Solum, Inc. has set its eyes on the Midwest and all the promise it has to offer in agriculture. Ames can expect the company to open up 20 to 30 new full-time jobs and 30 to 40 seasonal jobs aimed at engineers and programmers.

Solum is an organization that promotes its approach to agriculture from a technological standpoint. They plan to use this to help farmers in Iowa produce higher yields. The company’s first commercial application was designed to allow growers and agricultural service providers obtain unprecedentedly high-resolution soil nutrient information without adding cost to existing practices.

The company was founded in 2009 by a team of Stanford physics and engineering graduates. Co-founders Justin White, Michael Preiner and Nick Koshnick said the move from their original warehouse in California with around 23 employees to Ames was because they recognized it will be important to make a name in the region. Their plans are to have an initial hiring of about 25 employees for the Ames center and to hire as much as 50 additional hands for peak seasons.

Since the beginning, Solum has received multiple soil samples from the Midwest for testing. The heads of the business decided to bring the company closer to the people they work with, making it easier to work with customers and get a stronger relationship with agricultural co-ops and producers.

“If you’re in agriculture, it’s hard to sell into Iowa because people here are very sophisticated in production,” Koshnick said. “They have some of the best technology. But if you can develop something that has a big-value proposition in Iowa, it’s a really big market you’re addressing.”

Beginning in the fall of 2012, Solum will be accepting customer samples at its Ames high-throughput laboratory.