Agtech Action | Week of 09.09.23 - 09.15.23
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting and commenting on current events in the world of agtech
Albertsons launches 30 min groceries, cultivated meat can be halal and another CEA startup to go public. Farm income to plateau, agtech company gets a warning from NYSE and Ohio is paying for new farmers’ education.
Honeymoon is the theme of the agtech week. The honeymoon phase in agtech is coming to an abrupt close. Like any honeymoon, after the warm and fuzzies wear out, it’s time to get to the real stuff. I’ll explore what that means for agtech in this week’s newsletter.
Food and the World:
Stronger farm bill is antidote for weakening income, says GOP report
Potential Game Changer? Exports Explode as Crop Conditions Crumble
How inflation and customer concerns are influencing the packaging industry
Farm income to plateau after this year’s decline, says think tank
Albertsons launches 30-minute groceries — is rapid delivery returning?
Countdown to zero: How one grower brings carbon-neutral bananas to market
Corn harvest reported in 11 of the top corn growing states
Bet the farm on Prop 12? NPPC leader isn’t
USDA Tightens Balance Sheet on Soybeans but Raises Carryout on Corn
Cash Rents Are Up for 2023, But Will 2024 Be Better?
Heat Stress to Bring Big Changes to the US Corn Belt
USDA Cuts Annual Beef, Pork, Broiler Outlooks
Some consumers okay with higher prices if Prop 12 is the reason
Rice price spike offers preview of climate food disruption
Niger coup sanctions drive Ghana’s onion prices up, deepen food crisis
Agtech in the News:
Pioneering Ventures in Vertical Farming and Sustainable Agriculture
SuperMeat’s Cultivated Chicken Receives Historic Kosher Certification
France Allocates Nearly One Billion Euros to Agriculture Transition in 2024 Budget
Islamic Scholars Declare Cultivated Meat Can Be Halal
Vertical Harvest Partners with Food Bank of Wyoming to Expand Hunger Relief Efforts
Chasing the sun: Africa’s burgeoning renewables sector
Steakholder Foods: Unlocking the Future with Immortal Meat Cells
SavorEat and Sodexo Unveil Robot Chef
ChatGPT Implications for Agriculture
Zayed Sustainability Prize Announces Finalists Focused on Agricultural Innovation
BioBetter: Turning Tobacco into Sustainable Meat’s Future
Tepfirah Rushdan Appointed as First Director of Urban Agriculture (for Detroit)
Integrating Education & CEA - The Story of NY Sun Works
AI novel crop solutions: ICL & Agrematch target plant nutrition development
New Zealand scientists trialing lab-grown plant cell fruit production
Could the ocean be the next frontier for plant agriculture
Pitch AgriHack 2023: Unleashing Agritech Innovation in Africa
How Much Can Farmers Earn From Substantiable Aviation Fuel
Indiana’s Growing Influence in AgTech
Ag Loan Balances Are Up, Credit Outlook Remains Strong
PepsiCo, Walmart announce regenerative agriculture plan, but will it matter?
St. Louis public company gets warning from NYSE for low share price
Fun:
Sweet Corn is Life and Legacy on Arkansas Farm
US border agents seize pork products from travelers
Right to Farm: Tennessee Farmers Fight Chicken Litter Ban
Helpful Resources:
Q2 2023: Emerging Tech Indicator
Prioritizing founders' mental health could pay off for VCs
Q3 2023: PitchBook Analyst Note: Analyzing the IPO Market Outlook
Focus on the farm succession issues within your control
Q3 2023: PitchBook Analyst Note: Examining US Investments in China
Q2 2023: US PE Middle Market Report
Interesting Reads:
Failures and Fraud in Early-Stage Angel Investing
South Dakota commission staff files motion to deny Summit’s pipeline permit
The Illusion of Antibiotic-Free Meat
“They’re Doing Fraud”: Meat Producers Weigh in on USA Labels
Ohio Wants More New Farmers, So It’s Paying Them to Learn About Finance
Unusual Beef Initiative provides meat subscription … with Bitcoin option
The B.S. Behind the USDA’s New “Climate-Friendly Beef” Label
Labeled Climate Culprits, European Farmers Rebel Over New Standards
How agritech startups are contributing to SA’s agriculture sector
What it takes to build and scale a business in Africa
PitchBook Universities: Top 100 colleges ranked by startup founders
Bloodshed Cometh: When American Farmers Were Beaten, Gassed and Jailed
AGCO Corporation Announces Plans for Dakota Smart Farm in North Dakota
Navigating the Brazilian Regulatory System for Life Sciences and Agribusiness
Finance:
MassPRIM attributes forestry portfolio underperformance to climate buyers
AfDB launches Sh145.5B funding for Africa startups
Ride-hailing app Bolt to invest in Kenya for EV business expansion
USDA’s Robert Bonnie hopes to ‘prime the pump’ on climate smart ag
RipeLocker Secures $10M In Funding
Agriculture finding its place within ‘new Washington consensus’
Source.ag Appoints New Leadership Following $27M Series A Funding
urban-gro Secures Over $3 Million in Contracts for Cannabis
Freight Farms to Go Public At $147M Value Through SPAC Deal
Omnivore Leads $3.5M Investment Through New Fund In Biomaterials Startup altM
Phycom Closes On Over €9M For Industrial Scale Microalgae Cultivation
AI forest mapping platform Treefera secures £1.8m for carbon data
EIB extends €15M venture debt loan to CrowdFarming
Theme of the Agtech Week: Honeymoon
We all have experienced the ‘warm and fuzzy’ phase with someone; when the conversation is easy, their jokes are funny and they can do no wrong in our eyes. That is the honeymoon phase, and agtech has enjoyed that for the past 4 years. What happens when the fuzzies wear off? That’s when the hard questions get asked and answered. Let’s explore what this means for agtech and how it can, AND WILL, move past the honeymoon phase.
What are some of those fuzzies that agtech has enjoyed for the past 4 years? To list them:
Plentiful investment capital and high valuations
Novelty of technology and its application to food and ag (e.g. see AI, blockchain)
Push for climate innovation
Market potential
Those are just a few but they are common across the litany of agtech startups that are written about in many publications. To emphasize, this is great to generate interest and attraction—like a honeymoon—in agtech. But when the music stops? Those 4 points morph into:
Devaluations and a tighter capital market
Technology needs to solve an actual market problem; novelty is not enough
Climate over profit, business model or other established investment metrics
Market Capture (it’s not enough to have potential)
Agtech is at an inflection point where the technologies being built, the startups being founded and the entrepreneurs creating ventures need to have:
Solid, foundational financials
A balanced (commercial and technical) team
Solving an actual market problem with defendable technology
Business model (e.g. sales, distribution, price, churn rate) that is seamless, repeatable and exit-able
This should in no way be interpreted as an indictment on agtech, but rather a wake up call for agtech to step up its game! I believe agtech can and will rise to the occasion. Why? Because agtech is full of outstanding people. I have had the honor of working with the brightest, most talented, motivated and entrepreneurial men and women who truly make a dent in the universe. It will get done.
Thanks for reading.
BD
Brandon Day is the Chief Operating Officer of The Yield Lab Institute, the global agtech think-tank, ecosystem builder, non-profit arm of The Yield Lab global network of venture capital funds. The views, opinions and commentary expressed are solely those of Brandon Day.