Ag Industry Brief: Climate Corp Integrates 3 Aerial Imagery Startups into FieldView, more

Climate Corporation Integrates 3 Aerial Imagery Startups into FieldView

The Climate Corporation is integrated of imagery from aerial imagery startups Ceres Imaging, TerrAvion and Agribotix, to deliver high-resolution imagery to farmers through Climate’s FieldView digital agriculture platform. Existing cleints of these services will now be able to view the imagery through their FieldView account, and FieldView clients will be able to subscribe to this imagery through their existing account. Climate Corporation announced the development of a sensor network last year which the hope of bringing all farm data into one place for farmers.

The Yield Lab Backs 4 European Startups

St. Louis-based agtech accelerator The Yield Lab has invested over $1 million in approximately 15 startups since it launched in 2014. Now, after expanding into Europe in 2016, it has invested in four new European startups. They are ApisProject, a beehive sensor startup, Hexafly, an aquaculture feed company, MicroSynbiotix, an oral vaccine startup using microalgae, and Ubiqutek, a weed control product using electrical charges. Read more here.

Maryland Becomes Second State to Ban Routine Use of Antibiotics in Livestock Production

Maryland has joined California in prohibiting the routine use of antibiotics in livestock production after the state legislature passed a bill this week. The Keep Antibiotics Effective Act now precludes giving antimicrobial drugs to swine, poultry, and cattle that are not ill. Read more here.

Pegasus Agriculture Expands Farms in Abu Dhabi

Pegasus Agriculture, which owns and operates a hydroponic farm facilities in the Middle East and North Africa, is expanding its farms in Abu Dhabi. With its dry desert climate, Pegasus Agriculture identified the need to provide sustainable solutions to local food production and reduce the heavy reliance of food imports within the UAE. Pegasus operates from their head office strategically located in Dubai, UAE which serves as the headquarters.

Hertz Joins Iowa Ag Startup Engine

Hertz Farm Management has joined the Ag Startup Engine (ASE) at the Iowa State University (ISU) Research Park to bring education, mentoring, and financing resources to young Iowa entrepreneurs and startups focused on agriculture technologies.

Smuckers to Gobble Up Conagra’s Wesson for $285m

J.M. Smucker is set to acquire Conagra’s Wesson oil brand for $230 million. Smucker plans to ultimately assimilate the Wesson production and brands into its existing operation. Get the details here.

Pepsi Considering Vita Coco Acquisition

All Market, the owner of coconut water brand Vita Coco, may sell to Pepsi for less than $1 billion. According to some reports, Vita Coco has a 26% share of the coconut water market. Get the details here.

Radicle Taps Experts from DuPont Pioneer to Help AgTech Startups

Radicle, an acceleration fund dedicated to growing early stage agricultural and food technology startups, has added Neal Gutterson, vice president of research and development, and Dan Cosgrove, vice president of business development, both from DuPont Pioneer, as mentors in Radicle’s venture partner network. Gutterson and Cosgrove will mentor portfolio companies so they can reach critical milestones, faster. DuPont is an investor in Radicle.

Is Cauliflower Rice Really Rice?

Some folks are taking issue with referring to cauliflower rice as rice, claiming that the minced vegetable shouldn’t bear the label and that the FDA may need to get involved. The dispute resembles a similar battle brewing over whether it should be legally permissible for non-dairy products to use the term milk in their label. Read about the rice war here.

Google is Betting on a AI

Although the company has yet to comment, reports are floating around indicating that Google is launching a venture capital program focusing exclusively on artificial intelligence. Get the gossip here.

NYC Passes Legislation to Protect Fast Food Workers

New York City passed the Fair Work Week and Fast Food Worker Empowerment legislation, which require employees to receive two weeks-notice regarding their schedules. It also prohibits employers from scheduling back-to-back night and morning shifts and on-call scheduling. Read more about the landmark legislation here.

Other News That’s Fit to Chew

• A new report from the FDA concluded that 95% of products labeled as gluten-free are compliant, reports The Daily INTAKE.
• Texas has approved feral hog hunting—via hot air balloon.
• Sonoma county says it can make its wines sustainable by 2019, but some question whether that is enough.
• This woman CEO-led digital marketplace hopes to connect farmers and chefs to promote local food, writes Forbes.