Agtech Action | Week of 05.14.22 - 05.20.22
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting current events in the world of agtech, and some light-hearted commentary
Heinz ketchup will be in a paper bottle, $2.50 strawberry (per), and soy is the best protein source for your kidneys. 62% of US households subscribe to retail member programs, McD’s is selling its Russian business and Iowa first state to require gas stations to sell gas with ethanol.
Preservation is the theme of the week where we saw two key agriculture nations make important export decision. A lesson that we can translate over to the startup world where sometimes preservation (of cash, resources, etc.) is sometimes the best course. Read on.
Food and the World:
Ukrainian Farmer Attacked by Russian Pilot While Cultivating
Planting Heats Up in Eastern and Central Corn Belt
Vilsack pivots, seeking new insurance, conservation incentives to boost production
World’s Second-Largest Wheat Producer India Announces Partial Wheat Export Ban
In Africa millers have run out of wheat (0:00 mark)
McD’s is selling Russian business (0:35 mark)
Corn and Soybean Planting Begins in South Dakota
Iowa's New Ethanol Law Could Spark Regional Trend, Biofuels Exec Says
USDA to provide $6B to commodity and specialty crop growers hurt by 2020 and 2021 natural disasters
Nutrien Releases 2022 ESG Report
Walmart's volatile blueberry market not typical for U.S. market
Derecho Damages Property – and Breaks Hearts
Party-Line Vote Sends Livestock Reform Bill to House Floor
Local, Direct Meat Sales Take Off Online
H-2A program sees double-digit gains in positions filled
Gas prices continue to climb (0:00 mark)
Iowa to require gas stations to sell gas with 15% ethanol (0:35 mark)
USDA accepting applications to help cover costs of organic, transitioning producers
Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?
Farmland Values Rise Alongside Strong Ag Economy
African food prices soaring amid Ukraine war
India bans wheat exports amid severe heat wave
62% of U.S. households subscribe to retail membership programs
Agtech in the News:
Ag Carbon Market Map: Meet The 58 Companies Helping to Harness the Benefits of Regenerative Farming
Podcast: Farmland Partners’ ‘short and distort’ public markets nightmare
John Deere Reorganization Aimed at Helping Farmers Easily Adopt the Right Tech for their Operation
African Swine Fever Virus Vaccine Passes Tests Required for Regulatory Approval
GOOD Meat & ADM Partner to Accelerate Cultivated Meat Production
The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai launches vertical farm with a focus on food security
Kalera Announces First Harvest of Lettuce and Microgreens at New Denver Vertical Farm
Nutrien Eyes U.S. Ammonia Plant with Low Carbon Emissions
The biggest living thing on Earth is being nibbled to death. Can it be saved?
The Utopian Promises and Novelty Cheese of a Discount Grocery Store
Burning Crops to Capture Carbon? Good Luck Finding Water
Major soybean production plant coming to Southeast Missouri (Cargill)
Fun:
No stopping Georgia: Good weather, strong demand keeps farmers, packers busy
Arkansas Farmer Finds Sweet Spot for Conservation Practices with Customization
Most popular posts from The Big Deal, a weekly newsletter on Africa startup deals
Alberta Man Linked to Multi-Million-Dollar Hay ‘Scam’
Baby calves at school in Indiana (1:00 mark); they found their way on a school playground, they are safely back home now
Heinz working on a paper bottle (0:30 mark)
$2.50 per strawberry! Yes they are the Ferrari of strawberries (1:00 mark)
Helpful Resources:
How inflation, monetary tightening and volatility are impacting PE and VC
SoftBank's losses signal the end of a VC era
Q1 2022 Interactive Global League Tables
Why You’re Hearing About Stagflation Right Now, and What You Can Do to Prepare for It
How Inflation, Monetary Tightening, and Volatility Are Impacting PE and VC
Tracking trends in private equity IPOs, mergers and buyouts
Beef Alliance Startup Challenge (apply to this open innovation challenge to work with beef producers and members of the alliance)
Interesting Reads:
USDA extends deadline on competition issues in retail, inputs
Russia won’t release grain stuck in Ukraine (0:00 mark)
Walmart Sees Plenty of Promise in Vertical-Farming Firm - TheStreet
Soy is the best protein source for your kidney health
Opportunity for Africa to participate in plant-based protein megatrend
India isn’t the only one banning food exports. These countries are doing the same
California’s Undocumented Children Are Going Hungry
Census undercount threatens federal food, health programs on reservations
‘I cannot survive on $260 a week’: US retail and fast-food workers strike
Why are We Basing Food Policy on Black Box Data?
