Dakota Micro, Inc.

In April of 1994, Dave and Charissa Rubey moved from Southern California back to the Rubey farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. After farming for 5 years, Dave developed a herniated disk in his neck, and had to have a cervical fusion. For 8 weeks following, he was relegated to wearing a full neck brace, which made harvesting the crops that fall very difficult. Dave went in search of a way to help him see what he couldn't. After checking into several different camera systems, and finding nothing satisfactory, he decided to draw upon his engineering and electronics knowledge from past, and proceeded to build his own. The first draft of the "AgCam" was a small black and white camera and a 5" travel Black and White Television. This first system worked tolerably well, but B&W doesn't give you a very clear picture when you get the camera pointed into the sun, or in heavy dust conditions, it was also worthless after dark if you didn't have any additional light source. After going through a variety of different camera boards, lenses and bodies, and several different styles makes and models of small flat screen TV's, he had put together a unit that was easy for him to move from one piece of equipment to another, durable enough to handle farm life, and clear enough to provide the information one would need. At this point, Dave and Charissa had a great product and the idea to sell it to other farmers around the country..but where do you start? As Charissa learned, you begin at the beginning and you end at the end. Charissa started by calling one dealership at a time, establishing a dealer network first in their home state of North Dakota, and expanding eventually to cover most of North America within just a few years time. Over a period of years, the AgCam system has been honed and continuously improved into a product that has made a name for itself, even at times being referred to as "the bullet proof camera" (Shot 15 times with a .22 and its still fully functional). This ability to offer always "more" to our customers has drawn the attention of first class Original Equipment Manufacturers who now offer the AgCam as a product in their lineup. These OEM's include Trimble, AGCO, Pickett, Straw Trak and many more. As technology has grown, Dakota Micro has grown with it, and has risen to the needs of larger customers desiring to work with a company who has established themselves as honorable in business dealings and of producing high quality product at an affordable price. Being located in a rural setting and in the business friendly state of North Dakota has allowed DM to thrive and adapt with the changing business climate. DM is now involved with an ever-expanding military and public works market, and adheres to the same principals of durable and affordable product coupled with honesty and integrity.