California-based ClimateAi has developed a sophisticated tool designed to streamline the use of Growing Degree Days (GDD) in agriculture, a metric essential for predicting crop growth stages like germination, flowering, and harvest. This initiative comes in response to the challenges farmers and food companies face when attempting to translate GDD data into actionable insights, often relying on cumbersome spreadsheets and manual calculations.
“When we were talking to customers, it became clear that GDD was a meaningful pain point, with one saying that if you can get me off my Excel spreadsheet, I’ll be a customer for life,” said Will Kletter, COO of ClimateAi, in an interview with AgFunderNews. The company’s first step was to visualize GDD accumulation through detailed graphs and field maps, providing daily updates specific to crop varieties and locations. The next phase involved evaluating whether “agentic AI” could evolve the tool from automated monitoring to proactive action-oriented assistance.
Growing Degree Days are calculated by tracking the number of days that exceed a particular temperature threshold, providing an estimate for critical agricultural events such as flowering, fruiting, and harvest. While more GDDs generally indicate quicker plant growth, rapid accumulation can lead to premature maturation and stress. Historical GDD data also assists in predicting optimal harvest periods, though climate change is complicating the reliability of such averages.
The significance of accurately forecasting harvest times extends beyond farmers; processing facilities need to coordinate effectively to handle incoming crops. Kletter noted that “in the case of a frozen vegetables customer, they’re trying to figure out how many peas might come to the factory on a truck on a given day, and whether they have the right capacity to get these peas frozen at the peak of freshness and nutrition.” This need for precision has driven ClimateAi to offer trial periods, resulting in over 20 signups following a recent webinar.
One client operates a software platform that manages contracts with growers, detailing field names, crop types, and planting volumes. Previously reliant on spreadsheets, they now utilize ClimateAi’s platform, which automates the calculations and forecasts when crops will reach various growth stages. This includes an analysis of incoming truck loads, forecasting how many will arrive at processing facilities on specific days.
ClimateAi’s platform also incorporates crop-specific risk alerts triggered by adverse weather events, further enhancing its utility in planning. Originally focused on long-range weather forecasting, the company has shifted its attention towards firms that source agricultural commodities from a multitude of fields. Kletter mentioned a growing trend in the food industry, where procurement and sustainability teams are merging, recognizing climate as a crucial factor in business operations.
“The key question now is how does this become deeply integrated into our customers’ day-to-day workflows?” Kletter explained. Over the past year, the demand for quick deployment of AI tools has surged. While this has prompted the hiring of new talent, it has also enabled existing experts at ClimateAi to leverage AI-assisted coding tools, allowing data scientists to adopt software engineering roles.
Regarding the platform’s AI capabilities, Kletter stated that users can train their own “AI agronomy agent.” This allows sourcing and production managers to not only be informed about potential risks, such as high rainfall during planting, but also to receive actionable recommendations on how to respond. Customers appreciate the platform’s detailed reports but also value concise, understandable summaries that highlight essential information and suggested actions.
When questioned about the company’s profitability, Kletter remarked, “Investing in our technical team to stay competitive on AI has become more important than being immediately profitable, and we’re OK with that as long as the unit economics of the business remain favorable.” As ClimateAi continues to enhance its technology, its focus on embedding climate intelligence into agricultural practices stands to transform how farmers and food companies approach crop management and risk mitigation in an era of increasing climate unpredictability.
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