“These are exciting times, these are challenging times, but the breakthroughs are incredible,” says Erik Andrejko, VP of Science at Climate Corp. When it comes to finding ways to feed our ever-increasing population while combating the effects of climate change, Andrejko sees some clear parameters: “It’s going to be about integrated solutions—integrating information from different sources from different pieces of equipment.
AgFunderNews recently had the chance to attend the Forbes Reinventing America: The AgTech Summit in Salinas, CA from July 8-9. The summit brought together two of the most influential valleys in the world: Salinas and Silicon.
Editor’s Note: AgFunderNews recently had the chance to speak with Gregg Halverson, President of Black Gold Farms. Halverson will be speaking at the Forbes Reinventing America: The AgTech Summit, taking place in Salinas, CA, July 8-9.
Microbiomes are all around us—and even inside us. According to The Human Microbiome Project, tens of trillions of the little cells live on and inside humans. Representing thousands of species, microbiomes outnumber our own cells by roughly 10 to 1.
As we look ahead to the Forbes AgTech Summit later this week, we took a moment to reflect on GAI’s AgTech Week, which took place two weeks ago in San Francisco, to make a few observations on what’s happening in agtech.
Editor’s Note: AgFunderNews recently had the opportunity to speak with The Honorable Joe Gunter, Mayor of Salinas, on the relationship between agriculture and technology both in his home town and around the world.
As the world population continues to climb, so does the demand for food. With a finite amount of arable land, keeping up on the supply side is a major challenge for farmers located in certain regions of the world.
Earlier today, Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group announced the launch of a broad scale agricultural partnership between Israel and China. Founded in 1998, Kingenta is a Chinese technology enterprise dedicated to the development, production, and marketing of compound fertilizers, slow/controlled -release fertilizers, water soluble fertilizer, and other specialty fertilizers.
Smart irrigation company CropX has announced a $9 million Series A round led by Innovation Endeavors, Finistere Ventures, GreenSoil Investments. Prior backer OurCrowd also participated in the round. CropX uses wireless sensors and big data to help farmers conserve water used in crop growing operations.
Food retailers have been hot on the trail of new ways to help consumers stock their pantries and refrigerators. Using platforms similar to Amazon, many have turned to the internet to provide shoppers with a digital supermarket and fast delivery.
Editors Note: AgFunder recently sat down with Felicia Marcus, Chair of the California State Water Resources Board. Marcus will be leading a discussion on Living in the Reality of the California Drought at GAI Agtech Week on June 22-24, 2015.
Precision irrigation management provider Hortau announced earlier this week that it has secured $5 million in funding from Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners (ACAP). ACAP, which holds a Rural Business Investment Company license from the U.S.
Canadian-based precision agriculture provider Farmers Edge recently announced a new partnership with Japanese general trading company Mitsui & Co, Ltd. to help develop its product line and expand its current market reach.
VitalFields announced recently that it has secured $1.2 million in Series A funding from an international syndicate of investors, including SmartCap, the investment arm of the taxpayer-funded Estonian Development Fund, and an undisclosed large Silicon Valley based investor.
India is currently witnessing the launch of its first Food and Agri-business Accelerator program. Many entities are involved with the accelerator, with the IIMA Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and a-IDEA, the business incubator at Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) leading the program.
BioGenerator, a St. Louis based, privately funded, non-profit investment organization whose express focus is on startups and entrepreneurs in the AgTech sector, has made a $200,000 seed investment in Apse, the company announced March 3.
If you want to learn more about farming and feel good while doing it, keep an eye out for Farmland, a documentary to be nationally released this Spring.
Academy Award-winning filmmaker, James Moll, has visited several American family farms, documenting the evolving practices of farms that have been passed down through generations.
“Aquaponics” sounds like something Aquaman would do for exercise. But, it has just as much potential for sustainable farms as Aquaman had for the comic book sea.
Aquaponics is an industry chocked full with potential, but it’s one in its infancy.
