Australian start-up Loam Bio has developed a microbial seed coating that is able to enhance a plant’s natural ability to store carbon in the soil by harnessing the power of natural endophyte fungi. This week the firm has secured US$72.5 million (A$105mn) in a Series B round co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Wollemi Capital. The raise coincides with news that Loam Bio has locally rolled out its CarbonBuilder seed inoculum, which works from the root of a canola crop to draw down carbon from the atmosphere and store it stably within soil. Loam Bio’s carbon sequestration goals Founded in 2019…
Author: Matt Peskett
Matt Peskett
For over 23 years Matt has worked in digital media with global companies in the science, technology, food and agricultural sectors. With a lifelong passion for growing his own fruit and veg, Matt also exhibits 300kg/700lbs pumpkins and is an RHS Flower Show volunteer. He has a sizeable horticultural social media presence and has been a finalist in the Garden Media Guild's blog of the year and social media awards. Matt is an individual investor in agritech start-ups like Small Robot Company, Breedr and Drone Ag as well as AppHarvest Inc, Agronomics Ltd and Hydrofarm Holdings.
Chicago based Titan International, Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of off-highway wheels, tyres, assemblies, and undercarriage products. Now the firm is introducing the first-ever R-2 deep-tread tyre in the world’s largest farm tyre size – the LSW1400/30R46. This latest addition to the radial Goodyear Custom Flo Grip line is being brought to market to meet the growing demand for greater combine flotation and traction from growers in regions and applications that face incredibly wet field conditions. “Back in 2016, we introduced the world’s largest ag tyre in our Goodyear OPTITRAC line, which has an R-1W tread. The demand for…
Irish agritech start-up Proveye has secured €1 million in seed funding. A University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out company headquartered at NovaUCD in Dublin, the company is already a leader in remote sensing image analysis for agriculture. Proveye’s SaaS platform integrates data from drones, ground sensors and satellite imagery with AI machine learning to provide accuracy and clarity for grassland mapping and composition analysis. It is used by agricultural advisors, fertiliser and pesticide suppliers and food processors to provide fast and accurate information about productivity and sustainability on agricultural land to their farmer customers. The platform rapidly enhances and compiles selected image…
EarthOptics’ proprietary sensor technology precisely measures the health and structure of soil through a combination of ground-based sensors, satellites, physical soil samples, machine learning models and agronomic expertise. Today the company announced a round of strategic investments from both existing and new investors. The US$27.6 million in funding, part of EarthOptics’ Series B investment round, was led by Conti Ventures – an investment team within Continental Grain Company. Rabo Food & Ag Innovation Fund (RFAIF), CNH Industrial, Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, and CHS and Growmark’s Cooperative Ventures join current EarthOptics investors Leaps by Bayer, FHB Ventures, S2G Ventures, iSelect Fund,…
US firm Bloomfield Robotics develops AI-driven plant imaging technology for use in specialty crops. The company’s mission is to make every farm vehicle a continuous data collection platform that assesses the health and performance of every plant in the specialty crop space. This data can be used to provide plant-level insights for improved decision making by growers. This week investments in the company by Kubota Corporation and Oeneo Group SA have been announced. These investments will reinforce Bloomfield’s commitment to partner with leading players in its strategic markets. “Our partnerships with Kubota and Oeneo are examples of how we want…
With expertise in retrofitting existing farm machinery with autonomous systems, today US firm Sabanto, Inc. announced the availability of its autonomy kit for Kubota M5 tractors. Sabanto’s system retrofits onto existing machinery, allowing operators to turn tractors they already own into autonomous machines. The release of the Kubota M5 aftermarket autonomous system marks Sabanto’s first system availability to end users in North America. Systems for additional manufacturers and tractor models will be announced at a later date. “We are completely disrupting the way the industry views autonomous equipment, and we are bringing in partners who share our vision,” said Craig…
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted UK drone specialist AutoSpray Systems with the first ever Operational Authorisation for agricultural spraying. To date UK drone use has been strictly regulated by the CAA with take-off weight limited at 25kgs and a ban on the release of materials from the air. The new authorisation will see AutoSpray Systems utilising P40 and V40 UAVs from its Chinese partner XAG to spray British fields legally. Why use drones in agriculture? With increasingly variable changes in weather such as extreme rainfall events or long periods of drought, the structural viability of soil is…
In incubation for five years within Alphabet’s ‘X – Moonshot Factory’, Project Mineral is now an Alphabet company of its own. Its name? Well ‘Mineral’ of course. The new technology company will continue to build upon previous work in gathering high-res crop images, analysing plant growth variables and integrating external data sources to produce tangible outcomes for sustainable agriculture and maximum food production. Powered by solar panels, Mineral’s prototype plant rovers have been actively gathering data by roaming fields containing a range of crops including strawberries, salad crops, oats and barley. GPS software maps individual plants as high quality images…
Case IH and New Holland, global agricultural brands of CNH Industrial, have been busy picking up different awards recently, they recognise both good design and innovation. The Good Design Awards are organised by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. Four 2023 ASABE AE50 awards have also been given to Case IH and New Holland by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). The Good Design Awards The Good Design Awards recognise the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world. The selection criteria are based on…
2023 sees a fresh batch of eight start-ups entering the Deere & Company Startup Collaborator program. Launched in 2019, the Startup Collaborator helps John Deere to enhance precision technology in its agriculture and construction equipment. Previous companies that have benefitted from the program include Bear Flag Robotics, a company acquired by John Deere in 2021 to support the company’s autonomous tractor solutions. In 2022, John Deere also invested in Hello Tractor, a program participant that connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers through a farm-equipment sharing app. “This year’s group shows the importance of connecting with the start-up community across a…
