AgTech Digest

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Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech — tariffs adding 8 to 23% to agricultural hardware costs and splitting the sector between those who localized early and those who didn't, a sharply divided earnings season with Corteva up and AGCO down 18%, three company exits including AppHarvest, Benson Hill, and Invaio Sciences each telling a different story, Semios acquiring Pessl Instruments for sensor hardware, and a 180-year Rothamsted dataset showing UK arable soil carbon declining despite organic matter additions. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Analysis: Tariff impact on AgTech hardware: steel, aluminum, and semiconductor duties adding 8 to 23% to equipment costs, supply chains rerouting, and an early mover advantage emerging for companies that localized manufacturing ahead of the current cycle
Earnings: Corteva Q2 strong with seed and crop protection both up; AGCO Q2 weak on North American volume declines; Deere reaffirms full-year guidance; Nutrien raises its potash volume outlook for 2026
Exits: AppHarvest assets sold to AppTech Group in a court-supervised process; Benson Hill formally begins wind-down after failing to find a buyer; Invaio Sciences closes operations
M&A: Semios acquires Pessl Instruments, adding weather stations and soil sensors to its pest and disease monitoring platform; Trimble completes restructuring of its agriculture division into a standalone business unit
Digital Ag: CBH Group launches its digital grain platform across Western Australia; WinField United launches an AI agronomic advisory tool for its network of independent retailers
Sustainability: Yara and CF Industries sign a green ammonia offtake agreement; Nufarm and Corteva expand their omega-3 canola commercial partnership across Australia and Canada
Resear: Rothamsted Research publishes 180-year dataset showing UK soil carbon declining in arable fields at 0.17% per year despite organic matter additions — a significant finding for net-zero commitments
Events: Commercial UAV Expo (Las Vegas), Taiwan Smart Agriweek, Women in Agribusiness Global Summit (New Orleans), Global Agrovet Research Conference (Dubai), EIMA International (Bologna)

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Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report

📺 Watch on YouTube and Spotify
Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech — the H1 2026 state of play with $1.27 billion across 89 deals, Europe's first new herbicide active ingredient in over 15 years from Bayer, Pivot Bio's PROVEN 40 clearing EPA registration, John Deere's See & Spray surpassing 1 million acres, a WFFS strawberry virus spreading through 28 US states with no cure available, and Nutrien and Ceres putting AI agronomic support into 2,000-plus retail locations. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Analysis: H1 2026 AgTech State of the Industry: $1.27B disclosed across 89 deals, robotics leads funding, partnerships dominate activity, Series A and B still squeezed, and a clear bifurcation between infrastructure plays and product companies
Partnerships: Nutrien and Ceres partner to deploy AI-powered agronomic decision support to Nutrien's 2,000-plus retail locations; AGCO expands its Trimble precision ag licensing deal to cover additional machine lines
Crop Protection: Bayer receives EU authorisation for LASO, its first new herbicide active ingredient in Europe in over 15 years; Pivot Bio's PROVEN 40 receives EPA registration — first biological nitrogen product cleared at 40 pounds per acre rate
Precision Ag: John Deere See & Spray surpasses 1 million commercial acres treated; Headwall Photonics and Agremo integrate hyperspectral imaging with AI crop analytics for canopy-level nutrient and stress detection
Grain & Supply: Scoular publishes its 2025 sustainability report covering 2.5 billion bushels handled; AGT Food and Ingredients expands pulse protein capacity in Saskatchewan; Viterra completes integration of Gavilon grain assets
Plant Health: WFFS strawberry virus spreads to 12 additional US states — now present in 28 states with no curative treatment available; EPPO adds Potato Virus A to its A2 quarantine list
Funding: Keenan Systems raises 12M euros to scale livestock feed management AI; BeeHero closes $10M Series B for precision pollination; Farmonaut raises $3M for satellite crop monitoring across emerging markets
Events: Commercial UAV Expo (Las Vegas), Taiwan Smart Agriweek, Women in Agribusiness Global Summit (New Orleans), Global Agrovet Research Conference (Dubai), EIMA International (Bologna)

Read The Full Summary On The Latest Issue Of IGROW NEWS
Connect with Us!
Be sure go subscribe to our other shows:
Vertical Farming Podcast: https://verticalfarmingpodcast.com/
Greenhouse Success Stories: https://greenhousesuccess.com/
Presented by iGrowNews.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igrownews
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Discover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/

Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report

📺 Watch on YouTube and Spotify
Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech — Tropic acquires Rahan Meristem to become the first fully integrated banana genetics company, Reservoir makes its first ever acquisition to own the financial data layer, the US government links soil health to biofuel pricing for the first time, the Supreme Court rules on Roundup, a dual-function rice gene opens new doors for climate adaptation, and BASF, ADAMA, and Burro each launch major new products. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Big Story: Tropic acquires Rahan Meristem to become the first fully integrated banana genetics company — combining gene editing IP with commercial-scale tissue culture across Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East
M&A: Reservoir makes its first-ever acquisition, absorbing agri-finance platform Contain and naming founder Nicola Kerslake as General Partner; Eurofins Agro Testing acquires Czech lab Laborator Postoloprty
Funding: Terraxy raises $3M in a KAUST-backed Seed-2 round led by Wa'ed Ventures for desert soil regeneration in Saudi Arabia; Africa Finance Corporation arranges 108.3M euro sovereign facility for Togo's agricultural modernisation
Products: BASF launches Efficon insecticide in Egypt with novel Axalion Active ingredient; ADAMA launches Novali herbicide at the highest pyroxasulfone load available; Burro unveils Grande 44 autonomous field platform
Policy: President Trump signs Executive Order advancing precision agriculture; USDA releases Final Regenerative Feedstock Rule — the first federal mechanism linking on-farm soil practices to premium biofuel pricing
Legal: US Supreme Court rules 7-2 for Monsanto in Monsanto v. Durnell — FIFRA preempts state failure-to-warn claims, effectively capping a decade of Roundup litigation exposure for Bayer
Partnerships: Fischer Farms partners with Seed Group for UAE and MENA vertical farming entry; Syngenta, McDonald's, and McCain sign a three-party MOU on China's potato supply chain; Ever.Ag deploys AI planning at Coles Supermarkets
Research: Chonnam National University identifies OsFeSOD3, a dual-function rice gene improving drought tolerance and chloroplast development simultaneously