Green ambition: Revol Greens chief revenue officer shares plans for growth
Derecho hits dairy (1:00 mark); video of storm ripping off room of a dairy farm (the cows were moved in time)
Ben & Jerry’s launches pilot program to cut dairy farm emissions
China Targets Alternative Protein Development In New Bioeconomy Plan
Fed Banks Report Sharp Gains in Farmland Values
Weather Delays Planting In Some Areas, But Weeds Are On Time
The cherry challenge: Organic gaining traction, but many consumers still put off by price point
Palm-Oil Export Ban in Indonesia to Be Lifted
Divest fossil fuels — the time for engagement is over
Child labor on the rise in Africa
EU, US join forces to ensure food security, access to fertilizer
How family farmers are working to get federal support for regenerative agriculture
Biden’s rural challenge: turning flood of aid into results on the ground
Finance:
Cibus Funds’ follow-on vehicles set to raise more than $700M
Australian superfunds ‘start from position of negativity’ when considering agriculture
BioMar to trial single cell protein in salmon feeds
UL leads $14 million research partnership to produce more resilient oysters
Bonnefield taps AGR exec for agribusiness fund expansion
Regenerative ag gets a timely €1B impact fund
Anterra Capital Closes Second Fund Oversubscribed at More than $260M
Vestaron Closes $82M Series C for Peptide-Based Crop Protection
AACo attracted to Packhorse Pastoral Co model and eyes carbon revenues
Redefine Meat raising $250 million to expand 3D-printed animal-free meat substitutes
Singapore-based Good Startup raises $34M fund to invest in alternative protein companies
Sustainable Agtech Challenge: White Paper Policy Assessment
You recall that we ran the Sustainable Agtech Challenge for the Latin America and the Caribbean region as part of an initiative with the Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires (Argentina), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) , along with support from the Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs) initiative. The challenge worked with 8 startups through 9 month programming to support their innovations to move forward more sustainble, equitable value chains in the LAC region. One of the deliverables of this challenge was a white paper policy assessment.
This white paper is the result of a joint effort by The Yield Lab Institute, Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires (Argentina), and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) , along with support from the Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs) initiative, who worked closely together to combine their complementary knowledge and experience on this broad, exciting, and novel topic.
The report and the project were funded through contributions made to UNEP from the Government of Norway. Additionally, the final product embodied in this report has benefited from the input of numerous opinion leaders, subject matter experts and other organizations that supported the development of the Sustainable Agtech Challenge throughout 2021. The authors and organisations who supported the development of this report would like to thank every one of these individuals and organizations.
Download the full report: https://lnkd.in/dXBjZE8U
Descargar el informe completo: https://lnkd.in/dBpuc3E7
Theme of the Agtech Week: Preservation
India announced this week that they would partially ban exports of wheat for fear of growing global shortages; and Indonesia lifted its export ban on palm oil, settling cooking oil and other product prices around the world. While these moves appear to be done in a vacuum, the moves are motivated by a variety of factors, including inflation, global food shortages and avoiding food crises in country. This effectively takes India and Indonesia temporarily out of the global market, hurting their trade in the short term, they would rather preserve their precious crops. That’s where we bring this lesson back to agtech startups and innovators.
It wasn’t that long ago when agtech was not seen as an attractive investment for VCs, angels and other investors. If you were an agtech startup then, I would have advised you to hold onto your cash, be as lean as possible, aka do as much with as little as possible. The past two years have shown record investment in agtech, so that advice may not be applicable now but it exemplifies that external factors may prompt agtech startups to preserve/maintain. That is tough to do when you have institutional investors on your cap table, contracts to fulfill and partners who want you to chase new customers, MOUs, and growth. In current market conditions, where customers may pull back, and your dollar is likely not to go as far, preserving your cashflows and resources demonstrates just as much progress as chasing growth and acquiring new customers.
‘Self preservation is the first law of nature’ - Samuel Butler
BD
Brandon Day is the Chief Operating Officer of The Yield Lab Institute, the global agtech think-tank, non-profit arm of The Yield Lab global network of venture capital funds and accelerator programs. The views, opinions and commentary expressed are solely those of Brandon Day.