Agtech Action | Week of 11.13.21 - 11.19.21

Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting current events in the world of agtech, and some light-hearted commentary

The Deere strike is over, food and agtech inventions make 2021 TIME 100 Best list (congrats SAVRpak), and Starbucks tests alt milk. A big partnership between a large software company and another large crop science company, a solar garden in Colorado and could venture debt be a financing option in agtech? The theme of the agtech week reveals, in my opinion, the key facet of the Bayer Crop Science/Microsoft partnership and illustrates a mindset shift required to address food and agriculture issues—open innovation. You have to be excited about that and this week’s agtech news!

Food and the World:

Biden taps Califf to lead FDA

Report: John Deere considering more overseas production as U.S. strike lingers

Industry leaders say infrastructure bill will bring needed investments

Inflation continues hot for food

Cattle producers ask: Where’s the beef profits?

Biden’s climate goals don’t call for less meat production

Meat producers group vows to meet Paris Agreement climate goals in 2020s

Increased government labeling favored by those who consider sustainability a top priority

Tyson Foods Sees Upbeat Sales as Meat Prices, Restaurant Demand Jump

John Deere reaches third tentative agreement (0:30 mark)

Rural population loss, between 2010-2020 (0:50 mark)

Recent survey of New York City restaurants finds more than 90% of restaurants have customer-facing challenges

Biden holds virtual meeting with Chinese President (0:05 mark)

U.S. to allow pork plants to operate faster in trial program

With aquaponics, growers are charting a self-guided course to community improvement and uplift

90% of consumers say sustainability in produce packaging is very important

Investment Advice for A Start-Up Beef Herd

Infrastructure Package is ‘Monumental Step Forward,’ says Biden

Report: Low carbon footprint to boost sales of packaged fresh fruits

Deadly flooding and landslides in Canada (0:05 mark)

U.S. Senator Introduces Bill to Block Brazilian Beef Imports After 'Mad Cow' Reports

Deere strike to End as Workers Vote to Approve Contract

Brazil’s Amazon beef plan will ‘legalize deforestation’ say critics

Vietnam reconsiders methane-emitting rice amid climate crisis

Rabobank: Cost Inflation to Impact Global Protein Supply Chains

WFP launches program to support entrepreneurs in South Sudan

Vilsack on Thanksgiving dinner supply and demand (Thanksgiving dinner cost to rise 14%, 0:35 mark)

Agtech in the News:

Beyond Meat stock tumbles 17% as analysts worry about the company's long-term growth

Starbucks tests alt milk from unicorn startup Perfect Day

A Novel Pilot Brings Vertical Farms to Public Housing

How a Carbon Price Could Gut Animal Agriculture without Taxing Farmers And Ranchers

Food & Ag-Tech Companies Make TIME’s Best 100 Inventions of 2021 List (and the Sustainable Agtech Challenge winner SAVRpak makes the list!)

At COP26, investors steal the stage from diplomats

Benson Hill Announces Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

African Startups Are on the Rise. Here’s Why

China Plans Overhaul of Seed Rules to Pave Way for GMO Approvals

Benson Hill Announces ‘Crop Accelerator’ to Supply Massive Demand for Plant Meat

ADM, Temasek’s Asia Sustainable Foods Platform Sign Agreement Creating Path to Joint Venture in Singapore to Serve Fast-Growing Demand for Microbial-Based Alternative Protein

This Colorado 'solar garden' is literally a farm under solar panels

Online Mapping Tool to Accelerate Access to Critical Data on Agriculture Commodity Supply Chains

Farm Groups Rip Into EPA with Claims Agency Failed To Use Best Available Science in Latest Herbicide Evaluation

Craving locusts or larvae? The E.U. is approving insects as food.

Signify launches virtual Center of Excellence for smarter, more sustainable urban vegetable farming

Bayer announces partnership with Microsoft to develop agriculture-focused tech tools

10,000-Pound Robot Taking on One Of Ag’s Biggest Challenges - Weeds

Minerva Foods And Imaflora Announce Partnership In Program To Measure Carbon Balance Of South American Farms

Beck Ag accelerates focus on driving performance through execution excellence

Novozymes Believes Mycoprotein Is The Future of Sustainable Food and Is Now Asking For Partners To Join Its Journey

Fun:

Reese’s Thanksgiving pie sells out (1:10 mark)

Technology will create natural gas from cow manure at Oakridge Dairy in Ellington

The Forgotten Chinese Chef Who Taught America to Stir-Fry

How New Mexico chiles ended up on the space station

McD’s celebrating 50 years of Egg McMuffin (1:15 mark)

Asian honeybees scream in order to defend themselves from Murder hornets (1:05 mark)

Helpful Resources:

European VC Valuations Report

Introducing Harvest Terms Financing

Research Associate, Fermentation & Microbiology (job opening with Better Meat Co.)

