Farmers Edge, a western Canadian firm specializing in variable rate technology and data management in agriculture, now has more funds to support its global ambitions.
Mitsui & Co., a Japanese firm with a market capitalization of more than US$20 billion and other backers, today announced an investment of C$58 million in Farmers Edge.
The company will use the funds to develop new products and expand its operations in Brazil, Russia and Australia.
“There’s a huge shift underway in agriculture as technology continues to enable the digitization of farming,” said Brook Porter, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ Green Growth Fund, one of the companies investing in Farmers Edge. “Reducing costs while also reducing environmental impact is more important than ever, and Farmers Edge is leading this transformation.”
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Osmington Inc., a company controlled by David Thomson, chair of Thomson Reuters, is also investing in Farmers Edge.
Most western Canadian farmers think of Farmers Edge as a precision agriculture company with expertise in variable rate technology, but the firm has shifted focus to farm data management in recent years.
“Variable rate fertility is core to Farmers Edge,” said Patrick Crampton, Farmers Edge chief operation officer, from a conference in San Francisco. “However, the evolution in the past 18 months has been to bring in the ag data management component…. We are leveraging that ag data platform to provide a lower cost variable rate product.”
Farmers Edge, with headquarters in Winnipeg and 250 employees in North America, South America, Russia and Australia, is particularly interested in expanding its presence in Brazil.
“It’s the second largest ag market in the world. (It) is a very high priority for Farmers Edge,” said Crampton, who grew up on a farm near Manitou, Man. “Our unique set of capabilities sets us apart in that market.”
Last year Farmers Edge announced a partnership with Mitsui & Co. The arrangement is an excellent fit for the expansion plans of Farmers Edge because Mitsui has 141 offices in 66 countries around the world.
“Mitsui is responsible for the procurement of 17.5 million tons of food resources each year, including grains, corn and soybeans,” said Mitsui executive Kenji Otake, who will take a seat on the Farmers Edge board. “Today, as Farmers Edge demonstrates its ability to operate in regions like Brazil, that lack traditional infrastructure to support technology-enabled agriculture, our strategic alignment deepens.”
Earlier this month Farmers Edge announced a partnership with Delta Agribusiness, an agricultural inputs dealer in Australia, to deliver precision ag and data management to growers in New South Wales.
Crampton said Farmers Edge is also concentrating on Eastern Europe, and the company is “actively cultivating business” in that region.
Expansion into Australia, Brazil and Russia will provide Farmers Edge with new sources of revenue and a foothold in the largest agricultural regions in the world. There is also the additional benefit of managing more agricultural information.
“The sheer volume of data you start to collect from different (parts) of the world,” Crampton said. “(With) those insights, we believe will ultimately add more value back to our customers…. I firmly believe there are learnings we can take from all of those geographies.”
What type of data does Farmers Edge collect?
According to its website, Farmers Edge gathers and manages two categories of farm data for producers:
• Operational data: seeding fertilizer use, spraying, harvesting, tillage, labour costs, production histories
• Equipment data: fuel used, engine r.p.m., GPS co-ordinates, engine hours, ground speed and pressure readings
Source: Farmers Edge
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
