BOPA: Rooted in Farming, Securing the Future of Our Food
When Sarah and Jaron Hinkley moved back to La Junta, Colorado, it wasn’t to chase a startup dream. It was to be closer to family as their grandparents aged. But returning home also brought them face to face with their farming roots—the long days, the hard sacrifices, and the unrelenting grind that keeps our country fed. Alongside their co-founder Bryan Stafford, they began asking: could modern technology take some of that weight off farmers’ shoulders?
That question became Barn Owl Precision Agriculture (BOPA).
Drawing on their backgrounds in drones and robotics, the team developed a system that blends the sky and the soil: drones map the fields, their software charts each plot, and autonomous tractors—fittingly named ANTs—go to work. Using computer vision to distinguish weeds from crops, the ANTs mechanically remove the weeds, giving farmers a new way to increase resilience without chemicals or costly labor.
Today, BOPA operates out of both La Junta and Florence, CO, proving that breakthrough agtech doesn’t need to come from Silicon Valley—it can, and perhaps must, come from the field itself.
Why It Matters
Farming is one of the most labor-intensive industries on earth. The Hinkleys know this firsthand. By automating one of the most time-consuming and physically demanding jobs in agriculture, BOPA gives farmers back their most precious resource: time. That time can be reinvested into higher-value work, family, and the long-term resilience of their farms.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. At a time when food systems are under pressure from climate, supply chain disruptions, and workforce shortages, BOPA’s work is about more than efficiency. It’s about securing the future of food.
Howdy’s Role
Howdy first met BOPA in 2020 and led their first round of financing in April 2021. Since then, we’ve walked alongside Sarah and her team as partners—helping raise capital, evaluate opportunities, and navigate the inevitable bumps in the road.
What stands out most isn’t just their technical innovation—it’s their grit, determination, and deep connection to the problem they’re solving. They’ve lived it. They’ve felt it. And they’re stubborn enough (in the best way) to keep going when others would stop.
As Sarah puts it, “We’re not building this in a vacuum. We’re building it with farmers, for farmers.”
Built in the Field, Not a High Rise
Plenty of teams have taken a swing at automating farm work. Most were imagined in urban offices, far from the dust and reality of a farm. BOPA is different. Their solution has been refined through thousands of hours spent alongside farmers in the field. That proximity matters—and it’s why we believe the winners in this category won’t come from a skyscraper, but from places like La Junta.
Because food security isn’t an abstract idea. It’s planted, weeded, and harvested every day in rural America.
And thanks to BOPA, it’s also being reinvented there.