Upstream Ag Insights

Upstream Ag Professional Big Four Stories of the Week ◼︎◼︎◼︎ An overview of what agribusiness leaders will find in this weekend's edition of Upstream Ag Professional: 1. DunhamTrimmer LLC 2024 Global Value-Added Fertilizer Report Highlights and Analysis An exclusive look at Dunham Trimmer's exceptional report on Value-Added Fertilizer (including biostimulants), including market sizing, segment sizing and regional looks at growth. Plus, what does the convergence of technology with value-added fertilizers look like? Images of biological efforts and information below from Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, FMC Corporation, Nutrien, The Mosaic Company, ICL Group, Yara International, and Syngenta 2. The Power of Constraints: What Ag Retail Can Learn from Switzerland We often learn from habits, cultures, skillsets and strategies of non-ag industry companies. But, what can agribusinesses learn from a country like Switzerland? They have the largest GDP for a landlocked + non-resource rich nation that established itself as a leader in everything from luxury watches to pharmaceuticals? In my mind, there is a lot we can learn. 3. Who should own the future of Ag Tech? A good article by Matt Waits of TwelveFive. Is open-sourced viable for ag retailers? Can agronomic software be the control point for a retailer? What are the limitations? 4. Carbon Robotics Lawsuit Follow up Carbon Robotics filed a suit against Laudando & Associates LLC and their laser weeding technology last year. This week Carbon Robotics filed a preliminary injunction to keep Laudando from being able to sell their laser weeding modules because it "threatens to harm Carbon's reputation as an innovator and market leader" and "undercut Carbon’s profit margin and lead to irreparable price erosion." A look at Christopher Laudando's unique and unprecedented approach of making the details behind the L&Aser product publicly available. Plus more on SwarmFarm Robotics and counter positioning strategy, Ascribe Bio with Loveland Products, Inc, Bushel's State of the Farm Report and a look at the holy grail of soil testing. Subscribe at upstream. ag for all of this and more. #agtech #agribusiness #agriculture #strategy #innovation Upstream Ag Insights Upstream Ag Ventures

Upstream Ag Professional - Week of April 6th 2025 ◼︎◼︎◼︎ This week's essential news and analysis for agribusiness leaders includes: 1. The Insight is the Edge: Vive Crop Protection The newest instalment of The Insight is the Edge series overviews Vive Crop Protection and their world view that enables them to find unique opportunities in a segment dominated by giants that invested more than $8 billion into R&D in 2024. 2. Carbon Robotics Introduces Tractor Autonomy Solution: An Illustration of Complements 3. The $1B Lie: Why Agtech Doesn’t Fit the VC Fantasy 4. 2024 Global Crop Protection Market Review and 2025 Outlook A look at the crop protection market size by year. Images attached with data from AgbioInvestor 5. Stratus Ag Research: Evolution of Channel Influence Study 2024 Highlights and Analysis 6. UPL Corp and Provivi, Inc. Join Forces 7. 10-Years of Integrating Geospatial, Transactional and Agronomic Information Ernie Chappell Ever.Ag 8. Lindsay Corporation Q2 2025 Highlights 9. John Deere, AGCO Corporation face deeper slump from tariff tensions + CNH + more! Check out upstream. ag for a full look at this week's edition! #agtech #agribusiness #agriculture #innovation #strategy Upstream Ag Ventures Upstream Ag Insights

Upstream Ag Professional Big Two Stories of the Week ◼︎◼︎◼︎ An overview of what agribusiness leaders will find in this weekend's edition of Upstream Ag Professional: 1. The Insight is the Edge: Vive Crop Protection The newest instalment of The Insight is the Edge series overviews Vive Crop Protection and their world view that enables them to find unique opportunities in a segment dominated by giants that invested more than $8 billion into R&D in 2024. An image conveying the variance in innovation strategy's between crop protection and seed companies is below. What the image isn't great at conveying is how insight is inexpensive and the biggest deliverer of innovation into a market. Darren Anderson Syngenta Group BASF Bayer Crop Science | Innovation Ecosystem FMC Corporation UPL Nufarm 2. Carbon Robotics Introduces Tractor Autonomy Solution: An Illustration of Complements There is a lot of buzz around this week's autonomous product announcement. The product launch is smart and augmentative to the Carbon Robotics business and I think applying the framework of complements best explains why this is a noteworthy announcement. Paul Mikesell There are a number of other stories this week, including a look at VC IRR and what that might mean for AgTech Investment funds, an overview of the last 12 years in agrochemical sales globally, an image conveying the value of transactional (financial) + geospatial + agronomic data and a look at how Lindsay Corporation explains the impacts of tariffs on their business. Subscribe at upstream. ag to get all of this and more direct to your inbox this Sunday. #agtech #agribusiness #agriculture #innovation #strategy Upstream Ag Insights Upstream Ag Ventures

