Agrimetrics was launched in 2015 as a flagship of the UK government’s £140 million Agri-Tech Strategy, backed by £11.8 million in initial funding. Its mission: to create a trusted, national agricultural data platform to integrate farm-level insights and drive productivity, sustainability, and food security.
But despite tens of millions in public investment, the platform never materialised. Instead, Agrimetrics pivoted toward consultancy services, a move that failed to generate sufficient revenue. By 2024, the organisation was fully commercially funded, and when government grants dried up in March 2025, it ceased independent operations.
Professor Tina Barsby, a leading British crop scientist, calls this a profound missed opportunity and a lack of accountability for taxpayers. “We wanted a farm data platform everyone could contribute to, that was publicly funded and open. That never happened. We’re now 10 years behind countries like the US, the Netherlands, and New Zealand,” she told AgTechNavigator.
Critics question the return on public investment
UK plant science expert Dr Julian Little echoes Barsby’s concerns, noting that the original vision was to create a national farm data platform that would make UK agri-tech a cornerstone of sustainability and economic growth. “I’m scratching my head about where we went wrong,” he said. “Tens of millions have been spent with very little to show for it.”
The lack of transparency surrounding Trinity’s acquisition has also raised eyebrows. “No one knew anything about the Trinity exercise,” Barsby added. “There was literally no transparency.”
Trinity’s case for optimism
For Trinity AgTech, however, the deal represents a strategic leap forward. The company will integrate Agrimetrics’ satellite analytics into its Sandy platform, combining Earth observation data with soil tests, LiDAR, and farmer inputs to deliver near real-time insights on crop performance, soil health, biodiversity, and carbon assets.
Dr Hosein Khajeh-Hosseiny, Trinity’s founder and executive chairman, frames the acquisition as a win for UK and global agri-tech. “This passing of the torch from Agrimetrics to Trinity AgTech is a win for UK and global agri-tech,” he said. “We’re ensuring the UK’s investment and immense expertise in satellite analytics will carry on and scale up,” Agrimetrics had “fantastic” technology, leadership and scientists, he told AgTechNavigator, but lacked the bandwidth to commercialise.
“We can provide a much more robust, comprehensive offering and support to the industry than it could have ever done on its own.”
David Flanders, Agrimetrics’ director, agrees: “We set out to turn complex Earth observation science into practical tools that people on the ground can trust. This acquisition means the technology will not only live on but reach even more end-users in farming and environmental management in the UK and beyond, exactly what we always hoped for.”
What happens to the rest of Agrimetrics’ data?
While the acquisition secures the future of Agrimetrics’ satellite analytics, unanswered questions remain. How much did Trinity pay? What happens to the rest of Agrimetrics’ data assets? And does this mark the end of any hope for a UK-wide, open farm data platform?
For now, the deal is being seen as both a lifeline and a lament – a passing of the torch that saves a decade of innovation from fading away, but also a stark reminder of a national ambition that never materialised.
