Immediately following the release of its 5-year plan to significantly increase its investment in autonomous ag technologies, Raven Industries acted on that strategic plan with the acquisition of 2 independent autonomous companies.

Raven Industries (NASDAQ:RAVN) isn’t wasting any time in getting its recently announced strategic plan to invest in autonomous farming technology off the ground. The company announced that is has acquired Smart Ag Inc., a technology company that develops autonomous farming solutions for agriculture.

Raven Industries Inc. has announced details of its strategic plan, which include a significantly increased level of investment in targeted areas in order to drive greater earnings growth and long term value. Over the next several years, the company will advance two strategic platforms for growth: Raven Autonomy and Raven Composites.

Raven Industries, developer and distributor of precision farming and other specialty equipment and systems, reported  net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 were $98.2 million, down 11.7% vs. the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

Raven Industries announced today that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of AgSync, headquartered in Wakarusa, Ind. This acquisition will immediately align under the company’s Applied Technology division.

With the Slingshot API, a partner like Topcon Ag is able to provide data through a wireless connection with compatible Raven hardware in the field and offer a seamless integration of their solution to their customers.

Over the past few months, Seedmaster Mfg. and sister company Dot Technology Corp. finalized the hiring process for new corporate leadership. Leah Olsen, who also serves as president of the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada, will serve as CEO, while Jeffery Bourasa will bring 15 years of Saskatchewan-based finance and leadership experience into the CFO role.

The Raven Precision Agriculture Center will bring agronomy, engineering and computer science disciplines under one roof, where students and faculty can collaborate, conduct research and innovate.

As ag technology hardware and service providers continue to align, one of the latest collaborations was announced last week with Winnipeg-based Farmers Edge announcing a partnership with Raven Industries, based in Sioux Falls, S.D.