2009 Precision Agriculture Legacy Award

With customers in 42 U.S. states and 22 countries, SST Software has come a long way since its founder, David Waits, traded in his university life for entrepreneurship in 1994.

Waits has brought a unique approach to precision farming, with experience and knowledge in the fields of agriculture, geography, and land management. He farmed in southwestern Kansas for 10 years, and taught university-level GIS and Remote Sensing as a professor at Oklahoma State University for five years. He holds a Ph.D. in Land Use Planning and Management from Texas Tech University, and two degrees from Oklahoma State University: a Master’s degree in Geography and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Waits is a charismatic and intriguing leader that has gained much respect and admiration from employees, business partners, and customers through the years. Many former GIS students of his at Oklahoma State University chose to work for him at SST Software and have remained employees for 15 years. In 2005, Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) recognized Waits for his outstanding service. The award honors those who have made significant professional or educational contributions in areas involving agriculture, engineering or technology.

Throughout his career, Waits has pushed for the adoption of precision agriculture techniques that enable better site-specific crop and land management. But his main goal is to present a better way of managing the data that comes out of precision agriculture hardware and software. He has spent his entire career overseeing the development of the world’s best agriculture information management system, making it much easier for fewer people to manage many more acres of land. Products developed under Waits’ leadership include SSToolbox, SST Summit and SST Stratus, and FarmRite.