Recently, Stratus Ag Research released their 2024 Evolution of Channel Influence report—and it has fantastic insights for ag retailers, crop protection companies, and anyone working with U.S. farmers. A few highlights that stood out to me: - Loyalty is eroding. Farmers are increasingly promiscuous with their input purchases and the number of retails they look for pricing from. - Retail influence remains, but it is decreasing...partly because of a lowering number of support functions executed for the farmer. Influence erosion is real and it has implications for crop protection manufacturer strategy, too. - Farmer's Business Network, Inc. continues to surge in both price-checking and direct purchase behavior. - Digital augmentation is becoming crucial to the farmer buying experience with the most ambitious and progressive farmers demanding the most in this area. Farmer expectations are rising and the winners in the next 5 years will be those who rethink how they support the customer journey— from digital tools to on-farm relationships. In the full Upstream Ag Insights breakdown of the report, various components of the Stratus survey data are unpacked, including: - What farmers want from their retailers and what retails are executing, and what they aren't. - A look at applying the friction reduction mindset to the entire customer experience. - Why crop protection companies must evolve their grower strategy. - What the data says about the rise of independent agronomists and how farmers perceive the future of models and digital tools. - The implications for how value, trust, and influence are earned in this new environment. - 11 images directly from the report that include crucial survey data to inform agribusiness strategy and tactics + more! For the full breakdown, check out the link here → https://lnkd.in/gRwMN8dR #agtech #agribusiness #strategy #innovation D. Kent Fraser Krista MacLean Mike Weddel

Upstream Ag Professional - Week of March 30th 2025 ◼︎◼︎◼︎ This week's essential news and analysis for agribusiness leaders includes: 1. Stratus Ag Research: Evolution of Channel Influence Study 2024 Highlights and Analysis A detailed look at findings from the Evolution of Channel Influence study, including Farmer's Business Network, Inc. uptake, farmer digital portal preferences, influence of the independent consultant, how various touchpoints influence a crop protection sale and how all of this ties together to influence retail strategy and crop protection manfuacturer grower strategy in the coming years. D. Kent Fraser Krista MacLean 2. What the Fall of 23andMe Could Signal for Soil Genomics Companies in Agriculture A look at the economics of soil testing, the needs with a data driven business, how workflow and distribution influences soil testing lab adoption and what drives success of labs, specifically early on. 3. Syngenta Group FY 2024 Financial Results A breakdown of the Syngenta financial results, including highlights by business segment and region and then a look at the biological business compared to other crop protection businesses and a look at what Syngenta could be doing to illustrate value creation in their digital business beyond “hectares.” 4. TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods Business: Is it on the Chopping Block? A look at TELUS’ cash demands, TELUS’ spin-out challenges to create shareholder value and the performance of their Ag and Consumer Goods business plus what that means for the future of TELUS Ag & CG within TELUS 5. CNH Industrial Precision Spraying Strategy: Leaving Out the High End? Three Shades of Value for AgTech Startups A look at the value of an integrated tech stack and CNH acquisitons, and a look at what CNH strategy might be in green-on-green. ONE SMART SPRAY, a Joint Venture of Bosch and BASF 6. Enhanced Rock Weather and Eion Carbon's New Partnership with GROWMARK, Inc. 7. Three Shades of Value for AgTech Startups A great article from J. Matthew Pryor of Tenacious Ventures. 8. Demand management in Ag is broken: Here’s how to fix it Smartwyre + more! Check out upstream. ag for more. #agtech #agribusiness #agriculture Upstream Ag Insights Bayer | Crop Science Corteva Agriscience FMC Corporation UPL Nufarm BASF Agricultural Solutions Upstream Ag Ventures

