Our family met Gripp and CEO Tracey Wiedmeyer at FARMCON25 back in January. It was immediately clear that the “Gripp” tool is something farms across our country need and will want. It is a simple, clean, easy-to-use mobile app that helps bring connectivity to our equipment and overall operation without the cost of expensive hardware sensors and complicated programs. Bottom line, I think it’s simple, easy-to-use, needed, and inexpensive!
As many of you know, I’ve invested in a lot of Ag tech start-ups and have learned many lessons through the years, as I’ve lost a great deal more money than I’ve made. As I look back, too often the companies and their ideas were over-engineered, not super easy to use, and I’m not sure all that needed on the farm. In other words, I think a lot of new ag tech is often designed simply to make money for the founders and their early investors, and doesn’t necessarily solve any real and significant problems on the farm. From my perspective, Gripp is just the opposite; it’s easy to use and solves some real on-farm problems. I also love the fact that Gripp came out of Purdue University’s DIAL Ventures studio, which I think is doing some phenomenal things. Below are some more specifics about Gripp…
Gripp is an innovative agtech startup based in Indiana that is fundamentally changing how farms and agricultural operations manage their equipment, knowledge, and daily workflows. Founded in 2023 out of Purdue University’s DIAL Ventures studio, Gripp quickly attracted attention in the industry, winning the 2025 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge and securing $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. The company’s mission is to streamline communication, digitize records, and make vital operational knowledge easily accessible for everyone on the farm, regardless of their role or experience. No more missing oil changes, and important services on equipment.
At the heart of Gripp’s approach is a mobile-first platform that uses simple QR codes to connect people and assets. Farmers and their teams can attach a QR code to any piece of equipment, infrastructure, or even a tree. Anyone with a mobile phone can scan the code to instantly access or update information about that asset. This system eliminates the need for expensive hardware or complicated software, making it accessible to farms of all sizes and technical backgrounds. Importantly, Gripp’s platform does not require user accounts or passwords, which is especially helpful for agricultural operations that rely on a transient or seasonal workforce. The system is designed so that any worker, regardless of language or technical skill, can contribute to and benefit from the shared knowledge base.
Gripp’s platform enables users to track assets and equipment, log maintenance activities, and record operational routines. The system supports not just text entries, but also photos, videos, and audio recordings. This multimedia approach allows farms to capture the “tribal knowledge” that often resides in the heads of experienced workers and is otherwise lost when they leave or fail to update traditional paper logs. Gripp also centralizes team communication, ensuring that conversations about assets or tasks are available to everyone. The platform automatically translates between English and Spanish, which is a significant advantage for farms with multilingual teams. In addition, Gripp provides maintenance scheduling and proactive alerts, notifying users when equipment needs servicing or repairs. This helps prevent costly breakdowns and reduces downtime. All activities are logged digitally, creating a comprehensive, audit-ready record that can be used for compliance, insurance claims, or operational analysis.
The benefits for farmers and agricultural businesses are substantial. By digitizing record-keeping and making information instantly accessible, Gripp saves users hours each week that would otherwise be spent searching for lost paperwork or tracking down who last serviced a piece of equipment. The platform’s straightforward monthly or annual pricing model means that farms can scale usage without worrying about escalating costs, and by preventing equipment failures through timely maintenance alerts, Gripp helps reduce both repair expenses and operational disruptions. With transparent, centralized records, managers can hold teams accountable and ensure that maintenance and tasks are completed on schedule, reducing the risk of missed service intervals or overlooked repairs. By using photos, videos, and translated instructions to capture operational routines and “how-to” knowledge in multimedia formats, Gripp ensures that expertise remains within the organization, even as staff turnover occurs.
Gripp’s solution has broad relevance across the agricultural industry, regardless of farm size, crop type, or geography. Since its launch, the platform has seen zero churn among more than 70 agricultural operations, a testament to its value and usability. Gripp has been recognized as one of CropLife’s 2025 Best Ag Apps, won the Top Producer Summit’s 2024 Farmer’s Choice award, and received the People’s Choice Award at the 2025 Iowa Ag Show. Industry leaders see Gripp as a foundational tool for the digital transformation of agriculture. Spencer Stensrude, CEO of AgVentures Alliance, remarked that Gripp is solving a real problem for farmers and could soon be on every farm in the United States.
We believe that Gripp stands out in the agtech landscape by providing a practical, user-friendly, and cost-effective platform that addresses the real-world challenges of agricultural operations. Its rapid adoption and industry accolades underscore its potential to become a standard tool across American agriculture. Click HERE to go to the webpage to learn more or contact Todd Loechler at 816-206-2331 or todd@farmdirection.com. We have some special pricing being offered to Van Trump subscribers and readers.
