Welcome back, listeners! In today's episode, we dive into the latest strides in AgTech, featuring Blake Croegaert of Verdant Partners on the AgTech M&A reset and why 2027 is the restart year, the USDA's $300 million Palantir partnership to modernize farm services, Oman's $240 million food security portfolio, Premier Tech's entry into controlled environment agriculture, and NASA and NSF-backed early crop diagnostics from Advanced Growing Resources. Let's get started!
Here’s a Quick Snapshot of What’s Making Headlines:
Interview: Blake Croegaert of Verdant Partners on the AgTech M&A reset — inflated valuations collapsed, OEM pullback, constrained exit channels, and why 2027 is the restart year
Government: USDA signs $300M agreement with Palantir to modernize farm services and strengthen food security as a national security priority
Food Security: Oman launches $240M food security investment portfolio across 11 agriculture and aquaculture projects through the Invest Oman platform
CEA: Premier Tech enters the CEA market with Premier Tech Controlled Culture, backed by acquisitions of Inno-3B in Canada and Artechno in the Netherlands
Crop Science: Advanced Growing Resources raises $2M from NASA and NSF for AI-satellite crop diagnostics a week earlier than lab methods; Pairwise partners with Ball Horticultural for gene editing across 40-plus ornamental species
M&A: AgroPlantae to acquire Kemin Industries' Crop Technologies product portfolio including eight products; UK Government backs 50M pound agri-tech adoption push
CEA Tech: Ridder partners with RED Horticulture to integrate greenhouse lighting and energy management via Horticultural Lighting Protocol; Grodan integrates GroSens root zone data with Source.ag software
Events: Food and Beverage Pitch Lounge (April 29th), Future Fit Asia (Singapore), Fiber Connect (Orlando), Transform Food Europe (Amsterdam), Greentech Amsterdam
Read The Full Summary On The Latest Issue Of IGROW NEWS
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 the sharp correction in AgTech mergers and acquisitions and what the current market really means for founders trying to find an exit, examine where government capital is flowing with two major food security investments from the United States and Oman, and look at a major player entering the controlled environment agriculture market through two acquisitions. We'll also cover AI-powered early crop diagnostics funded by NASA and NSF, gene editing expanding into ornamental crops, a crop protection portfolio acquisition, UK government backing for agri-tech adoption, and two greenhouse technology integrations. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started.
Anna:
Let's take a look at what this week brings us. The sector is navigating one of its most significant transitional phases in a decade. The growth-at-all-costs mindset has given way to a hard focus on profitability — and that shift is reshaping everything from how companies are valued to how governments and corporates are now stepping in where venture capital has pulled back. This week, the plot twist is that the biggest money is coming from Washington and Muscat, not Silicon Valley
Anna:
Looking at this week's interview, Blake Croegaert, M&A advisor at Verdant Partners, is featured on the AgTech M&A reset and the twenty twenty-six outlook. He points to valuations inflated between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty-two — anchored by the Climate Corporation benchmark — that have since collapsed as farm economics deteriorated and OEMs like Deere, AGCO, and CNH posted 20 to 30% revenue declines, leaving many agtech startups without their expected exit path. Buyers now demand proof, not promise. But there's a sting in the tail: reaching profitability often shifts valuation from a higher revenue multiple to a lower earnings multiple, which actually disadvantages sellers. Traditional exit channels are constrained across the board — private equity won't engage until stable profitability is demonstrated, family offices offer the right patient capital but are hard to access, and the IPO route is effectively closed after poor public-market performance, squeezing Series B and C investors in particular. Croegaert also flags an emerging trend worth watching: reverse acquisitions, where tech companies raise capital to buy established businesses like agronomy services for instant channel access. His timeline is clear — twenty twenty-six is the pivot year and twenty twenty-seven is the restart, when improving farm economics should ease OEM pressure and set up a return of strategic M&A.
Anna:
What's in the news for us? Well, Premier Tech entered the controlled environment agriculture market with the launch of Premier Tech Controlled Culture, backed by two asset-based acquisitions: Inno-3B, a Canadian automated modular vertical farming manufacturer, and Artechno, a Dutch supplier of vertical farming, water filtration, and irrigation systems. In a major government move, the USDA signed a $300 million agreement with Palantir to modernize farm services and strengthen food security, advancing two priorities: treating farm security as a national security imperative and accelerating producer-first program delivery across USDA's Farm Production and Conservation mission areas. On the other side of the globe, Oman launched a $240 million food security investment portfolio covering 11 projects across agriculture and aquaculture through the Invest Oman platform. Shifting to early detection technology, Advanced Growing Resources raised $2 million from NASA and the NSF to scale a platform that combines AI-assisted satellite imagery with Spectre handheld scanners, diagnosing crop afflictions more than a week earlier than current lab-based methods. In gene editing, Pairwise partnered with Ball Horticultural Company to apply its genome editing capabilities to ornamental crops, covering more than 40 species including roses, impatiens, petunias, hydrangeas, dianthus, and begonias. Moving to greenhouse technology, Ridder partnered with RED Horticulture to integrate greenhouse lighting and energy management systems using the Horticultural Lighting Protocol, directly connecting MyRED lighting software with Ridder's Hortimax Pro climate computer. In UK policy, the government announced around 50 million pounds in combined public and private investment to accelerate agri-tech adoption on British farms. In crop protection, AgroPlantae agreed to acquire Kemin Industries' Crop Technologies product portfolio, a lineup of eight products including TetraCURB MAX, AlliCURB MAX, PathoCURB, RevoCURB, Romivex DIP, OmniCURB, Valena, and Valena FLOW. Finally to close our news, Grodan integrated its GroSens Suite root zone sensor data with Source.ag's software platform, allowing growers to view Grodan's root zone data directly within Source.ag's dashboards for more connected growing decisions.
Anna:
Looking ahead to upcoming industry events, mark your calendars for the Food and Beverage Pitch Lounge on April twenty ninth, twenty twenty-six online at 6 PM UK time. Following that, Future Fit Asia twenty twenty-six runs from May twelfth to thirteenth in Singapore, and Fiber Connect twenty twenty-six as well as Precision Agriculture takes place from May seventeenth to twentieth in Orlando. Then we have Transform Food and Agriculture Europe from June second to third in Amsterdam. Finally, don't miss Greentech Amsterdam from June ninth to eleventh in the Netherlands.
Anna:
That wraps up today's episode of AgTech Digest. We explored the latest developments in agricultural technology. From Blake Croegaert's candid breakdown of where the AgTech M&A market stands right now — and why twenty twenty-seven is the year to watch — to the USDA's $300 million Palantir partnership, Oman's $240 million food security portfolio, Premier Tech's CEA entry through two acquisitions, NASA and NSF-backed early crop diagnostics, gene editing expanding into ornamental crops, and a UK government push to bring agri-tech to British farms, it's clear that the agtech sector is making strides in sustainability and innovation. The venture era may be cooling, but the investment isn't stopping — it's just coming from different places. Thanks for joining me, I'm Anna, signing off. Stay inspired and keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible!