Upstream Ag Professional Big Five Stories of the Week ◼︎◼︎◼︎ An overview of what agribusiness leaders will find in this weekend's edition of Upstream Ag Professional: 1. Stratus Ag Research: Evolution of Channel Influence Study 2024 for the USA Midwest Exclusive Highlights and Analysis, including a look at what farmers value in their digital engagement platform with retailers, how a system can support all points of a farmers purchasing process through friction reduction, a look at the growth of Farmer's Business Network, Inc. and a complete breakdown of what the grower engagement strategy for crop protection manufacturers could evolve to in coming years based on structural changes in the industry. 2. What the Fall of 23andMe Could Signal for Soil Genomics Companies in Agriculture A look at what we can learn in soil genomics from the fall of 23andMe and what companies are best positioned to deliver a completion of the Biological-Chemical-Physical Soil Venn Diagram. 3. Syngenta Group FY 2024 Financial Results A look at their financial results along with a breakdown of digital efforts and the opportunity they have to paint a different picture with their digital KPIs. 4. TELUS is in Trouble: Debt issues and cash needs to meet dividend payout obligations compounding with challenges from their IPO spinout initiatives. What does it mean for TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods at a time where growth is a struggle? 5. CNH Industrial Precision Spraying Strategy: Leaving Out the High End? CNH recently announced news about their SenseApply product. A product that is likely to have a broadly applicable market fit with multiple ways to value creation for the farmer, and CNH. But they still lack true commercial green-on-green and data acquisition capabilities. This week CTO Jay Schroeder shared an insightful comment that alluded to ONE SMART SPRAY, a Joint Venture of Bosch and BASF which is notable in the context of GoG strategy and being an external partner, since they have been on in-house integration acquisition spree over the last ~4 years. It brings up several questions: Does CNH not see GoG as a crucial market? Do they see it taking longer to come to fruition? What is at risk for them in this segment? How does their tech stack look? I look at the dynamics through the lens of the CNH business. + much more, including a look at Eion Carbon, a great post from J. Matthew Pryor and Smartwyre's take on demand management. Subscribe to get all of this and more direct to your inbox. #agtech #agribusiness #agriculture Upstream Ag Insights Upstream Ag Ventures

The Mosaic Company Investor Day 2025 Highlights and Analysis ◼︎◼︎◼︎ Last week, The Mosaic Company’s 2025 Analyst Day provided a glimpse into the company's strategies for navigating current challenges and capitalizing on emerging opportunities. Despite a difficult 2024, Mosaic is taking steps to reposition itself for long-term growth. Mosaic shared ways to improve their margins and capital allocation, along with a new digital transformation that will be an enabler of real-time inventory tracking and dynamic pricing, optimizing margins and positioning products more effectively at critical locations and times. What stood out the most to me was Mosaic’s position in its Performance Products and BioSciences segments. The expansion of MicroEssentials and the move into biostimulants highlight Mosaic’s ambition to not only lead in crop nutrition but also lead the biologicals market. Mosaic has a track record of building trust and believability around its novel products, but the path forward for biostimulants and nitrogen-fixing technologies remains complex, particularly in terms of collaboration with seed companies and navigating the new competitive dynamics with crop protection firms. If you are interested in a deep dive into how Mosaic's Biosciences business and what positions them to win in that segment, an overview of their financial targets, margin and revenue per acre in biostimulants, what they are targeting in nitrogen fixation and how the competitive landscape is changing for them to involve the likes of Syngenta, Corteva Agriscience and others, check out the full Upstream Ag Insights article: https://lnkd.in/gWWmk4yQ #agtech #agribusiness #biologicals Upstream Ag Ventures ICL Group Nutrien Yara International BioConsortia, Inc.

Upstream Ag Professional - Week of March 23rd 2025 ◼︎◼︎◼︎ This week's essential news and analysis for agribusiness leaders includes: 1. The Mosaic Company Investor Day 2025 Highlight and Analysis, including a look at growth, ambitions and financials aspects of Microessentials and Mosaic Biosciences, how Mosaic is positioned in the biological segment, digital initiatives the company is undertaking and what that means for their commercial business. 2. The strategic role of Corporate VC in Agriculture | Rhishi P. Mark S. Brooks A look at structure in CVC, including a look at Corteva Agriscience and John Deere and white space. 3. Foundations in Agribusiness Software: Control Points and Industry Influence, Digital Integration and GenAI a. Beyond the System of Record: Becoming an Industry Ledger | Tidemark b. Divergent Digital Strategies: BASF, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta (image below) c. BASF Launches xarvio® Digital Farming Solutions FIELD MANAGER For AgBusiness: What's their strategy? 4. AgTech Bankruptcy a. FarmWise prepares for next chapter in ag robotics b. Benson Hill Files Chapter 11 5. Farmers, Join the Fight to Defend Glyphosate: Bayer | Crop Science and Glyphosate Challenges - What could it mean for the future of the molecule? 6. Pivot Bio Unveils PROVEN G3 with New Modes of Action + more! Subscribe today at upstream.ag #agtech #agribusiness #agricultre Upstream Ag Insights Upstream Ag Ventures

