Updates from the WGCIT The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology was created to link Western Growers members with innovators in the agtech space. Below are news updates from the Center’s startups.
Ac-Planta is delighted to announce our membership in the WGCIT. We proudly introduce Skeepon, a cutting-edge CDFA-registered plant biostimulant designed to assist growers facing the challenges of drought and heat. Skeepon, compatible with all crop types, has demonstrated remarkable results, showcasing up to a significant 30 percent increase in yield from recent trials with California farmers. Employing cutting-edge biotechnology, our product utilizes epigenetics to enhance plants’ resilience to heat and drought, ultimately amplifying yields. For those interested in trials, partnerships, collaborations, knowledge exchange, or simply connecting, please feel free to reach out to Sachie Kikkawa (Business Development) at s.kikkawa@ac-planta.com. Agrology Co-Founder & CEO Adam Koeppel published a blogpost entitled “It’s Time to Rethink Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Measurements in Agriculture” on agrology.ag. According to Koeppel, The reliability of conventional models used to gauge soil carbon levels and sequestration in agriculture is facing well-deserved scrutiny from experts and academics. University-derived models, the go-to tool for assessing the impact of regenerative farming practices, lack robust data for validation. The entirety of the post can be read on Agrology’s site. Agtools is starting the journey to launch the first specialty crop product for insurance industry in the Americas with a conglomerate of global insurance companies dedicated to providing socially impactful, commercially viable insurance protection to the underserved. In addition, Agtools also provided a requested case study on asparagus to U.S. legislators and their team members entitled: “Improving production and distribution is a byproduct of climate change and aids in reducing waste to promote the sustainability of crops.” Balanced and responsible global sourcing across all countries will support local American farms while creating new markets for others. New features such as seasonality calculators with GDD (growing degree-days) are now being adopted by more buyers—new and established—to improve ROI as they improve visibility. Bluewhite has raised $39 million to bring sustainable autonomous innovation to farms worldwide. The funds will be used to expand autonomous tractor operations into new markets and further scale the agriculture robotics solution, which reduces costs of crop production by up to 75 percent. The Series C financing is led by Insight Partners, with participation from new investors Alumni Ventures, and LIP Ventures, among others. Existing investors Entrée Capital, Jesselson and Peregrine Ventures also participated in the financing round. “Having already proven the commercial success of our solution with growers, this new round of funding will enable us to continue providing sustainable autonomous innovation to more markets and work with different types of partners across the ecosystem to impact every level of the food supply chain,” said Ben Alfi, Co-Founder and CEO of Bluewhite. CalCom Energy is a full-service renewable energy partner dedicated to the food system. Based in Fresno, CalCom Energy is a committed partner to food companies in California and newly the rest of the United States leveraging onsite energy to achieve operational excellence. CalCom Energy has successfully built over 150+ MW of solar generation and energy storage capacity across the agricultural ecosystem and is expanding into the broader food system. CalCom Energy partners with food and ag companies to strategically reduce energy costs and carbon emissions while improving power reliability. Using intelligent Battery Energy Storage Systems in conjunction with Solar Power to improve power reliability has become vital to our customers as utility energy reliability continues to deteriorate.
Ac-Planta
Agrology
Agtools
Bluewhite
CalCom
MARCH | APRIL 2024
25
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker