Lauren Manning, Author at AgFunderNews

Lauren Manning

Lauren is a contributing writer for AFN, a lawyer, an adjunct law professor and raises cattle, sheep, and goats in Northwest Arkansas. You can contact her at [email protected].

‘Lab-on-a-chip’ startup Nordetect raises $1.5m, targets indoor farming

March 15, 2021

Denmark’s Nordetect wants to help CEA startups get a better glimpse of their nutrient use without waiting weeks for a lab test result.

Vertical farming startup Oishii raises $50m for bee-assisted, carbon-neutral strawberry cultivation

March 11, 2021

With backing from Sony and other investors, US-based Oishii grows the berries indoors using ancient Japanese farming practices.

Brazil’s SP Ventures looks north to back Canadian machinery manager Verge Ag

March 11, 2021

The Canadian startup aims to help farmers optimize equipment usage so they can squeeze more profitability out of their machinery.

AcreTrader gets $12m Series A funding for farmland investing & purchasing platform

March 11, 2021

Through Arkansas-based AcreTrader, investors can add farmland to their portfolios – while farmers can get financial assistance to purchase new land or infrastructure.

The Nature Conservancy invests in 5 soil health startups

March 9, 2021

The Nature Conservancy has made a major commitment around advancing soil-smart farming – and it has realized that technology is key to achieving its goal.

TradeCafe raises $7.9m to expand its online marketplace for protein commodities

March 8, 2021

The Toronto-based startup is hoping to digitalize an antiquated industry that relies on middlemen to broker deals between buyers and sellers.

Zymoscope raises $1m for its data-driven beer brewing tech

March 5, 2021

Zymoscope is applying its real-time, data-driven fermentation tech to the beer industry. Next stop: Alt-proteins

Anti-mastitis startup SomaDetect raises $6m Series A from Ag Capital Canada, Merck

March 2, 2021

The New Brunswick-based startup is commercializing its mastitis detection technology, starting with beta trials on dairies in Canada.

‘Wine-ification of coffee’ startup Demetria comes out of stealth with $3m seed funding

March 2, 2021

Demetria is replacing the antiquated coffee quality assessment process by using AI and near-infrared technology to scan beans before they’re brewed.

Brazil’s KPTL invests in poultry management platform Agrisolus

March 2, 2021

Agrisolus captures real-time data about a variety of metrics to optimize poultry production and prevent disease in the flock.

EXCLUSIVE: Why Kroger is pulling out all the stops to reduce food waste

March 1, 2021

The nonprofit Kroger unit is hoping to address food waste and hunger by supporting startups making novel foods from upcycled ingredients.

Brief: Data analytics company DTN acquires on-farm data startup Farm Market iD

February 25, 2021

Farm Market iD aggregates data from a variety of sources to offer agribusinesses support with marketing and better serving farmers and ranchers.

Where does FBN’s Gradable Carbon fit into the growing carbon credit ecosystem?

February 24, 2021

FBN will help farmers generate carbon credits through personalized agronomic assitance and allow them to control when they sell them.

Brief: Infarm launches modular growing & distribution center to expand footprint faster

February 24, 2021

The new growing center takes six weeks to construct and can produce the equivalent of up to 10,000-square-meters of farmland, according to InFarm.

Provivi raises $10m from Gates Foundation to bring insect pheromone tech to smallholder farmers

February 24, 2021

Provivi will use the funds to sell its pheremone-based pest control products to smallholder farmers in Kenya, Bangladesh, and India at cost.

Brief: Driscoll’s partners with foodtech startup Consumer Physics to measure sweetness in berries

February 23, 2021

Consumer Physics will apply its SCiO technology, which uses near-infrared spectrometers and cloud-based software, to Driscoll’s quality measurement process.

Project Well is helping healthcare system use food as medicine with $2m in seed funding

February 23, 2021

Project Well provides at-risk healthcare plan members with nutritonal counseling and tailored meal plans to target chronic disease.

Bio-fertilizer startup Anuvia raises $103m Series C funding

February 23, 2021

Anuvia is hoping to clean up conventional fertilizer with its bio-basd input that improves yields while also reducing GHG emissions and sequestering carbon.

TIPA & PerfoTec debut sustainable packaging that also boosts shelf life

February 22, 2021

The pair’s packaging is a micro-perforated compostable film that reduces food waste by extending shelf life while cutting plastic pollution.

EXCLUSIVE: SP Ventures adds World Bank in third close, exits fintech startup Brain Ag

February 22, 2021

It’s a big week for LatAm’s agrifoodtech fund, SP Ventures. The fund will close on around $50 million to $75 million, surpassing the $30 million goal it initially set.