World Agri-Tech’s Post

Excellent summary of the current challenges agriculture has to take up nowadays.

Ten years ago today, Monsanto Company announced that it was purchasing the Climate Corporation, a company using “machine learning to predict the weather and other essential elements for agribusiness,” for $1 billion. Our managing editor Louisa Burwood-Taylor started reporting on the agriculture industry just after this deal happened and remembers the excitement that continued for months if not years in its wake. It was also argued that it played a role in driving Bayer’s subsequent acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. In fact, you could argue that much of the excitement for the agrifoodtech industry at large is down to this deal that put a spotlight on the opportunity — and potential — for agtech to make entrepreneurs and investors money. Investment in agtech increased exponentially in the years after and soon the industry was raising tens of billions of dollars a year (albeit with a dip here and there!) But how did it come about? How did founder and CEO David Friedberg reach that valuation, which has proven pretty much elusive to our industry ever since? How has our industry changed in its aftermath? And what’s coming next for agrifoodtech? It’s been quite a journey for David Friedberg since this game-changing deal and he’s now better known for being a “bestie” on the All-In Podcast alongside a few of his heavyweight venture capital friends. He is also running his own investment company, The Production Board, which is likely to be looking for exits of its own soon. As part of a series of articles, videos, and features to mark this big anniversary, and AgFunder’s 10th anniversary which is coming up later this year, Louisa sat down with David Friedberg to look back at the deal that changed the course of agriculture and food technology and look forward at what’s to come. (Stay tuned to AgFunderNews in the coming months for more analysis of this deal and the subsequent Monsanto takeover by Bayer, which has been less than successful.) Watch the full interview & read the highlights ➡ https://lnkd.in/gid-FwCq #climate #investment #agribusiness #agrifoodtech #agtech #investment #monsanto #AgFunder #AgFunderNews

🌱 Excited to share that I've been appointed as the CEO of Genvor (OTC: GNVR), a pioneer in sustainable plant health solutions! 🚀 Our proprietary library of patented peptides is transforming agriculture by enhancing crops' natural defenses and nutritional properties. Here are some corporate highlights: ● Patented Antimicrobial & and nutrient-enhancing peptides (AMPs & NEPs) fortify plant defenses and improve nutrition in diverse crops. ● Addressing a significant global need: $220B of crops lost to plant disease annually. ● Strong Peptide Pipeline: Active trait development programs and trials underway in corn and citrus. ● USDA Partnership: Collaborative research agreement to accelerate peptide development with direct access to USDA resources. ● Robust Patent Portfolio: 24 proprietary peptides protected by issued and pending U.S. patents. ● Licensing-First Model: Validated technology through licensing agreements, with more partnerships in the pipeline. ● Experienced Management Team: Genvor's scientists, with 30+ years of AMP research, are bringing groundbreaking peptides to market. Thrilled to lead Genvor into a new era of sustainable agriculture! Let's talk #collaboration 🌿 #Genvor #SustainableAgriculture #PlantHealth #peptides

'Impact' Bulletin # 0012 - 23 Jan-24 ✅ -- 🍏Agriculture: Innovation Sask has committed to invest over CAD$1M in #agriculturaltech companies. 🚦Note: Four companies will be receiving this round of funding and one of those is Environmental Material Science, who are developing an innovative soil sensor. Saskatchewan has made several efforts to become a more friendly home for #innovation, #technology, and #startup companies. 🔋Energy: Exxon Mobil is suing American and Dutch #activistinvestors in an effort to stop them from presenting #climate proposals during the #oil major's annual shareholder meeting. 🚦Note: These kinds of proposals have become increasingly common over the last two proxy seasons, but this is still an unusual move. Some argue that the investors actions are more than justified beyond climate concerns, since if a company's activities have negative effects on the wider #economy, they are not serving investors' best interests anyway. 🍃Environment: ArcTern has held a final close for its Ventures Fund III with US$335M in total capital commitments. 🚦Note: This is double the size of its previous fund. Primarily focused on the North American and European markets, ArcTern deploys funds in ways that maximize the abatement of #GHG emissions over the lifespan of each fund. 🚰Water: On a recent episode of the Stanford Law School podcast, Stanford Professor Barton Thompson delved into his book 'Liquid Asset: How Business and Government Can Partner to Solve the Freshwater Crisis'. 🚦Note: Interestingly, Thompson lists one of the largest #challenges to be trying to coordinate all of the many different, independent #watersystems in North America, and having them work together. 🏥Health: A Google DeepMind spin-off claims it is reducing #drugdiscovery time in half. 🚦Note: Isomorphic Labs over the last week has announced #pharma deals with Eli Lilly and Novartis, which have a reported combined value of >US$3B. 🗣Social: Loblaw Companies is reversing its recent decision to end 50% discounts on expiring #food, following #protests from its customers. 🚦Note: Loblaw has run 50% discounts on several food items for many years, and folks have counted on these opportunities amid rising prices. The company had planned on reducing the discount to 30%.

