Ecorobotix, Messium, La Zone Agtech, BASF, BIOWEG, PlantArcBio, PATS, Tidal Grow, Verde AgriTech, Row 7, Moleaer, Nasekomo, and INNOFarms.AI

Anna: 00:00

Welcome to another episode of AgTech Digest, your go-to source for the latest in agricultural technology. In today's episode, we're diving into the latest developments shaping the future of agriculture. We'll explore precision spraying advances and nitrogen management innovations, examine significant funding rounds for biotech and pest management solutions, and look at strategic partnerships supporting agtech startups. We'll also cover new foliar fertilizer launches and patent developments in gene editing platforms, and controlled environment agriculture partnerships and smart farming robotics debuts. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started.

Anna: 00:39

To begin, this week in AGRITECH, Ecorobotix has launched its twenty twenty-six precision spraying algorithms, enabling the use of non-selective herbicides in vegetable farming, with its Plant-by-Plant AI now able to distinguish between monocots and dicots across multiple crops, helping protect sensitive crops like broccoli and cauliflower and tackle issues such as volunteer potatoes in carrot fields, with future algorithms to include leeks, garlic, celery, potatoes, and ragwort, and the update commercially available in March twenty twenty-six.

Anna: 01:12

While Messium has raised three point three million pounds in seed funding, co-led by UKI2S and Expansion, with participation from additional investors, with funds supporting international growth and scaling of its hyperspectral satellite and AI nitrogen tools, delivering lab-grade nitrogen insights at five-meter resolution to improve yields, lower input costs, and promote sustainable farming.

Anna: 01:34

Additionally, La Zone Agtech has formed a strategic partnership with law firm Fasken to support agtech and plant bioproduct startups, with the collaboration providing legal and strategic services to accelerate commercialization, and Fasken's Agrifood and Beverage group playing a key role in helping Quebec-based companies scale globally, supporting sustainable solutions in food and climate.

Anna: 01:57

Furthermore, BASF will launch its xarvio FIELD MANAGER For AgBusiness in Argentina and Brazil by late twenty twenty-five, with the platform serving large-scale farm operations and advisors with tailored agronomic insights, featuring enhanced dashboards and a Scouting Trips function for field prioritization, with expansion to France and Germany planned for twenty twenty-six, available across desktop and mobile and backed by BASF Agricultural Solutions.

Anna: 02:24

Moreover, BIOWEG has closed a sixteen million euro Series A to build its first industrial bacterial cellulose facility in Germany, with investors including Axeleo Capital, the EIC Fund, NBank Capital, BonVenture, and Dr.-Ing. Frank Jenner, supporting biodegradable alternatives for cosmetics, home care, and agriculture using food industry by-products and precision fermentation, operating a pilot site in Quakenbrueck and a lab in Monheim.

Anna: 02:53

Transitioning to plant science, PlantArcBio has received patents in the U.S. and South Korea for its DIPPER platform, which enhances gene expression for CRISPR editing in crops, using a high-throughput in planta method to identify DNA elements that improve crop traits like yield, drought tolerance, herbicide resistance, and nutritional value, expanding the company's IP portfolio to support faster development and commercialization of improved crop traits aligned with global goals for more sustainable food systems.

Anna: 03:24

Simultaneously, PATS has secured two point seven million euros in seed funding from investors including Division Q, Percival Participations, and Delft Enterprises, supporting international growth, production scale-up, and product development, with its AI-powered pest management system including real-time pest tracking, forecasting tools, and autonomous drones to reduce pesticide use and support more sustainable agriculture through integrated technology and biology.

Anna: 03:53

Additionally, Tidal Grow AgriScience has introduced alignN, a foliar nitrogen fertilizer using align Technology for broadacre crops, with the eighteen-zero-zero formula delivering encapsulated urea directly into leaves, improving absorption and reducing nutrient loss, with field trials showing improvements in plant health and yield potential, compatible with various application methods and priced competitively with conventional nitrogen products, with global expansion and new product development planned, aligning with four R Nutrient Stewardship practices.

Anna: 04:26

Furthermore, Verde AgriTech has received a Brazilian patent for its bio-enriched fertilizer production process, developed by its subsidiary Verde Fertilizantes LTDA, combining glauconitic siltstone with beneficial microbes, eliminating the drying stage to reduce costs and maintain microorganism viability for up to one hundred and eighty days, with benefits including enhanced nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, biocontrol, and growth promotion, marking Verde's fifth patent in Brazil and strengthening its position in sustainable agtech.

