Are agtech stakeholders actually collaborating? FIRA USA 2024 attendees weigh in

By Jennifer Marston

Is the agrifood industry truly collaborating to move technology forward or is less talk, more action needed?

I’ve been kicking this question around in my head for some time, particularly as the word crops up more and more in conversations, interviews and articles.

And since there’s no better place to take a high-level pulse of things than an event, I polled a number of different industry folks at the FIRA USA 2024 show last week in California. Bottom line: we’re moving in the right direction, with some specific examples of collaboration across sectors called out as examples of what we can do more of. That said, we’re still at the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to this topic.

Want to add yours? Drop me a line to share your thoughts on collaboration in agrifoodtech.

Paul Mikesell , founder & CEO, Carbon Robotics (Carbon Robotics)

“I think the farmers are really open to it. We [Carbon Robotics] have had no shortage of people who wanted to work with us, help us, give us advice, access to test fields . . . Not everything we tried worked and people were incredibly patient with us and helpful along the way and supportive.

“Between startups and government, it does not seem like there’s a lot of government-based focus on helping these agtech startups. The farmers seem a bit disillusioned with the types of government programs that were supposed to help them and in the end don’t. They don’t because the benefits come with so much red tape it’s not worth it. I would like to see a lot more collaboration between government — not just the United States but around the world — and the farmers to help them get new advanced technology, equipment to do the kind of transition people say they want: better soil, nutritious food, etc.”

Amber DeWitt , venture associate, Fulcrum Global Capital (Fulcrum Global Capital)

“It’s fun to watch the different strategics start to participate together on cap tables. We’ve heard about how that’s starting to materialize and how those strategics think about how early to get involved and how they want to work with other, so I think that’s promising and a good trend from the OEM side. It’s maybe something we don’t see as much on the animal health side as investors broadly in agriculture.

“But I think it’s a fair question, because you always go to the big conferences [in agtech] and [wonder] are we just saying the same things we did last year? And are we actually changing anything?”

Walt Duflock 5th-gen farmer & VP of innovation, Western Growers (Western Growers)

“The specialty crop agtech industry ecosystem is definitely increasing the amount of collaboration over the past few years.

“Industry, educators, and government are working together on programs like the Next Gen Ag Worker program where a $900,000 CDFA grant administered by Western Growers will help get 3,000 AgTech-enabled workers through AgTech curriculum in four years while providing intern scholarships for hundreds of them.

“Grant applications are increasingly collaborative with UC ANR, non-profits, and WG jointly applying for programs to help with economic development in California ag and agtech.

“One of the best collaborative programs is in strawberries, where industry (the California Strawberry Commission) aggregates grower funds and then invests them in engineering talent at Cal Poly’s Strawberry Center where they talk to growers and identify the biggest problems that need to be solved and then do the R&D work to come up with robotics that can help. Once the R&D phase is over, the machines are commercialized with local agtech dealers and solution providers that are already working with strawberry growers as trusted partners.”

Patrick Honcoop , founding partner, AgTech-Pro (AgTech-Pro)

“The industry is moving in the right direction, with more collaborative efforts taking shape. FIRA USA is a great example of this, where a European organization teamed up with a local partner, Western Growers, to put together a US-tailored event.

“A challenging ag market and capital constraints will also drive more collaboration as companies realize the need to concentrate on their core and look for partners to fill in the gaps. However, ?a successful partnership is more than just signing a press release. It’s an ongoing effort that requires both sides to stay engaged and put in the work. Too often, this journey is underestimated, with one party expecting the other to carry the weight.

“For a partnership to really work, both sides need to stay committed and contribute equally. There is still a way to go to embrace collaboration in our industry fully and I am excited to contribute to this as I am a firm believer in partnerships driving the industry forward.”

Brad Fruth , director of innovation, Beck's Hybrids (Beck’s Hybrids)

“Partnerships and collaborations are the only way we know how to do business. We hang out on the West Coast because what we see is that innovation, especially infield automation, is happening at a rate 3x what it is in the row crop country. And so I think that there’s going to be huge capabilities here in the next five to 10 years.

“What we’re doing is watching these iteration cycles, and we’re letting them play with these $50 million projects, and when the right companies float to the top [we will] help bring them from the valley to row crop country. That’s why we’re [out west]: to look for those collaborations.”

Chrissy Wozniak , founder, North American Ag (North American Ag)

“I think we’re making giant leaps in collaboration in agriculture, and I think it’s really sped up in the last five years. The industry understands that we need a narrower path going forward, and without the openness of sharing how we’re doing things, I don’t think there’s time for everyone to take a different path. Companies that don’t collaborate are going to go by the wayside. There’s no way to do it by yourself these days; the world is too small and big at the same time.”

#agrobotics #agtech #partnerships #FIRA #agriculture #farming #growers #farmers