I super enjoyed this interview so many lessons for Agritech Founders if you are an agritech founder do well to watch this episode

ADAMA Ltd. 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report is out! Yesterday we published our 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, which outlines the progress we have made on delivering differentiated, safe and effective crop protection solutions to farmers, while lowering our own environmental footprint. I am proud to lead the project and to work at a company where sustainability isn't optional—it's integral to everything we do. We embed sustainability into our product development, innovation, and stewardship efforts, with targets that guide improvements across our operations, supply chain, and governance policies. This practical approach to sustainability extends to reducing our carbon footprint, waste, and water usage while prioritizing worker safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and community well-being. And our focus is clear - to position ADAMA as an innovation company, passionate about delivering high-quality sustainable products to help farmers meet the demand for nutritious, safe, and affordable food.   A lot of work has been invested in the preparation of the report and I want to thank everyone who contributed! There was extraordinary collaboration and support from across the company. Our Full report: https://lnkd.in/dggq9n6c

AgriFoodTech ecosystem: Where were you 10 years ago? I was working in food and agriculture but not in innovation, that move came 8 years ago. Check out this interview by our AgFunder editor Louisa Burwood-Taylor with David Friedberg on his thoughts on how this deal changed our industry and certainly the investment interest. #agrifoodtech #investment #agfunder

Kicking off the year with BIG achievements! 🎉 Thank you, Business Intelligence Group, for recognizing our innovation and R & D leadership in the agriculture industry and our ground-breaking project with BAR Technologies, WindWings. Wondering how you can join Cargill? Please check our career site for openings: https://lnkd.in/gZv8mPp or reach out to me. Since the day I joined Cargill I have been watching this story unfold. It's the first topic I discuss. Did you know that since 2017 Cargill has cut close to two billion in carbon?!? The goal is to #reduce #greenhousegasemissions in our #globalsupplychain by 30% between now and 2030. #CargillInnovates #Awards #sutainability

In 2014, 190,000 data points were produced per farm, per day, and experts predict that by 2050 each farm will produce around 4.1 million data points daily, according to the World Bank. Extrapolating across the agrifood system, the number of data points flowing across different stakeholders is countless. As Bill McClure (EY) put it "Focus is shifting from a linear feedback path to a system where connectivity across the value chain is more important than ever. Producers are exerting more control over their operations, using new tools and capabilities in pursuit of greater profitability and efficiency. " The revolution is not unlike the one that financial services started on 20 years ago. The next 20 years is surely going to be bring challenges and opportunities around data for the agri-food system. Companies that put the producers at the center of that innovation are likely to succeed. #EY #agdata #farmland #Oakenag

Non-specialist investors paid a high price for agritech deals through 2021 and 2022, resulting in ballooning valuations and a subsequent correction. Our private asset partners and agritech specialists Zebra Impact Ventures look at what it takes to invest at the right price in a sector where investment know-how must be complemented by real-world farming insights 🚜 Read the insight 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dPXBWZGT #agrifoodtech #foodtech #futurefood #sustainability #sustainableinvesting #impactinvesting #privateassets #venturecapital Fabio Sofia Lionel Artusio-Payot For professional investors only. Capital at risk.