How Emergent Connext Brings Internet to the Field Edge
Mike Roudi, CEO of Emergent Connext, joined CropLife Editor Lara Sowinski for a Fireside Chat at the 2025 Tech Hub LIVE in Des Moines, IA.
At Tech Hub LIVE 2025 in July, where agtech innovation took center stage, one theme resonated throughout the conference: the importance of foundational infrastructure. Amid conversations about interoperability, IoT, and the latest smart farming tools, the final Fireside Chat of the event featured Mike Roudi, CEO of Emergent Connext, who reminded the audience of a simple truth — none of the promise of agtech matters without reliable connectivity.
“Ag operates in rural markets by definition,” Roudi said. “There are profound coverage gaps. Some farms are fine, but the vast majority don’t have internet access where they work — on the farm.”
Roudi, a veteran of the telecom industry, is bringing his deep knowledge of connectivity to agriculture through Emergent Connext, a new company building wireless networks specifically designed for rural areas. The core of their solution lies in LoRa and LoRaWAN networks, a wireless technology that offers long range and low power consumption — two essential qualities for agricultural environments.
“Unlike expensive cellular networks, LoRa has two key benefits,” Roudi explained. “First, long range — our radios or gateways can talk to smart devices 15 to 20 miles away, especially in flat areas like the Midwest. Second, low power — devices on our network can have a battery life of 6, 7, even 8 years.”
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The simplicity and efficiency of LoRa-based infrastructure can be a game changer in rural environments where running electricity to every device or installing costly solar setups is not practical. “Think about a typical farm — you can’t run extension cords out to the middle of thousands of acres,” said Roudi.
Emergent doesn’t stop at building networks. The company also offers what Roudi calls “curated smart farming and precision ag solutions,” all supported by a custom-built platform called FieldVision, which allows farmers to monitor key aspects of their operation in real time.
While many agtech companies aim to disrupt agriculture with cutting-edge tools, Roudi emphasizes the need to start with practical, tangible use cases. “We always say, ‘Don’t try to sell 85 sensors. Solve one problem.’ Once the farmer says, ‘Hey, what about this? ’— that’s when you’ve got them.”
Read more at CropLife.
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