Upstream Ag Professional Big Three Stories of the Week ◼︎◼︎◼︎ An overview of what agribusiness leaders will find in this weekend's edition of Upstream Ag Professional: 1. The Mosaic Company Investor Day 2025 Highlight and Analysis A dive into the numbers, strategy and key takeaways from Mosaic's Investor Day, including a look at their Performance product success, future expansion and how it ties into their Bioscience business, including a look at Mosaic bio margins, revenue per acre and future initiatives. 2. Control Points: Industry Influence to Digital Integration and Disparate Digital Initiatives from Bayer, Corteva Agriscience, Syngenta, and BASF A look at the Tidemark concept of a "industry ledger" and its applicability to the agribusiness value chain, plus a breakdown of how the digital strategy from the big four crop protection and seed companies has evolved. 3. The strategic role of Corporate VC in Agriculture from Rhishi P. and Mark S. Brooks A look at the dynamics of corporate VC, structural dynamics including variance from the likes of Corteva Agriscience and John Deere, whether it's necessary or reinforces the status quo, and where the next ag incumbent could come from. Plus, a look at agtech wind downs announced by Benson Hill and FarmWise, including a look at singular system intervention machines and the economics of them, and more! Subscribe at upstream.ag for all of this and more. Bonus: This week has more unique images and frameworks than in any edition of Upstream Ag Insights ever before, plus the Audio Collection section of the new platform has been released for ease of finding and consuming Upstream content. FieldView xarvio® Digital Farming Solutions Blue River Technology John Deere Valmont Industries, Inc. Bear Flag Robotics FMC Corporation CNH BioPhero ApS TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods

FY 2024 Crop Protection & Seed Company Results: An Upstream Ag Insights Deep Dive into Themes, Highlights and Analysis ◼︎◼︎◼︎ I recently looked at all of the major publicly traded crop protection and seed companies, looking for themes and interesting anecdotes. Here is a summary of some of the FY 2024 results and executive commentary: 1. Crop protection companies felt the squeeze. Across the likes of FMC Corporation, Corteva Agriscience, Nufarm, and BASF, CP revenues all declined ~5% year over year. Destocking pressures persist in some regions and for some companies, leading to a divergence in outlooks for 2025, specifically early—Corteva and UPL are optimistic, while FMC and Bayer anticipate a tighter first half. 2. Supply Chains Are Being Reimagined The past two years of destocking pain are forcing companies to rethink inventory management, routes to market, and customer relationships. Corteva publicly confirmed its biologicals go-to-market strategy in North America. FMC is investing in more direct-to-farmer sales reps in Brazil to better position its pheromones and fungicides. With new software available in the market, it seems like there is going to be an ever growing squeeze on distribution entities, specifically in North America. The ability to now have end-to-end accountability and data-driven supply chain management with visibility means software can improve demand forecasting and inventory visibility—potentially reshaping distributor roles and profit pools. 3. Bayer’s Glyphosate Dilemma Bayer is now running glyphosate as a separately managed business—a logical step given challenges: lawsuits, and the long-term commoditization of the molecule. It raises an intriguing question: At what point does Bayer "burn it all down" entirely? What's the strategic rationale for a move that would change crop production in North America? 4. M&A on the Table Corteva's Chuck Magro indicated they’re well-positioned for acquisitions, particularly looking at biologicals and gene editing. With one of the stronger balance sheets in the industry, they’re positioned well at a time when capital for start-ups to stay independent remains scarce. Given their Catalyst investments (SOLASTA Bio, Micropep Technologies, Pairwise , etc.), expect acquisitions that complement core R&D. 5. Biologicals: Long Time Horizons Growth in biologicals didn’t meet expectations in FY2024 with many companies not hitting the high teen growth % that has generally been forecast, but the sentiment remains bullish. FMC’s Plant Health business grew 33% in Q4, while UPL saw biostimulants drive revenue in Europe and Brazil. Companies are getting more strategic, too— Corteva’s GTM with selective retailer access being one example. Subscribe to Upstream Ag Insights for even more details and specifics every single week. #agtech #agribusiness #astrategy #innovation Upstream Ag Ventures