Agtech Action | Week of 02.03.24 - 02.09.24
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting and commenting on current events in the world of agtech
Farm bill still in works, gene-edited chickens to resist avian flu and EU concedes pesticides proposal to farmers. Popular food brands and prisoner workforce, well-known agtech may go private and Elanco sells its aqua business.
Entrepreneurship is a lot of trying, and trying, and missing, and trying again. A common misconception is that successful entrepreneurs must create, or discover something new and bring it to reality. In fact, a lot of successful entrepreneurs are simply skilled at Connecting the Dots. What are those dots? I’ll explain that further, and tease next week’s big announcement, in this edition of Agtech Action.
Food and the World:
Agriculture built these High Plains towns. Now, it might run them dry
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet: Why Economists Say Cattle Prices Will Soar Even Higher This Year
Two Important Factors for Fertilizer Prices This Spring
As input prices fall, farmers’ concerns shift to commodity prices
US Justice Department Probing ADM Accounting Practices (more bad news)
FMI president and CEO criticizes politicization of grocery prices
European Union scraps pesticide proposal in another concession to protesting farmers
February WASDE: U.S. supplies higher than traders expected
Report reveals Ontario shoppers' lingering financial concerns
Drought relief noted for some regions in Chile
Stabenow says ‘the time to act is now’ on farm bill
U.S. Agricultural Production Stability, Adjustments & Global Supply Shifts
Agtech in the News:
Elanco Announces Sale of Aqua Business for $1.3 Billion
Cattler Announces Its New Interface With Elanco Animal Health Inc
Scientists Are Gene-Editing Chickens to Resist Avian Flu
Gene editing technology produces first BVDV-resistant calf
NASDA conference addresses mRNA vaccines, ag labor shortages
Dairy industry teams with cybersecurity group to beef up defenses
CEA growers talk opportunities, challenges for 2024
Red Sun Farms Ontario’s Dynamic Lighting Experiment
Loamist: Innovating the Bioeconomy with Biomass Explorer™
UK investor says it's exploring deals that could take St. Louis public firm private
Study: Multistate foodborne illness outbreaks change public perception of restaurants
Manitoba Harvest and Brightseed target gut barrier function with bioactive fiber launch
Lucent Bio Introduces Biodegradable Seed Coating
U.S. Dairy Industry Faces Growth Challenges Amid Declining Heifer Supply
Are we at the dawn of African agri-tech innovation?
Fun:
A century of dairy farming in Wisconsin's heartland
What Do Farmers Do During the Winter?
Illinois Farm Families Star in Super Bowl LVIII Commercial
Helpful Resources:
Q4 2023 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor
Q2 2023 Global Fund Performance Report (with preliminary Q3 2023 data)
Co-Investors: The crowding-out effect
The complete list of African unicorns today
Interesting Reads:
Cattle and beef prices hit the stratosphere
Ozempic Maker Novo Gets Calls From ‘Scared’ Food CEOs (what are they scared of?)
Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
Nigerian Naira loses value, CBN responds (and with guidelines on international money transfers)
Fintech giant Flutterwave secures release of $3 million in Kenya
Eastern Europe’s Richest Woman Pivots $43 Billion Empire West
The United Nations wants the US to eat less meat — try telling that to Congress (clean up your own house first, then we can talk)
The Revolution That Died on Its Way to Dinner
Of Hubris and Feces: The Human Story of Phosphorus
It’s only $4.99. But Costco’s rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price
The King of Curcumin: a case study in the consequences of large-scale research fraud
Adaptive Equipment for the Most Dangerous Profession
A Red Herring in the Supreme Court
A slow start of the year (Jan 2024) for funding in Africa
NYS Pension Fund Launches Review of Integrated Oil & Gas Companies
Building an early warning system for LLM-aided biological threat creation
14 Methods for Ensuring Accountability Within Startup Teams
Iowa farmland brings in $23,700 per acre
African countries turn toward home-engineered gene edited crops to ensure regional acceptance
The Top 20 Landowners In America, According To A New Report
Why are GOP governors taking food out of the mouths of poor kids? (interesting way to frame it)
Finance:
What a diminished UK exchange means for private markets
Paine Schwartz takeover of Costa Group wins shareholder backing
International consortium takes control of Carlyle’s Accolade Wines
Agrifood and forestry fundraising stabilizes at $8B
Future Food Fund closes €40M impact VC vehicle
Manulife signs agreement with Indonesia SWF for natural capital investments
Fundraising stabilizes in 2023 to hit $8B
Bluewhite rakes in $39M for robots-as-a-service that can be retrofitted to drive any tractor
SeeTree secures $17.5 million Series C for its Tree Intelligence Platform
Planet A Foods Raises $15.4M Series A For Cocoa-Free Chocolate
Sonoma County Winegrowers Announce A Collaboration With John Deere For The 'Farm Of The Future'
Swiss AI Startup Jua Raises $16M to Model the Natural World
Hamburg: COLIPI Receives €1.8M in Seed Financing to Further Develop CO2-Neutral Oil
ProducePay Raises $38M in Series D Funding
Theme of the Agtech Week: Connecting the Dots
Creating and bring new ideas to life is in large part the role of an entrepreneur. That seems like a tall task, and it can be. But I argue that most successful entrepreneurs find the hidden value, the unmet need, they connect the dots and build a venture around that. What does ‘connecting the dots’ really mean?
In my short time working with entrepreneurs, I’ve noticed that the problems they chose to tackle can be categorized as such:
Driven by market price. Something is either too expensive or costly and they are motivated to create a more affordable mouse trap.
Existing products do not meet their needs. Namely, I want this widget to do Y and it can only do X.
See an opportunity that cannot be missed. Think fin services (Schwab), rocket propulsion (SpaceX), logistics (Amazon) and so on.
These entrepreneurs are motivated by these 3 things to create, innovate and iterate a technology, solution or product. You may think that this means creating something new, true ideation, and you would be right. BUT it also means that the entrepreneur simply connects the dots. Connecting the dots means:
Streamlining processes. Typical scenario: great product and tech, but unclear where it fits in the market and to whom to sell it to. Fixing that fixes their market trajectory.
Making a strategic connection. Attending that one innocuous conference where you meet someone who understands your tech, knows your market, wants to support you and makes introductions. It’s often not the number of connections you make, it’s the right connection that makes the difference.
Finding the right talent. For example, hiring that salesperson who accelerates their growth or the right scientist that iterates the product to the market’s liking. Or that executive that makes the commercial connections needed for growth.
A successful entrepreneur quickly diagnoses the problem (is it internal or external?), finds the right resources (physical or intangible assets), finds the appropriate people, makes the right connection and packages it all together in a cohesive, professional manner. They are the conductor of a symphony. Being a connector is as important as being a creator.
Next week is the announcement of the finalists of the Soy Innovation Challenge 2023. Stay connected so you don’t miss that exciting announcement!
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
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.