A major step forward for soil intelligence in agriculture. HLB has selected Antonie as its partner to introduce automated, AI-driven biological soil analysis into its laboratory processes.

Founded in 1963 and long regarded as a cornerstone of the Dutch agri sector, HLB becomes the first laboratory in the Netherlands to integrate Antonie’s LIFE Monitor™ into its plant diagnostics and nematology workflows.

With this collaboration, biological soil diagnostics moves from a specialist activity to a scalable, accessible capability. Farmers, advisors, seed companies, governments, and landowners gain faster, more consistent insights into soil health and nematode populations, enabling better decisions on yield, risk, and sustainability.

At the core of this step is a fundamental shift in how soil biology is analyzed.

Antonie’s LIFE Monitor combines automated microscopy with AI-driven analysis of living soil organisms. Instead of manual interpretation, large volumes of biological data are captured, processed, and translated into consistent, reproducible insights based on what actually lives and moves in the soil. This changes the role of biological soil analysis entirely—from time-consuming specialist work to a scalable data layer that can support daily decision-making across the agricultural value chain.