Read The Full Summary On The Latest Issue Of IGROW NEWS
Connect with Us!
Be sure go subscribe to our other shows:
Vertical Farming Podcast: https://verticalfarmingpodcast.com/
Greenhouse Success Stories: https://greenhousesuccess.com/
Presented by iGrowNews.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igrownews
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Discover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/

Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report

📺 Watch on YouTube and Spotify
Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech — Tropic acquires Rahan Meristem to become the first fully integrated banana genetics company, Reservoir makes its first ever acquisition to own the financial data layer, the US government links soil health to biofuel pricing for the first time, the Supreme Court rules on Roundup, a dual-function rice gene opens new doors for climate adaptation, and BASF, ADAMA, and Burro each launch major new products. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Big Story: Tropic acquires Rahan Meristem to become the first fully integrated banana genetics company — combining gene editing IP with commercial-scale tissue culture across Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East
M&A: Reservoir makes its first-ever acquisition, absorbing agri-finance platform Contain and naming founder Nicola Kerslake as General Partner; Eurofins Agro Testing acquires Czech lab Laborator Postoloprty
Funding: Terraxy raises $3M in a KAUST-backed Seed-2 round led by Wa'ed Ventures for desert soil regeneration in Saudi Arabia; Africa Finance Corporation arranges 108.3M euro sovereign facility for Togo's agricultural modernisation
Products: BASF launches Efficon insecticide in Egypt with novel Axalion Active ingredient; ADAMA launches Novali herbicide at the highest pyroxasulfone load available; Burro unveils Grande 44 autonomous field platform
Policy: President Trump signs Executive Order advancing precision agriculture; USDA releases Final Regenerative Feedstock Rule — the first federal mechanism linking on-farm soil practices to premium biofuel pricing
Legal: US Supreme Court rules 7-2 for Monsanto in Monsanto v. Durnell — FIFRA preempts state failure-to-warn claims, effectively capping a decade of Roundup litigation exposure for Bayer
Partnerships: Fischer Farms partners with Seed Group for UAE and MENA vertical farming entry; Syngenta, McDonald's, and McCain sign a three-party MOU on China's potato supply chain; Ever.Ag deploys AI planning at Coles Supermarkets
Research: Chonnam National University identifies OsFeSOD3, a dual-function rice gene improving drought tolerance and chloroplast development simultaneously

Read The Full Summary On The Latest Issue Of IGROW NEWS
Connect with Us!
Be sure go subscribe to our other shows:
Vertical Farming Podcast: https://verticalfarmingpodcast.com/
Greenhouse Success Stories: https://greenhousesuccess.com/
Presented by iGrowNews.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igrownews
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Discover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/

Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report

📺 Watch on YouTube and Spotify
Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech, featuring Flagship Pioneering's merger of CIBO Technologies and Indigo Ag's Source business into Terion, a new neutral AI data infrastructure company, NativState's forestry carbon acquisition, Munters exploring an exit from food tech, FMC and Corteva's $200 million herbicide licensing deal, and a regenerative agriculture awareness study that nearly doubled among US adults in a year. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Big Story: Flagship Pioneering merges CIBO Technologies and Indigo Ag's Source business into Terion, a neutral AI data infrastructure company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts
M&A: NativState acquires Neeley Forestry Service, adding 200,000-plus acres and pushing its enrolled base past 950,000 acres; Vireo Growth signs all-share deal for C21 Investments and roughly 15 Nevada dispensaries
Divestiture: Munters Group explores selling its FoodTech business, Speria, to focus on Data Center Technologies and AirTech — Evercore advising, no deal agreed yet
Venture: Elanco launches a $25M corporate venture platform for animal health; Anterra Capital reaches $100M first close on Fund III; Ardian and Societe Generale launch a 100M euro nature-based solutions fund
Product: Intelinair launches AGMRI AI Agent for agronomic queries; OneSoil launches AI Agronomist serving 1.16 million users across 70 million hectares
Crop Science: FMC and Corteva sign supply and license deal for rimisoxafen, the industry's first dual mode-of-action herbicide, with a $200M prepurchase from Corteva
Policy: EU Parliament adopts new gene-editing rules splitting plants into NGT-1 and NGT-2 categories; USDA opens $125M Research Facilities Act applications
Carbon & Research: eAgronom sells 29,000 Verra-certified soil carbon credits for 1.46M euros; Kiss the Ground study shows regenerative ag awareness nearly doubled among US adults in a year

Read The Full Summary On The Latest Issue Of IGROW NEWS
Connect with Us!
Be sure go subscribe to our other shows:
Vertical Farming Podcast: https://verticalfarmingpodcast.com/
Greenhouse Success Stories: https://greenhousesuccess.com/
Presented by iGrowNews.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igrownews
🎙️🎙️🎙️
Discover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/

Mentioned in this episode:
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report
2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews
2025 Precision Ag Report