Silicon Valley can’t get enough of agtech as Kleiner Perkins leads investment in Farmers Edge

With agtech investment on pace to quadruple in 2014 to nearly $1 billion, Silicon Valley can’t seem to get enough of this super hot sector. Today, Canadian-based precision agriculture company Farmers Edge announced it has received an investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ Green Growth Fund for an undisclosed sum. Given comparables like FarmLinks $40M Series B we reported back in August and the involvement from Kleiner’s Growth fund, we can imagine that this must have been sizeable investment.

Farmers Edge’s precision agriculture technology helps farmers optimize crop inputs and maximize yield with operations around the world. The company reports that the investment will fund expansion of Farmers Edge’s technology platform and support the Company’s continued growth in international markets.

“We see a huge market opportunity for Farmer’s Edge approach to precision agriculture. They uniquely integrate real time satellite imagery and in-field telematics to maximize yield and minimize environmental footprint,” said Kleiner Perkins Partner, Brook Porter. “Farmer’s Edge is leading the current disruption around how crops are grown, and ultimately how crops are valued as traceability becomes an increasingly important factor in the food supply chain.”

On the heels of a recent acquisition, Farmers Edge has introduced FarmCommand to provide farmers with a plug and play real time equipment diagnostics and logistics telematics solution for any brand of equipment. The company reports that FarmCommand will become part of the Precision Solutions product line that incorporates field-centric data such as drone and satellite imagery, soil testing, weather stations and precision agronomy. By coupling cloud-based software, their Precision Solutions and FarmCommand systems with an agnostic hardware solution, Farmers Edge seeks to give growers the ability to make comprehensive precision farm management decisions.

“We rely on Farmers Edge to function as an independent advisor, providing us with a no-hassle, turnkey solution to increase our profitability,” said Jerry Machacek, Grower at Canora, SK. “They bring a level of hands-on service that is unique in the industry which is the reason we trust them with the management of our acres.”

“From seed selection to yield data analytics, we bring all the information together to make a meaningful impact on production and we stick by our customers to ensure the job gets done right,” said Wade Barnes, President and CEO of Farmers Edge. “We have an established history of partnering with both farmers and leading distributors to deliver products which will benefit the farmer and his trusted advisors.”