Agtech Action | Week of 12.07.24 - 12.13.24
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting and commenting on current events in the world of agtech
Deere lays off more employees, federal judge blocks business ownership reporting requirement, and ultra-processed food from industrial waste. Butterball shuts down Arkansas plant, CA recalls raw milk and cream from Raw Farm, and can dirt clean the climate?
A less often used tactic in agtech is a joint venture. Agtech tends to build on its own but I recommend a joint venture. There are reasons why we don’t see it enough in agtech and why we should. We’ll delve into that in this week’s newsletter.
Food and the World:
Ag trade's uncertain future: Exports offer economic impact far beyond the farm gate
Judge blocks business ownership reporting requirement (Good!)
80 Iowa Acres Sell for $19,000 per Acre
John Deere Adds 112 More Iowa Layoffs
USDA Orders Testing Nationwide for Bird Flu Virus in Milk Fresh from the Cow
Brazil’s Farmers Are Plowing Over an Ancient Amazon Civilization
Farmers Push for Accountability During Contentious Illinois Farm Bureau Meeting
Equipment Sales Falter as Farm Income Slows, Tariffs a Concern, Say Regional Feds
Federal Judge Halts Enforcement of Corporate Transparency Act
USDA Reduces U.S. Corn Ending Stocks More Than Expected
Equipment Oversupply Means Deals on Nearly Any Machine Your Farm Might Need
Quick Hits: AFBF’s Duvall Measured in Illinois Farm Bureau Comments
Agriculture Industry Reacts to Proposal to List Monarch Butterfly as Threatened Species
With Trump, Oil Refiners ‘Will Be Back in the Driver’s Seat’ on RFS, Says Analyst
Nearly All U.S. Farms Are Family Farms, USDA Says
Minnesota PUC Grants Long-Awaited Permit for Carbon Capture Pipeline
Agtech in the News:
Making climate smart ag profitable
Palm oil giant GAR on why Silicon Valley can’t solve all of ag’s tech needs - Watch
Bayer and Silal advance their innovation partnership in the UAE
AgriRobot set to accelerate safety software after funding
Spreading Rock Dust on Your Crops — for the Planet
Two Thirds of Large Crop Farms Use Precision Agriculture Technology, Says Report
Summit CO2 Injection Wells Up for Approval but Court Appeal Already in the Works
Why is Arla’s Bovaer trial stirring controversy in the UK?
Wall Street’s climate conundrum
The Founder Journey: Thriving Amidst Challenges
As Ocean Waters Warm, a Race to Breed Heat-Resistant Coral
Fun:
IH’s Innovative 2+2: A Success Despite the Rumors
Helpful Resources:
Q3 2024 Global Private Market Fundraising Report
How to Start Transitioning Grain Marketing to the Next Generation
Q4 2024 PitchBook Analyst Note: Does Slow and Steady Win the Race?
Building America’s Infrastructure: How Private Equity Improves Local Communities
Q4 2024 PitchBook Analyst Note: GP-Led Secondaries
Q4 2024 PitchBook Analyst Note: Climate Tech Software
Q3 2024 US PE Middle Market Report
Interesting Reads:
Game wardens process wild game and donate it to Vermonters in need through state-run program
Data Dive: Hawaii Has the Oldest Farmers in The U.S.
USDA Funds Developing a Network to Advance Genetic Research in Agricultural Animals
How will US immigration policy changes impact meat industry?
Butterball closing Arkansas further processing plant
California recalls all raw milk, cream from Raw Farm due to H5N1
Bacteria reduce pig farm methane emissions
Plankton are the backbone of the ocean – and may struggle with what’s coming
Older Adults Do Not Benefit from Moderate Drinking, Large Study Finds
Sales of Raw Farms’ products suspended amid bird flu concerns
How Honeycrisp Apples Went From Marvel to Mediocre
How we created ultra-processed food from industrial waste – video
Recreating an Ancient Roman Dinner of Death
Finance:
Cocoa-Tech Company Celleste Bio Closes $4.5M Seed Round to Scale Production of Cell Cultured Cocoa
PitchBook VC Dealmaking Indicator
Agtech’s long M&A drought may be lifting — Dealspeak North America
‘LPs could have natural capital buckets in five years’ – IWC
Chasing investors is a waste of your time!
How Japan’s giant public pension is turning to impact investing
6 charts: Japan’s VC market recovery
Nature markets hold their breath as Trump waits in the wings
9 VC firms collected half of all money raised by US funds in 2024
ANREV: Negative returns continue for Australian farmland
Briefing: Privium FM and Impact Orange partner for biodiversity fund
Theme of the Agtech Week: Joint Venture
Agtech attracts the ambitious, motivated and eager entrepreneur. They build their tech, and their team, and their product. This often happens in a silo, with the team insulated from outside forces. This is an approach that lends itself to building fast but not necessarily scaling fast. Sometimes a partner is needed. I argue agtech needs more joint ventures.
Why don’t we see more joint ventures in agtech?
Agriculture is quite consolidated. Therefore power, and value, lays in the hands of a few.
Technology is usually a singles sport, agtech included. We tend to think we have our own way, a ‘secret sauce’.
Emotions. We are governed by them, and often fear rules the day. We fear what we don’t know, what we can’t control and another partner adds a variable.
But this should not deter us from seeking out joint venture. There are advantages including:
De-risk. Agtech is risky enough doing it on your own. Why not bring in another partner to de-risk?
Access. Often the missing ingredient in agtech is access (to markets, customers, technology, resources, etc.). A joint venture can bring in that missing link.
Multiplier Effect. This is an economic term that refers to the proportional effect an activity (withdrawal or injection) has on final income. A joint venture can have a similar effect on agtech. It can multiply users, adoption, engagement, customers, sales, EBITDA, and so on.
The lone wolf tale is an alluring one. There is something sexy about going your own way and doing it ‘my way’. But what the Sinatra song fails to mention is that ‘my way’ is a long, hard and strenuous road. I recommend doing it ‘our way’.
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.