After a fun—but not very lucrative—few years working on driverless cars in India, Kumar Ranjan turned his attention to a very different industry: farming.
Just under half (45%) of US row-crop producers say they currently purchase or use ag biological products, up from 37% in 2022.
“We’re talking about building smaller, smarter facilities with a lot less capital,” says cofounder and CEO Michele Stansfield.
The pair are also exploring using lactose permeate, a byproduct of milk protein production, as a feedstock for Superbrewed Food’s microorganisms, creating a circular solution.
“Materials are much more forgiving than protein isolates for food,” Brett Cotten tells AgFunderNews.
The ag biotech company is commercializing its technology for both inbred and hybrid corn cultivars or the first quarter of 2025.
A new player has emerged on the alt dairy scene with an aged plant-based cheddar launching at select restaurants in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area under the Plonts brand.
Mercy Corps Ventures has partnered with Stable Foods to launch a new pilot that will test IoT-based irrigation systems for smallholder farms.
“We are trying to drive this business to cashflow positive operations as quickly as possible,” says CFO Lubi Kutua. “We have not said that that will occur this year.”
“We have very low capex, which allows us to to sell at parity, or even in some instances, to undercut traditional seafood,” says CEO Brittany Chibe.
Under the deal, CH4 Global will significantly increase the supply of its Methane Tamer supplements to CirPro and feedlot partners HB Rural and Mort & Co.
The legal dispute between the animal-free dairy pioneer and co-manufacturer Olon is turning increasingly ugly, with Olon arguing that Perfect Day is presenting “a false narrative” of their deteriorating relationship.
It’s unlikely artificial intelligence would ever replace the actual agronomist.
“For the first 100 tanks there, we have already sold all our product,” says founder and CEO Daniel Russek.
São Paulo-based startup Typcal is seeking to blaze a trail in the Latin American market with mycoprotein which it claims grows more rapidly, on a broader range of feedstocks, than competitive fungi strains.
Despite challenges, the agro-carbon services industry has shown a certain degree of resilience in recent months.
The tiny larvae are put in a state of suspended animation for up to 10 days without refrigeration, enabling insect protein producers to focus on rearing and processing.
In its next growth phase, Agrovision will invest in establishing new growing regions in Egypt and Indonesia and expanding its operations in markets such as China, says CEO Steve Magami.
Potato protein is highly soluble and has gelling, foaming, emulsification, binding, texturizing and stabilizing properties. It is also non-allergenic, which makes it attractive to formulators if the availability is there and the price is right, says ReaGenics.
“Shiru’s hypothesis has been that there are likely much more than a dozen sweet proteins out there, but it’s very difficult to find them if you don’t have the right tools,” says founder Dr. Jasmin Hume.
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