Agtech Action | Week of 12.04.21 - 12.10.21
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting current events in the world of agtech, and some light-hearted commentary
Cookie wine, Miller Lite ‘beernaments’ and the largest lab grown steak. Can enhancing photosynthesis unlock more ag productivity, food inflation hits highest levels and Tyson gives frontline workers bonuses.
This week’s agtech news, which can be read like a science fiction novel, led me to the theme of the week—creative thinking—and that can unlock new innovation and technology in food and ag.
Happy agtech Friday and enjoy the news.
Food and the World:
Abuse, intimidation, death threats: the vicious backlash facing former vegans
EPA proposes updates, improvements to biofuels program
Bill would add Protections for Meatpacking Workers, Target Industry’s Monopolistic Practices
How Kansas State Researchers Hope to Solve a Billion-Dollar Problem in the Swine Industry
California water agency says allocation will focus on "health and safety needs"
U.S. fresh vegetable imports from Mexico and Canada continue to surge, USDA reports
How Indigenous communities in Paraguay are fighting big soy
Tyson giving bonuses to frontline workers (0:05 mark)
Jack in the Box acquires Del Taco (0:40 mark)
Truterra Announces Two-Pronged Approach For 2022 Carbon Program
Eggplant, green beans gain popularity
Food Inflation Heats Up to Highest Level in More Than 10 Years
Rising freight rates pose challenge
Dairy Report: Hundreds of Dairy Cattle Perish Due to Floods, Farmers Still Recovering
Pipeline Opponents Protest Rastetter at Rural Forum
Thousands of farmworkers will see pay raises in 2022
Gas prices expected to drop in 2022 (0:05 mark)
United Soybean Board Elects Ralph Lott as New Chair
Fresh vegetable imports increase (0:40 mark)
Ocean Shipping Reform Act passes the U.S. House of Representatives
USDA Data is Neutral to Negative for Corn, Soybean Markets
Farmers ask US Justice Department to Investigate Fertilizer Price Spikes
Sri Lanka’s Plunge into Organic Farming Brings Disaster
House Advances Cattle Marketing Reform Bill
Pierre men plead not guilty to crop insurance, relief fraud
Claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a new low (0:05 mark)
Largest lab grown steak (0:30 mark)
Agtech in the News:
Bayer wins second straight verdict in a Roundup cancer case
New prime editing system inserts entire genes in human cells
Bayer, Bushel, and Amazon Web Services launch digital carbon footprint measurement solution
Kubota Invests in US-based AgTech Startup
This Chemical is in Short Supply, and the Whole World Feels it
Beijing biotech firm banks on GM corn in race to be China's Monsanto
World’s first plant-based Covid vaccine a step closer to launch
Gotham Greens opens first West Coast greenhouse, becomes Certified B Corp
APHIS Establishes Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) Quarantines in Alabama
The pandemic wreaked havoc on the corn supply chain
Farm Journal acquires Precision Reach
Brief: Ocean Spray partners Brightseed to map ‘total health potential’ of cranberries
Sysco to acquire The Coastal Companies
USDA is facing a legal challenge over its new GMO labeling standards
Creating a Better Leaf: Could tinkering with photosynthesis prevent a global food crisis?
Catch Bovine Respiratory Disease at the Pen-Side in as little as an hour
CNH Industrial buys software house NX9 to bolster agriculture business
Urban garden in Rio feeds hundreds of families in former ‘crackland’
Fun:
KFC Firelog is back (1:05 mark)!
Embracing Change: How the Magic of Cheese Helped Revive a Missouri Dairy
Miller Lite ‘Beernaments’ (1:10 mark) aka drinkable ornaments
Cookie wine; Oreo and Barefoot wine have paired up to create this concoction (1:05 mark)
Helpful Resources:
How to Plan a Family Farm Transition
Field to Market Releases Fourth National Indicators Report
Emerging Tech Research: Agtech
Why Owning Farmland in an IRA Might Not be a Good Idea
US venture capital valuation trends in seven charts
5 Tips for Harvesting and Keeping a Live Christmas Tree
Farmer perspectives on data 2021
Developing Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems In Ghana: Apply now
Interesting Reads:
Animal Rights Extremists Take Their Cause to the Courtroom
To regrow forests, the U.S. needs billions of seeds—and many more 'seed hunters'
59% of consumers say they’ll boycott brands that don’t address climate emergency
What’s a “benefits cliff,” anyway?
Will CRISPR transform the poultry industry?
FDA releases plan to improve foodborne outbreak response
AI Agriculture Startups Take in Record Amount of VC Funding
Biofuels Sector Rankled Although EPA Proposes Highest Ethanol Mandate Ever
A couple tried to smuggle in tarantulas, roaches (1:10 mark) into Colombia
Pig Farmers Commit to Sustainability: Here’s the Proof
Low Carbon Beef receives USDA Process Verified approval
Farmers are Weighing the Price of Fertility in 2022
California Governor signs package of legislation to boost recycling
African Startup Inflows Seen Hitting Record $5 Billion This Year
Scientists tweak photosynthesis to boost crop yield
Regenerative farming reduces emissions and is more profitable
Could AI technology soon replace wine expert recommendations?
Consumers’ egg production views can do more harm than good
Agriculture modernization is the gateway for new talent
Facing Economic Collapse, Afghanistan is Gripped by Starvation
World food prices climb in November, stay at 10-year peak -FAO
‘Disastrous’ plastic use in farming threatens food safety – UN
Finance:
Edmond de Rothschild JV vehicle targets €250M
Gladstone completes $88M pistachio orchard deal
Silicon Valley’s share of US VC funding falls to lowest level in more than a decade
Laguna Bay sells Woorndoo aggregation in A$70M deal
Total funding raised by Africa startups in 2021: $4B
‘Once in 50 years’ harvest propels Australia’s ag output
India’s Agrostar Closes On $70m Series D
Using optical sensors and AI to optimise food production, agtech Gardin raises $10.8 million
Lucent BioSciences Receives $4.2M Investment to Bring Carbon-neutral Fertilizers to Market
The Every Company Closes Oversubscribed $175M Series C for Precision Fermentation Platform
Paine Schwartz, Co-Investors Acquire 50 Pct Stake in Hendrix Genetics
Omnivore’s Latest Impact Reports Highlight Progress in Climate-Smart Agriculture in India
Agtech Theme of the Week: Creative Thinking
A couple of stories caught my attention this week: the story about enhancing photosynthesis, namely modifying plants to increase sunlight uptake and as a result increase production, and the story about inserting genes into human cells, fascinate me. They fascinate me because they are very novel approaches, that rather than accept systems and processes as is, look to enhance, improve or modify those systems and processes.
Creative thinking is how agtech entrepreneurs can exponentially enhance existing systems by studying them, testing technology within them to unlock scientific phenomenon that has great implications. Those implications can include but are not limited to: allowing our body to enhance itself through improved, customized nutrition, healing ourself through unlocking genetic potential of food, or making areas of the world, that historically were not productive, become productive for food and agriculture. Rather than trying to make nature and scientific processes fit innovation and technology, see some indoor/CEA models for example, this approach makes the technology/innovation fit those natural processes. It is the classic work with versus work against nature approach to agtech. And if we are truly talking about preserving our natural ecosystems and eventually populating other planets, this has to be the way.
Fun and exciting times! Thanks for reading.
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.