Agtech Action | Week of 03.23.24 - 03.29.24
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting and commenting on current events in the world of agtech
Chick-fil-A changes its antibiotic use policy, bird flu is spreading to different species, and the Baltimore Bridge’s impact on ag. Uruguay allows gene-editing, CA pork prices up and the purple tomato hits the market.
Software versus hardware; it’s a debate that agtech needs to have. I argue that agtech needs more hardware than software. Why? Let’s debate that further in this week’s Agtech Action.
Food and the World:
Bird flu found in dairy cows in Texas and Kansas
Groups seek to delay Iowa pipeline decision after expansion announcement
California pork prices up, sales down in Prop 12 aftermath (Shocker! Reduce supply, you increase demand and prices!)
USDA predicts food inflation rate for 2024
Will The Collapse of The Baltimore Key Bridge Impact Agriculture?
Bird flu threat looms for cattle (this is a legit concern and should be taken seriously)
Is the bull market story in cattle over?
USDA says farmers will plant more soybeans in 2024
Maryland bridge collapse could affect agriculture
USDA will implement long-awaited change to country-of-origin labeling rules
Agtech in the News:
Why the spread of organic farms may prompt growers to use more pesticide, not less
You Can Now Buy 3D Printed Plant-Based Octopus
Red Sun Farms prepares to market bio-engineered purple tomato
AgTech and Connectivity: It Matters More Than Ever Before
Telus Explains Proagrica Acquisition, The Future of Digital Ag Platforms
Uruguay joins gene-editing nations, revamps CRISPR crop approval process
Bird flu identified in US livestock for first time
In Spain, hi-tech hops keep beer bitter as climate bites
Cultivated meat leader Meatable achieves landmark breakthrough
In its quest for food security, China scales up GMO and gene edited crop approvals
How new research could prevent frost damage in orchards
APHIS Now Thinks Wild Birds Are to Blame for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza's Arrival on Four U.S. Dairies (now that we can identify a source, let’s address it)
Fun:
Amid shortage, Canada taps into emergency maple syrup reserves (is nothing sacred!?)
How Much More Ranch Can America Take? Hidden Valley Seeks Total Domination
SOLD! 230-acre Iowa century farm brings nearly $4M at auction
Grandpa's John Deere A is back in the family
Helpful Resources:
3 Biggest Management Opportunities for Farmers with Technology
2024 Emerging Space Brief: Thermal Batteries
Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Q4 2023 Launch Report: Data Analytics
Interesting Reads:
Vilsack accused of both employing CCC as 'slush fund' – and unfairly limiting its use
Does AI have a place in estate planning?
Regen ag in the absence of an LVMH: why it matters
The ranching industry’s toxic grass problem
Get Ready for the Robotic Fish Revolution
How Raw Milk Went from a Whole Foods Staple to a Conservative Signal (I am thoroughly enjoying how nutrition has become political; we know what is healthy and nutritious, and yet it has become political and it should not be)
Mystery Illness is Now Affecting Dairy Cows in Texas, New Mexico As Industry Searches for Answers
Nvidia, Microsoft rain on AI-driven IPO parade
Skills survey reveals U.S. agriculture workforce needs and gaps
Chick-fil-A changes antibiotic use policy for chicken
Kansas House tries to fix constitutional flaw to shield agriculture from animal-rights activists
Understanding Cattle Grazing Personalities May Foster Sustainable Rangelands
OK, Class, First We Shoot the Deer
Do We Need to Plant Different Grapes For CA Wine to Survive Climate Change?
Aging Out of Beef (Beef ain’t going anywhere!)
Eating Away the Blue Catfish Invasion
Finance:
Mad Capital launches Perennial Fund II
Unpicking Munich RE’s farmland play
KAS Announces $3M Funding Round to Expand Production of its Natural Algae Astaxanthin
‘Timing is perfect’ for Australia debt expansion – PGIM
SemCap takes $68M stake in Aloha
Molecular Farming Pioneer PoLoPo Unveils Protein Biofactory Platform Using Potatoes
Poseidon Closes On $20.75M For Innovative Aquaculture Solutions
MyGug Raises Funding for Circular, Zero-Waste Solution to Food Waste
Orchard Robotics Raises $3.8M to Advance Precision Agriculture
World Fund hits €300M close on climate tech fund
Theme of the Agtech Week: Software vs. Hardware
This is a topic I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Agtech, and much of tech to be honest, is associated with software. They are viewed often as one and the same. Venture capital, and its success, has been built on the shoulders of successful software startups (Facebook, Airbnb, Uber, Oracle, etc.). But I argue that agtech needs more hardware. Why? Let’s explore that further.
First, let’s define software and hardware. I define software as an intangible, often digital, technology that performs a specific task. Hardware is a physical product or technology that also performs a specific task.
Second, why do we need more hardware rather than software?
Software is hard to sell, and scale, especially in food and agriculture. Software that does sell is typically bolted-on to a physical product (e.g. a piece of equipment, delivery of a product, and so on).
Software is often a ‘nice to have’ not a ‘need to have’. In the developed world (US, Europe), the food and ag value chain is very efficient and therefore software does not move the needle. In the developing world, production and access to inputs, equipment and financing is prioritized, ahead of software per se.
Hardware is easier to sell and scale. Food and ag relies on physical devices, equipment and products. Your users (farmers, producers, vendors) will have an easier time buying a physical product.
Hardware is more of a ‘need to have’ than a ‘nice to have.’ Farmers need good seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, crop protection, effective equipment. Multinationals need more physical products or technologies to deliver more products. Do farmers and multinationals need more software?
From the investor perspective, hardware provides a clearer path to scale and exit than software. Blue River, Soylent, CoverCress are a few hardware (physical product) exits of note. Name a successful software exit other than Climate corp? I’ll wait.
Software is built fast, but does not scale fast. Hardware builds slow, but scales quickly.
I welcome a debate from those of you who disagree. In fact, I encourage it. The Yield Lab Group has invested in early stage agtech for 8 years, across 4 continents and more than 90 investments and growing. The most successful of our investments are hardware and those that have proved difficult are software. Do with that information what you will.
Stay safe and have a wonderful Easter 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.