Solum has rebranded to the [Granular](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/granular) and is owned by the [Climate Corporation](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/the-climate-corporation)Solum was founded in 2009 by a group of Applied Physics PhD students with a passion for creating information that can help improve the rapidly evolving space of precision agriculture. The team developed a novel way to measure nitrates in soils, which was launched with pilot customers as No-Wait Nitrate in 2011. Solum opened its facility to measure other nutrients and soil properties in the fall of 2012. On February 20, 2014, Solum sold the testing operations to The Climate Corporation, which is part of the Monsanto Corporation. The company is continuing to work on new soil measurements, and is working to develop tools that support a broader set of operational needs. The word Solum is a geological term for top soil, reflecting Solums beginnings in soil science and agronomy.