Anna: 05:00

Moreover, Row Seven Seed Company has rolled out its new Sugarcone cabbage variety in three hundred and twenty-five Whole Foods Market locations across key U.S. regions, available from September to mid-November with a naturally sweet flavor and tender texture setting it apart from standard cabbage types, suited to raw and cooked preparations including salads, roasting, grilling, and fermentation, highlighting Row Seven's focus on flavor-first breeding for home cooks alongside other seasonal produce like Upstate Abundance potatoes and Honeypatch squash.

Anna: 05:33

Transitioning to controlled environment agriculture, Moleaer has entered a global partnership with Xylem, including a distribution deal and strategic investment, aiming to scale nanobubble systems for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, with Moleaer's technology improving gas transfer and accelerating treatment processes, leading to reduced chemical use, better compliance, and higher energy efficiency, with over four thousand systems installed globally across multiple sectors, building on Moleaer's participation in Xylem's Innovation Labs to advance sustainable water treatment practices.

Anna: 06:08

Additionally, Nasekomo has reached a milestone in Black Soldier Fly reproduction, producing approximately twenty-five grams of eggs per cubic meter per day, making the company's technology suitable for mid- to large-scale insect farming operations, with the achievement stemming from advances in genetics via its FlyGenetics program, biology, and industrial process design at its MultiFly Multiplication Center, following progress made in Nasekomo's automated vertical rearing platform earlier in twenty twenty-five, now commercializing its BSF tech with turnkey solutions and secured egg supply for global customers, with EU and national funding supporting the development and commercial discussions underway in Europe and the Americas.

Anna: 06:52

Finally, INNOFarms.AI launched its GrowSmartRobotics system at the Global Vertical Farming Show twenty twenty-five in Dubai, designed for controlled-environment agriculture and integrating AI vision, IoT sensors, and robotics, supporting key tasks like plant scouting and precision harvesting to help reduce labor costs and improve speed and accuracy, and when paired with the INNOFarmsXOS operating system, designed to cut operational costs and boost crop yields, aligning with expected growth in the agricultural robotics sector.

Anna: 07:25

Moving to other news, feld.energy has secured a ten million euro seed round to scale its Agri-PV technology, led by HV Capital with participation from Future Energy Ventures, AENU, and Angel Invest, with Agri-PV enabling farmland to produce food and solar energy simultaneously, offering farmers diversified income streams.

Moreover, Nofence has raised thirty million euros in Series B funding, reported as the largest AgriTech round in Europe so far in twenty twenty-five, developing virtual fencing solutions for cattle, goats, and sheep to improve land use and animal welfare, with funding supporting product development, international expansion, and more efficient grazing solutions for farmers worldwide.

Anna: 08:12

Additionally, McDonald's USA has announced the Grassland Resilience and Conservation Initiative, its largest investment in regenerative agriculture to date, allocating more than two hundred million dollars over seven years to promote grazing practices, habitat restoration, and water conservation, covering up to four million acres across thirty-eight U.S. states with participation from ranchers in McDonald's beef supply chain.

Anna: 08:37

Furthermore, Agreena secures verification of its AgreenaCarbon Project under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard Program, as the first large-scale arable agriculture project globally to meet VM zero zero four two Improved Agricultural Land Management v two point zero methodology, with two point three million Verra-verified carbon credits now issued reflecting immediate climate impact, covering one point six million hectares across ten European countries, reducing one point two million tonnes carbon dioxide and removing one point one million tonnes carbon dioxide.

Anna: 09:11

Finally, IICA urges governments, private sector, and partners to prioritize rural youth in sustainable development strategies, warning that migration, aging populations, and inequality threaten rural communities, with proposed measures including improving infrastructure, education, connectivity, and agribusiness opportunities, highlighting the transformative role of digital agriculture and innovation for the region's future.

Anna: 09:38

Looking ahead to upcoming industry events, mark your calendars for AgraME from October sixth to seventh, twenty twenty-five in Dubai. Following that, Vertical Farming World Congress will take place from October seventh to ninth, twenty twenty-five in Amsterdam.

Anna: 09:53

That wraps up today's episode of AgTech Digest. We explored the latest developments in agricultural technology. From precision spraying algorithms and nitrogen management solutions to biotech scale-ups and smart farming robotics, it's clear that the agtech sector is making strides in sustainability and innovation. With significant funding rounds totaling over one hundred million euros and impactful partnerships spanning legal services and global distribution deals, the future of agriculture is shaping up to be smarter and more sustainable than ever before. Thanks for joining me, I'm Anna, signing off. Stay inspired and keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible!