Agtech Action | Week of 07.03.21 - 07.09.21
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting current events in the world of agtech, and some light-hearted commentary
Farmers cannot repair their own tractors (see ‘right to repair’), could your nutrition be customized, and an interesting take on breaking up the meat packing industry from Prime Future (great newsletter). The deadline to apply to the Sustainable Agtech Challenge has been extended to July 21st (apply now). And a few words about the theme of the agtech week: competition. Enjoy your weekly dose of agtech news and events.
Food and the World:
Corn belt’s crop weather seen ideal through mid-July, forecaster says
Biden Signs Executive Order to Tackle Competition Issues; Here's How it Impacts Agriculture
Tyson recalls 8.5M lbs of chicken products due to possible listeria contamination
The majority of Chilean fruit producers face a big shortage of workers
European Union single use plastics directive enters into force
Court losses are only temporary setbacks, says ethanol industry
Drought conditions continue in July for the Northern Plains
Biden sides with farmers over ‘right to repair’ tractor software battle (wants to limit the FTC to restrict the ability for farmers to utilize independent tractor shops to repair their equipment)
Cow cloned to remove protein that causes lactose intolerance (1:00 mark)
Cuba is facing its worst shortage of food since the 1990s
Food workers are returning to higher paying firms
What if everyone’s nutrition was personalized?
Corn, soybeans, and winter wheat conditions little changed in USDA’s crop progress report
US fruit imports surge so far in 2021, vegetables mostly steady
President Biden visits US apple member, hears about grower challenges
Many summer jobs on the farm left vacant (0:50 mark)
Biden expected to sign Executive Order to create more competition in meat industry
Groceries are stockpiling (0:10 mark) on staples before inflation drives their prices higher
Preliminary injunction against USDA debt relief for minority farmers
Drought conditions expand in the upper Midwest
China’s aggressive US feed grains buying spree expected to continue despite shift in buying habits
Restaurant workers across North Carolina say there’s no labor shortage. It’s a ‘wage shortage’
New US rules to protect animal farmers expected soon
Chobani files confidentially for IPO
The Thieman factor: the story of Harold and his hearse
Drought affecting barley crops (0:10 mark)
Robots to deliver more food (1:20 mark)
Agtech in the News:
Cattle collision: where the digital revolution meets the genetic revolution (great weekly newsletter on livestock industry)
Which Crops Can Survive Drought? Nanosensors May Offer Clues
Survey confirms a data-driven market for US ag retailers
Pure Harvest smart farms adopts Honeywell Technology
Calyxt announces expansion of hemp breeding platform with seedless hemp innovation
Beyond Meat launches new meat-free chicken tenders in US restaurants
Farm.One launches a new vertical farming facility in Brooklyn
Syngenta looks to China’s farmers for growth ahead of mega-IPO
Cream of the crop: Almonte’s Dairy Distillery lands $4.8M in fresh funding
9 African tech startups selected for Y Combinator S21 batch
MeaTech announces launch of cultivated pork development
Fish marketplace solution for Oman fishing industry
Top 5 foodtech startups in North Africa
Singapore cultivates ‘Silicon Valley of Food’ in a hungry Asia
Argentinian city improves resilience and equity through urban farming
Global vertical farming market to reach $5.8B by 2026
Halftime 2021 review of Africa startups: Good news for fundraises year-to-year
Seedstarts Africa Ventures partners with LBO France
The sustainable blockchain solution to deforestation-free soy (shoutout to The New Fork, a Soy Innovation Challenge finalist)
Helpful Resources:
How is the COVID vaccination campaign going in your state?
The importance of succession planning for your farm
Food identify and preserving cultural heritage
Data Dashboard on animal and alt proteins (great data organized by The Protein Report)
Fun:
Accidental success: A hot dog that tastes like steak
Latinx Artists Promote Covid-19 Vaccination, Saying Goodbye to 'Roadrunner,' Birds Helping CA Farms
Urban Refuge: How Cities Can Help Solve the Biodiversity Crisis
Dating app Bumble to open its first café in New York
15 minutes will Illinois farmer Sarah Frey
The dark truth of food eating contests
Interesting Reads:
The packers get Standard Oil’d. Then What? (an insightful weekly newsletter on the livestock and animal protein sector by Janette Barnard)
Plant-based meat not nutritionally equivalent to real meat, finds study (this is going to be a point of contention, the nutritional consequences of a plant-based diet)
Fast food’s equity problem: Black and Hispanic youth unfairly targeted by ads
As climate warms, a rearrangement of world’s plant life looms
Labor crisis could open the door for Congress to act on immigration reform
We already have the blueprint to prevent the next pandemic – and it’s on our farms
Sprints to build an actionable investment thesis for soil health
When marketing becomes policy: the trouble with regenerative agriculture
A Black family farm is fighting racism in agriculture and climate change
Finance:
Anterra on track to hit $230M hard-cap for agtech fund
CoBank: Investment in automation to surge for U.S. food and agriculture
Roc Partners holds A$40M first close on Premium Food Fund – exclusive
Lewis & Clark Agrifood closes growth equity strategy at $257M
Sweden’s Mycorena raises one of the largest rounds for a Nordic vegan startup for its mycoprotein
Cibus and GDM establish strategic partnership to deliver new solutions for soybean farmers
SPAC listings are fueling indoor growing industry, but does it makes sense?
Foodtech fundraising surges toward record year
Agro.Club raises $5M Series A to expand overseas, add fintech offering
Midweek Digest: Big-money B rounds for alt-protein as Aleph Farms nets $105M, Meati raises $50M
Equilibrium secures more than $1B for second CEA fund
Tiverton happily swoops in to the plug US ag credit gap
Westchester hires ex-LDC exec in ESG and sustainability role
Russia investor targets domestic, Kazakh markets with land-based salmon farms
Mirova closes land degradation fund on $208M
Czech e-grocer Rohlik raises $119M to join unicorn club three months after $238M round
UAE cloud kitchen startup Kitopi raises $415M, joins billion-dollar club
After overtaking Alibaba, ag marketplace Pinduoduo is focusing on foodtech to hit profitability
Sustainable Agtech Challenge: Deadline to apply extended to July 21st
We have extended the deadline to apply to our Sustainable Agtech Challenge to July 21st. You have more time to apply to this open innovation challenge for the opportunity to work with our partners Fontagro, IDB Lab, Austral University, Gerencia Ambiental and Amazon Web Services (AWS). You will get the opportunity to receive targeted mentorship, programmatic services including these prizes courtesy of AWS. Apply now before the July 21st deadline.
The theme of the agtech week is competition. When I read about developments like Biden’s EO to address competition, wage shortage in N. Carolina or farmer's 'right to repair', it is clear that competition is the name of the game. Not only are companies/startups competing for market share but also they are competing for talent, labor and services. And in my opinion, the market should decide who ‘wins’. The government should step in to ensure fair market is taking place and not intervene at the behest of a conglomerate, startup or industry. Let it play out. Thanks for reading.
BD
Brandon Day is the Chief Operating Officer of the Yield Lab Institute, the think-tank, non-profit arm of The Yield Lab global network of venture capital funds and accelerator programs.