Agtech Action | Week of 11.18.23 - 11.24.23
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting and commenting on current events in the world of agtech
Bacteria store ‘memories’, all eyes on Brazil commodities and most Mexican tomatoes are grown in controlled conditions. Milk carton shortage, Heinz launches dill pickle ketchup and one politician wants to ban lab-grown meat.
Liquidity is the theme of the agtech week. There are many different metrics to evaluate agtech, and liquidity is an overlooked metric. An agtech can achieve liquidity in many ways. We’ll explore those in this week’s newsletter.
Food and the World:
USDA eyes non-traditional markets for ag exports
‘Bone-dry weather’ this fall has led to a ‘fast-developing’ drought in North Carolina
Senator Urges USDA to Take Action on Nation’s Milk Carton Shortage
Do You Have Soil Compaction and Density Changes That Impede Roots and Water? Here’s How to Find Out
USDA begins reports on ‘Prop 12’ hogs
Showers return to central Brazil
Thanksgiving Food Costs Reflect A Healed Supply Chain
USDA Crop Progress report: 3 states complete corn harvest
Agriculture Future of America (AFA) and National FFA Organization Partner to Strengthen the Future Agriculture Talent Pipeline (great news for food and agriculture talent)
USDA Says Trade Efforts Are Working to Build Markets Abroad
Brazilian Farmers Still have 30% of Their Soybeans to Plant
Federal report forecasts the Midwest’s climate future
Agtech in the News:
Naïo Technologies Launches Augmented Autonomy
Agritecture Designer’s Role in Raiz Vertical Farms’ Success in Lisbon
A celebrated startup promised Kentuckians green jobs. It gave them a ‘grueling hell on earth.’
4AG Robotics' Funding Triumph and GreenOnyx's Space Endeavor
Governor Hochul Announces New Indoor Food System in East Buffalo
AgriCann Adds Cannabis 2.0 License, Launches Key Brands
Insiders Say Eat Just Is in Big Financial Trouble (turns out you need strong financials to run a successful venture)
Crunch time for cultivated meat: ‘Probably 70-90% of players will fail in the next year’
Report: Most Mexican tomatoes grown in controlled conditions
PepsiCo Advances Sustainable Farming with PAO Accelerator
Bacteria store 'memories' and pass them on for generations, study finds
Polartec Introduces Plant-Based Biolon Nylon to Enhance Its Performance Fabrics
An AI taste ‘connoisseur’ could be the future of crop breeding
Climate Robotics wins AgSharks Pitch Competition
Fertilizer Relay System Gives Corn a Big Push Out of the Gate
Fun:
Agriculture at the Thanksgiving table
Walmart touts Sam’s Club Thanksgiving feast for 8 for less than $100
Turporken is the Thanksgiving Trifecta
Heinz is launching Pickle Ketchup — and it’s an absolute dillight
Hazard or Hysteria? Farmers Trigger Suburban Uproar
Kroger lowers prices on Thanksgiving
Harvesting the Good Life: Pennsylvania Farmer Continues to Run Silage Chopper at 96 Years Old
Helpful Resources:
Q4 2023: Quantitative Perspectives: The Waiting Game
Addressing Rising Trends of Non-Communicable Diseases--Can Sin Taxes Help?
Funding raised by startups in Africa – 2019 – Oct 2023
Q3 2023: European VC Valuations Report
PitchBook VC Dealmaking Indicator
Interesting Reads:
CF Industries Ready to Move Forward to Acquire Louisiana Ammonia Production Facility
Why not all cities are welcoming community composters
23 African startups participating in the inaugural Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator
Back away from the can opener...
Restaurant operator challenges Arizona cage-free egg law
The steaks are high: Florida Republican wants to ban lab-grown meat
Rethinking waste: how macadamia shells could help reduce carbon emissions
Löfbergs launches GrowGrounds to reduce coffee’s environmental impact
Nigerian Fintech Startup Vella Finance Drops Crypto-Related Services
The Scoop Podcast: How One Ag Retailer Found Success with H2-A Workers
Lost and Found: Bottle Hunter Digs Extraordinary Farmland Treasures
Pros and Cons of Hedging Grain with Futures Vs. Hedge-to-Arrive Contracts
USDA Is Buying Bison From Small Native Producers
‘Help us, we are dying.’ New York’s cannabis farmers are at their breaking point.
Turkey Day Dinner, Brought to You By America’s Biggest Privately Held Company
Kmart Christmas product is pulled from shelves over embarrassing Hamas blunder
‘There’s no future after me’: Colorado pumpkin man says drought, labor, water issues will end his family business. ‘My boys won’t farm’ (this is a big concern for farms and transitioning to the next generation)
Finance:
Will regulation cast light on shadowy private markets?
Active Impact Investments raises C$70M for Fund III
Planet Farms Latest News: Secures $40M To Expand in Italy & UK
Level Setting and Career Goals for VCs: What level are Midas List VCs actually performing on?
SEC suspends trading of Tingo shares due to “lack of accurate” information
Smaller GPs offer co-investments to build trust with LPs
Carlyle plots irrigation expansion from European base
UK commercial forestry prices ‘fall by 10-20%’
Altman's ouster from OpenAI spooks secondary investors
Gunn Agri Partners appoints former Macquarie director to MD role
European pension funds cool to private markets in 2023
AgTech Investor Profile, Part 1: The Yield Lab APAC on its matrix for success (great spotlight on The Yield Lab Asia Pacific)
Norrsken22’s debut fund closes at $205M to back growth-stage startups in Africa
RHA Ventures Announces 519 Growth Fund II
RED Horticulture’s €17 Million Series A Funding Milestone
Theme of the Agtech Week: Liquidity
Get to liquidity. That should be a goal for agtech. But ventures face a ton of challenges let alone getting liquid. Lets outline some ways for agtech to recognize, and acquire liquidity.
What is liquidity? The most obvious example is cash. Companies that have strong cash balance are said to be ‘liquid’. For agtech, a strong piggybank of cash is not easy to get, especially with early stage technology. But that does not mean liquidity is impossible. What are some ways for agtech to get liquid? A few ways are:
Intellectual property (e.g. technology, patent, product)
Infrastructure (e.g. facility, building, equipment)
Finance (e.g. debt, equity, capital table and other creative financial instruments)
Why is liquidity important? My thoughts:
Strong signal of financial success (makes raising future capital easier)
Buffer for tough economic environment (e.g. limited venture capital, high interest rates, etc.)
When you have a strong piggybank, you don’t have to dip into someone else’s piggybank
The cash you’ve got under your mattress makes you liquid. And liquidity buys you time and time is arguably the most important asset agtech can buy.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am grateful for all of you and your loyalty to our newsletter.
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.