Key areas for potential investments include bio-based crop protections, agrifintech, supply chain sectors and education.
Plant-and-soil health startup Sound Agriculture will use the new funding to enter new markets and develop new products.
Funding will help further build out the Agrospheres platform, which manufactures, encapsulates and delivers biological pesticides.
Ginkgo Bioworks and Vitales will accelerate development and launch of two new biocontrol products that target soybean diseases in Brazil.
Expect fewer agtech-specific funds, more corporate involvement and lots of generative AI.
Legume Technology secured a $2.83 million grant from the Gates Foundation for its microbial biofertilizer that increases crop yield.
Just under half (45%) of US row-crop producers say they currently purchase or use ag biological products, up from 37% in 2022.
If traditional pesticides are blunt instruments for killing pests, RNAi (RNA interference) is the polar opposite, says Dr. John Husnik, CEO at Vancouver-based Renaissance Bioscience. “It’s exceptionally precise.”
Agrobiomics says its biostimulant product can boost plant resilience to abiotic stressors like drought and salinity.
The 2024 Salinas Biological Summit unpacked the many ways in which the ag biologicals industry is adapting to a changing environment.
The investment from Mitsubishi and others will enable Genica to broaden its reach both in Latin America and globally.
The grower trial network will conduct extensive global field trials of promising biologicals on grower farms.
Challenges for the biologicals sector right now include dispelling a number of myths still prevalent in the industry.
Equipment manufacturers have a critical role to play in changing both costs and regulations for biologicals, says a new report.
The team recounts its days from university students to founding Agrospheres, a startup delivering novel encapsulation tech for biologicals.
The R&D partnership aims to eventually develop a commercial product.
Time to hunker down, startups.
Pivot Bio said it has paid $6 million to growers participating in the company’s N-OVATOR program that rewards farmers for using nitrogen management practices.
NewLeaf will expand development of its microbial-based technology for biological crop protection and stimulant products.
Invaio and Peptyde Bio will be able to speed up development of and access to reliable, more sustainable crop protection.
