PowerPollen, Singrow, NASA, Tidal Grow, Reservoir, John Deere, TGI, NC State, NEC, ClimateAi, Rimaco Greens, Zhejiang Smart Agriculture Park, and Hort Americas

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 innovative partnerships and collaborations, examine significant funding rounds and investment initiatives, and look at breakthrough technologies in pollination, plant genomics, and controlled environment agriculture. We'll also cover space farming experiments, climate adaptation tools, and sustainable agricultural practices. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started.

Anna: 00:38

Reservoir, a California-based agtech incubator, has announced a partnership with John Deere focused on high-value crops where the collaboration will offer branding and field-testing opportunities to startups while combining Deere's automation expertise with Reservoir's grower network, and as part of Deere's broader investment in U.S. agtech and sustainability, the partnership seeks to enhance efficiency, strengthen labor resilience, and promote long-term sustainability in agriculture. Moving forward, The Taylor Geospatial Institute has introduced the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge, committing up to $2 million in funding where the program encourages collaboration among academia, industry, and non-profits to address agricultural and food system challenges, with priority focus areas including advanced crop modeling, nitrogen efficiency tools, and supply chain resilience, and applications are open through October 31, 2025. Additionally, the Seed2Grow program at North Carolina State University has marked its first graduation with Hoofprint Biome, a startup developing methane-reducing cattle feed, which raised $15 million to scale operations, while Seed2Grow has expanded to 8 startups, offering lab access in the Plant Sciences Building, mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, and support for business development. Furthermore, backed by Bayer Crop Science, the program will open incubator space to startups beyond NC State ties while continuing to build entrepreneurial capacity within the university, and with Seed2Grow's first graduation and continued growth, the initiative highlights North Carolina's emerging role in agtech innovation. Moreover, NEC Corporation and ClimateAi have co-developed an AI model designed to measure the effectiveness of climate change adaptation measures in cocoa and rice production where the model quantifies the return on investment for measures such as irrigation, changing crop varieties, and adjusting planting times, and by providing ROI analysis, the tool is intended to help international organizations, development banks, and private investors finance climate resilience initiatives.

Anna: 03:03

Additionally, Chris Higgins, President of Hort Americas, reflects that controlled environment agriculture has advanced steadily but not experienced the sweeping technological revolution once anticipated where he notes that market consolidation in North America has narrowed opportunities for innovation, as greenhouse operations become fewer and increasingly dominated by Canadian and Mexican growers. Moreover, Higgins also raises concerns about the sustainability of current agtech funding models, pointing out that agriculture's long-term, low-margin realities require financial products better suited to the industry, and farmers, he argues, are looking for incremental innovations that deliver measurable returns on investment rather than flashy technologies without economic grounding.

Anna: 03:54

Meanwhile in plant science developments, PowerPollen has launched an autonomous fleet designed to deliver precision pollen application in commercial corn fields where the system relies on AI and machine vision to optimize pollen distribution, with claims of boosting yields by up to 2 times, and by reducing the need for seasonal labor, the technology aims to make pollination more efficient and scalable. Simultaneously, Singrow, a Singapore-based company specializing in plant genomics and precision agriculture, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding where the investment will help expand its core focus areas, which include seedlings, vertical farming, and reverse genetics breeding, and with this funding, the company plans to move beyond Singapore and China into Southeast Asia and other international markets. Additionally, Singrow has also introduced climate-resilient strawberries and developed new technology for saffron production, while Tidal Grow AgriScience has received state approval to market its Spectra biopesticide in California where the product is formulated for crops such as tree nuts, citrus, and grapes, where it targets pests and diseases. Moreover, Spectra functions as a fungicide, bactericide, and nematicide while also strengthening plant resilience, and the approval expands grower access to sustainable, chitosan-based technologies that can be used alongside conventional crop protection programs. Furthermore, Monsanto has reached agreements in principle to settle more than 200 claims connected to the Sky Valley Education Center in Washington state where the settlements are confidential and remain subject to final approval by all parties involved, and the company continues to pursue a multi-pronged litigation strategy aimed at managing risks through 2026

Anna: 05:57

Going over to controlled environment agriculture, Crew-11 astronauts have begun experiments with NASA's VEG-03 system, which combines LED lighting and a clay-based growing medium where the project allows astronauts to select crops from a seed library, offering both nutritional and psychological benefits during long missions, and harvested crops will be consumed in space, while samples are returned to Earth for further analysis. Additionally, Canadian AgTech firm Rimaco Greens has introduced a patent-pending pressurized greenhouse designed to cut energy use and boost sustainability where the system integrates thermal energy storage with coordinated air and water flows to maintain precise climate control, and a pilot site in Alberta will host the first commercial demonstration of the technology. Furthermore, the company is now seeking strategic grower-investors to help scale adoption and validate both operational and economic performance, while the Zhejiang Smart Agriculture Park in Deqing County uses AI and IoT to automate the production of pesticide-free vegetables where automated systems manage tasks such as transplanting, transportation, cleaning, and greenhouse oversight without human labor. Finally, one highlight is an auto-transplanting machine capable of planting 30 seedlings in just 40 seconds, and the initiative is positioned to reduce labor needs, improve efficiency, and deliver safer vegetables to major retailers while modeling future food production practices.

Anna: 07:38

Looking ahead to upcoming industry events, mark your calendars for World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit London from September 22nd to 23rd, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. Following that, Agriculture Conferences will take place from September 8th to 10th, 2025 in Valencia, Spain. Then we have Transform Food & Agriculture USA from October 14th to 15th, 2025 in Minneapolis, USA. Finally, don't miss World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit Mexico from October 28th to 29th, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Anna: 08:18

That wraps up today's episode of AgTech Digest. We explored the latest developments in agricultural technology. From AI-powered pollination systems and precision agriculture funding to space farming experiments and climate adaptation tools, it's clear that the agtech sector is making strides in sustainability and innovation. With significant funding rounds totaling over $21.5 million and impactful partnerships between major players like John Deere and innovative startups, 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!