EW Group, Olmix, Ranchbot, Netafim, Varda Foundation, USDA, BASF Agricultural Solutions, Zoetis

Episode 118 • 14th August 2026 • AgTech Digest • AgTech Media Group

Citrus greening has wiped out 95% of Florida's citrus production — and this week the EPA registered an RNA-based, non-GMO therapy to fight back.

The week's lead deal came out of Europe: Germany's EW Group completed its acquisition of French natural-solutions maker Olmix from Amadeite and Motion Equity Partners on August 7, adding nine industrial sites and algae-, clay-mineral- and yeast-based biologicals sold across more than 100 countries. Olmix, founded in 1995 and based in Brehan, Brittany, now sits inside a life-sciences holding spanning 300-plus subsidiaries and more than 30,000 employees. Terms were not disclosed.

Also this week: Australian livestock-monitoring firm Ranchbot raised more than $15 million (A$22 million) in a Series B led by Lewis & Clark Partners and Fulcrum Global Capital, standing up a U.S. holding company in Fort Worth, Texas, on the back of roughly 10 million cattle and 15 million sheep monitored for 12,000-plus customers; USDA and DHS signed a New World screwworm memorandum targeting the smuggling of some 800,000 head of cattle a year, about $320 million in illicit trade, with drones and AI-assisted screening at ports of entry; Netafim launched GrowSphere FLEX for smallholders; Varda Foundation open-sourced its SoilHive soil-data platform; Zoetis won emergency-use authorization for Simparica Trio against screwworm; BASF Agricultural Solutions is building a climate research center at its Limburgerhof headquarters; Bongards' Creameries is spending $135 million to add 180 million pounds of process-cheese capacity in Bongards, Minnesota; atNorth and Selected Group will pipe data-center waste heat into a Danish commercial greenhouse; Maple Agro Farms signed an LOI on a 10,000-acre palm oil leasehold in Ghana; and ADAMA named Orly Pascal Chief Human Resources Officer.

This week's premium Trends Analysis edition — “Gene Editing Grew Up. The Genetics Land Grab Is On.” — argues crop genetics is now an asset class, citing Tropic's purchase of Rahan Meristem, Corteva's Vylor spin-off, a €300 million EIB loan to Limagrain, and licensing deals linking Bayer, RAGT, Limagrain and Pairwise.

In this episode:

(00:00) Cold Open

(00:28) The Impact Scorecard

(02:39) Corporate and Financial Shifts

(04:28) Innovation and Public Strategy

(07:08) Market Signals and Operations

(08:06) Close

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