AgFunder Network Partners

Category: AgTech

Bonjour, robots! A list of agri-robots whirring round FIRA in Toulouse next week

December 5, 2019

Next week I'll be singing au revoir Londres, bonjour Toulouse! as I fly to France for the International Forum of Agricultural Robotics, known by its French acronym of FIRA.

FarmlandFinder raises $3m seed round led by Cultivian to make farmland sales fairer

December 5, 2019

The Des Moines-based startup is leveling the playing field by providing all users with comprehensive data about potential farm purchases.

Tech can halt African Swine Fever in Asia

December 4, 2019

My time spent scouting out various ASF tech solutions at the Asia-Pacific Agri Tech Innovation Week in Singapore has given me cause for cautious optimism.

BASF’s Xarvio partners with Arable to improve fungicide recs in lead up to outcome-based pricing

December 4, 2019

Xarvio is now pulling data from Arable's hyperlocal weather data sensors to help farmers improve the timing and efficacy of their fungicide applications, which will feed into BASF's new business model plans for farmers.

Is Los Angeles a natural hub for agricultural innovation?

December 3, 2019

LA's historical but also growing bond with agriculture, technology, and food uniquely positions it to be a leader in the industry’s transformations, writes Liron Brish.

she1K angel syndicate bets on ‘democratised’ vertical farming with investment in Farmshelf

December 2, 2019

she1K, the world’s first angel network led by global corporate executive women, has syndicated an early-stage investment into Farmshelf, a New York-based vertical farming startup.

Startup Spotlight: FuelCred is helping farmers reclaim $1bn in unclaimed off-road fuel refunds

November 29, 2019

The app-based program syncs with a user’s credit card to identify eligible fuel related purchases and generates the necessary IRS form to claim a refund.

Connecterra moves on from FitBit for cows to predictive intelligence, regenerative ag

November 28, 2019

Consumers and retailers are putting increasing demands on the world’s dairy farmers- not just to provide more supply but to do it with improved environmental credentials, better traceability, lower use of antibiotics and medicine, and more humane treatment of animals.

President Barack Obama or Eddie Vedder? My week at Dreamforce

November 27, 2019

Luckily I didn't have to choose. Here’s a few things I heard while living it up at the St Regis and bumping into celebs at every turn.

Should the cannabis industry be regulated like food & beverage?

November 26, 2019

80% of marijuana dispensaries selected by the Denver Dept. of Public Health and Environment failed mold testing recently.

Booming, blooming micro-algae

November 25, 2019

Hundreds of thousands of species of micro-algae float through the world’s waterways. Just a fraction have been categorised or studied. It leaves an imaginarium of possibilities to explore.

For decades, the hottest and most tantalising possibility centered round biofuels.

BREAKING: Young, male farmers are flocking to a truly global indoor ag industry, CEA census reveals

November 25, 2019

The inaugural census from Agritecture Consulting and Autogrow identified key trends in CEA including a large demographic of beginning farmers and an increasingly global industry footprint.

Australia joins agri-foodtech VC party with Tenacious Ventures’ $16m raise

November 21, 2019

AFN caught up with Nolet ahead of her speech at Southstart to find out more about the raise, and what to expect from a fledgling Tenacious.

Crop disease recognition app Plantix raises €6.6m Series A led by RTP Global

November 21, 2019

The €6.6 million Series A was led by the Russian early-stage tech investor RTP Global. The round was joined by Piton Capital with existing investors participating, including Atlantic Labs and Index Ventures.

The pressure is on for environmental accounting in ag. Sprout Accelerator wants to help

November 20, 2019

There’s been no greater pressure for the agriculture industry to account for its environmental footprint than there is today. Sprout is looking for startups approaching this challenge to apply for its accelerator.

Meet the Farmer: Lynn Rohrscheib is staying true to her farming roots

November 19, 2019

Editor's Note: AFN's Lauren Stine collaborated with Successful Farming's Laurie Bedord to interview Lynn Rohrscheib about her farm and use of technology.

Plant Response Biotech merges with Koch spin-out in first move of biologicals roll-up

November 18, 2019

Plant Response Biotech has merged with Koch Biological Solutions in the first of a planned series of "rollup" deals for the biological crop input category, AFN can exclusively reveal. Read on to get the scoop on how this deal came about.

Why Prospera started in greenhouses before taking AI tech into the fields

November 15, 2019

Prospera recently announced its partnership with Valley Irrigation to combine its sensor-based analytics software with Valley’s pivot irrigation systems.

Bayer CropScience COO: acquisition is exception to rule in startup interactions

November 14, 2019

We caught up with Brett Begemann in London recently to talk glyphosate, Bayer's venture activities, digital ag, gene editing and smallholder farmers.

Oyster farming: a true triple bottom line win

November 14, 2019

Recent academic work has found that oyster farming can remove nitrogen, phosphate and sediment from the water column making it more than just a profitable business with growing global demand, writes Chip Terry.