it’s it’s interesting you say that because you know the company it was actually Co founded by Donat Posta and and he actually grew up on a family farm.

Speaker 1: { 7:02 }
Oh, so he’s not just some tech person who’s never seen like a real.

Speaker 2: { 7:06 }
Exactly. Yeah, Who’s there? And he was saying, you know, he, he saw how climate change was really, you know, right.

Speaker 1: { 7:14 }
Leading to these these more frequent pest outbreaks.

Speaker 2: { 7:16 }
Right.

Speaker 1: { 7:17 }
And and he knew like the traditional methods just weren’t cutting it.

Speaker 2: { 7:20 }
So he had to take, he had to take charge, you know, and he, from what I’ve read, he didn’t do it alone. He got a really good team together.

Speaker 1: { 7:28 }
Oh yeah, he he brought in entomologists, agronomists, engineers, data scientists.

Speaker 2: { 7:35 }
That’s the dream team right there.

Speaker 1: { 7:37 }
It really is.

Speaker 2: { 7:37 }
Having that mix of like, you know, science, agriculture and the tech.

Speaker 1: { 7:43 }
Yeah, it’s essential.

Speaker 2: { 7:44 }
To build something, something new. You know what else I like about them?

Speaker 1: { 7:48 }
What’s that?

Speaker 2: { 7:48 }
Transparency.

Speaker 1: { 7:49 }
Yeah, that’s that’s huge.

Speaker 2: { 7:51 }
Especially in agriculture, you know, Oh yeah, where trust is is a big deal. Absolutely. And and they’re not shying away from the hard questions either.

{ 7:58 }
Like they they talk about the AI accuracy head on.

Speaker 1: { 8:02 }
You know.

Speaker 2: { 8:03 }
Because you’re, you’re trusting a computer program, yeah, to identify these tiny bugs.

Speaker 1: { 8:07 }
And they’re saying, you know, they’re boasting an accuracy rate of over 93 percent, 93.

Speaker 2: { 8:12 }
Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 8:12 }
OK, that’s that’s impressive.

Speaker 2: { 8:14 }
And and they’re always improving, too.

Speaker 1: { 8:16 }
But it’s good to know they have like, you know, the entomologist double checking.

Speaker 2: { 8:20 }
Oh yeah, they have a system where the AI, you know, it does its thing, right? Identifies and then a human expert reviews the images and confirms.

Speaker 1: { 8:29 }
OK, so there is that. Oh yeah, human oversight. That makes me feel better to be.

Speaker 2: { 8:34 }
Honest. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 8:36 }
Are there are there any limitations? I mean, it can’t be perfect.

Speaker 2: { 8:39 }
Right and they’re they’re upfront about that, you know, like sometimes the cameras they they might have trouble getting a clear image maybe the traps too full there’s like debris or.

Speaker 1: { 8:49 }
I mean I guess even AI can be fooled by like a a cobweb or something.

Speaker 2: { 8:53 }
Exactly. Yeah. So it’s it’s important to, you know, to recognize those situations and and reach out if you need help.

Speaker 1: { 9:00 }
Well, that’s a good segue. What about support? Like if you if you have a question or a problem, how easy are they to get a hold of?

Speaker 2: { 9:07 }
Yeah, they’re really big on customer service, so they’ve got like you can reach them through e-mail, phone, they’ve got a whole online help center, you know, with FAQs and videos and all that good stuff.

Speaker 1: { 9:18 }
OK, that’s good. That’s good. So we covered ease of use, the data, the team, how accurate it is, support what, what else is there? I mean, is there anything else we need to know about scoutlabs?

Speaker 2: { 9:30 }
While the pricing model is kind of interesting, they they do a subscription based approach instead of, you know, just selling the traps outright. That makes sense.

Speaker 1: { 9:40 }
Yeah, especially for, you know, smaller farms or people just starting out.

Speaker 2: { 9:43 }
Exactly. Yeah, makes it more accessible.

Speaker 1: { 9:46 }
So what does that subscription get you?

Speaker 2: { 9:48 }
So that includes the trap, the data processing, access to the app, okay, the cellular connection, ongoing support.