Openings at various agtech startups (courtesy of Trendlines)

The Used Tractor Market Is Far wilder than the Used Car Market

Private Fund Strategies Report (PitchBook resource)

Family Council Creates Farm Business Transparency

Thanksgiving and food waste

Interesting Reads:

Why vegan junk food may be even worse for your health

We Built an AgTech VC — what did we learn? (great insights from Agthentic)

What the world can learn from Britain’s humble hedge

Europe's butterflies are vanishing as small farms disappear

John Deere and UAW reach new 6-year deal, ending month-long strike

Opinion: This one goes out to every whiny brat restaurant customer

Invasive lake trout have been decimating native fish populations for decades. Residents of the Flathead Reservation in Montana have a solution

Covid-19 safety measures may also have reduced our risk of contracting a foodborne illness

Plant based proteins taste test

Scientists cast doubt on ‘dangerous’ implications of red meat health risks data in Global Burden of Disease study

Preparing for Sustainable Beef: Two Conditioning Challenges Changemakers Face

Wisconsin Farmer Brad Clark Shares Climate Positive Tips For Producers, Trusted Advisers

Why Animal Agriculture is Not the Leading Cause of Climate Change

With more than $758m raised in the country in 2021 so far, South Africa is on track for a record year

Livestock Haulers Secure a Win in House Infrastructure Bill

Don’t Underestimate Local Knowledge Of Agriculture In Dealing With Climate Change

Trade Mentioned, not a Focus of Biden-Xi Talks as China Warns U.S. It's 'Playing with Fire' on Taiwan

New emails shed light on meat company CEOs’ pandemic lobbying

Why are consumers buying fewer plant-based meat alternatives?

Hangzhou citizens can use their mobile phones, and robots to plant vegetables

Refiners Relationship with Ethanol Continues to Be Faithful

Finance:

CDPQ launches timber partnership with 76k-acre Georgia deal

Geosys Emerges as Key Player for Geospatial Analytics in Global Agriculture

APAC family offices look to increase allocations for agriculture

Venture Debt in Life Sciences (an interesting finance option for agtech?)

Autonomous tractor maker Monarch raises $61M

Hydrosat closes another $10M in funding for ground temperature analytics product

HNRG rebrands amid broader Manulife reorganization

Organic ag at a crossroads

Gunn Agri Partners hits A$100M first close on TFP vehicle – exclusive

Bits X Bites’ Second Fund Hits Oversubscribed Final Close At $100m, Makes Four Investments

Plastomics Secures $7.1 Million in Series A Funding

$2.1 million Cowra glasshouse set to revolutionise crop and pasture research

New Partnership Model Sees Wheatsheaf Rebrand as Grosvenor Food & Agtech

Bioventure Sundew Acquires MicroSynbiotiX And Completes €1.4M Funding

ADM Invests in and Expands Partnership with Farmers Business Network

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Agtech Theme of the Week: Open Innovation

The big news of the agtech week was the announced partnership between Bayer Crop Science and Microsoft. This partnership is aimed at developing agriculture-focused tech tools. The importance of this partnership is not what they are planning to do, but the organizations that are doing it—a large international technology provider and an international crop science conglomerate.

Every week, the news highlights the continued issues in food and agriculture—from food access, technology adoption, rural connectivity, among others—and this partnership recognizes that those solutions may come from outside of traditional food and agriculture stakeholders. The concept of open innovation, that innovation comes from anywhere and anyone, is what prompted this partnership. Being open to the largest technology provider, outside of agriculture, developing technology solutions specific to agriculture is the type of mindset the food and agtech ecosystem needs to adopt to accelerate innovation. Perhaps the next wave of innovations for food and agriculture will come from outside traditional ag ecosystem, from ancillary industries like mining, materials, and petrochemicals, or verticals like telecomms, aerospace/defense, and supply chain/logistics. Open innovation is not only an objective, but a mindset. I am excited to see where this Bayer/Microsoft partnership goes and for other partnerships like these to be announced!

Stay safe, warm and have a wonderful Thanksgiving week.

BD

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Brandon Day is the Chief Operating Officer of the Yield Lab Institute, the think-tank, non-profit arm of The Yield Lab global network of venture capital funds and accelerator programs.