Speaker 1: { 9:56 }
Wow. So you pay, you pay your annual fee and you don’t have to think about it.

Speaker 2: { 10:00 }
Exactly.

Speaker 1: { 10:00 }
It’s it’s like the all inclusive.

Speaker 2: { 10:02 }
That’s a good way to put it.

Speaker 1: { 10:03 }
Yeah, of pest control, but they’re not, they’re not done right. I mean, they’re constantly working on new stuff.

Speaker 2: { 10:09 }
Yeah, they’re always innovating. They’ve hinted at, you know, some future developments like pest forecasting, being able to predict outbreaks before they happen. That’s.

Speaker 1: { 10:19 }
And expanding, expanding to monitor even more, more types of pests.

Speaker 2: { 10:24 }
Exactly. It’s like they’re just getting started. I’m really.

Speaker 1: { 10:27 }
Excited. It’s.

Speaker 2: { 10:27 }
Gonna be interesting to see, yeah.

Speaker 1: { 10:29 }
scoutlabs is, it’s a really good example of how technology can, you know, it can be a good thing, you know, helping us solve these big problems.

Speaker 2: { 10:38 }
Yeah, It really shows you what technology can do, you know, right? Not just just fix problems, but like, create a better future, Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 10:47 }
Yeah, especially when you think about, you know, we got to, we got to feed everybody, right? It’s a big challenge. And and this feels like scoutlabs. I don’t know, it’s bigger than just pest control.

Speaker 2: { 10:59 }
Absolutely. I it, it makes you think about all these other things in agriculture. You know, what if farmers had this kind of information for. For everything, Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 11:08 }
Yeah, it’s like, it’s like farming is becoming as much about data as it is about, you know, the actual the soil and the seeds.

Speaker 2: { 11:16 }
That’s a good way to put it.

Speaker 1: { 11:17 }
It’s it’s pretty wild. So, so for, you know, for our listeners out there who are, who are thinking like, wow, OK, this is a lot.

Speaker 2: { 11:25 }
Yeah.

Speaker 1: { 11:26 }
What’s what’s the key take away here? What have we learned from scoutlabs?

Speaker 2: { 11:30 }
I think, you know, people hear AI, they think it’s, it’s like years away, but but it’s here, it’s happening. It’s making a difference right now.

Speaker 1: { 11:38 }
And it’s not just robots planting seeds, right? It’s it’s about like smarter decisions using, using this information, these tools to to do better.

Speaker 2: { 11:48 }
Exactly. Yeah. And and you know, Donat, the founder, we were talking about him, right, Right. He he gets it. Like he’s, he’s seeing the changes, you know, with the climate and everything.

{ 11:59 }
He’s he’s trying to get ahead of it.

Speaker 1: { 12:01 }
It’s yeah, scoutlabs is a really good example of that.

Speaker 2: { 12:04 }
It really is, yeah.

Speaker 1: { 12:05 }
Of of using using this tech to to build a a a better future, yeah.

Speaker 2: { 12:11 }
For everybody.

Speaker 1: { 12:12 }
For everybody. OK, makes you think though, what else? What else in agriculture, right? Could could AI help us with?

Speaker 2: { 12:18 }
Exactly.

Speaker 1: { 12:19 }
I mean, could we, could we predict droughts better? Right? Could we, could we make irrigation more efficient? What about like totally new crops?

Speaker 2: { 12:26 }
That’s that’s a good question, right? That’s that’s something to think about.

Speaker 1: { 12:31 }
There’s so much potential a.

Speaker 2: { 12:32 }
Lot to a lot to consider.

Speaker 1: { 12:33 }
Well, there you have it, another deep dive successfully completed.

Speaker 2: { 12:38 }
That’s right, yeah.

Speaker 1: { 12:39 }
We went from, you know, those old school pest control methods to to AI. It really is. It really is. And and up for everyone listening. You know, we’ll we’ll leave you with this. If AI can change something as, as you know, basic as protecting our food, Yeah, what else can it do, right?

Speaker 2: { 12:59 }
What else is possible?

Speaker 1: { 13:00 }
Keep thinking about those questions and we’ll see you on the next deep dive.