Supporting cover cropping: Practical Farmers of Iowa launches 2026 cost-share program
Practical Farmers of Iowa is offering financial support and educational resources to Midwest farmers interested in cover cropping
Soil health
Inside fertiliser’s innovation drive: Why the industry wants start-ups to help disrupt itself
After almost a century focused on optimising established systems, the global fertiliser industry is opening its doors to start-ups, biologicals, AI and next-generation nutrient technologies. Jack Keeys, the International Fertilizer Association’s...
Investors should look beyond the farm gate to unlock agri-tech returns, says The First Thirty’s Antony Yousefian
Agri-tech’s investment challenge is not a lack of innovation but a lack of value capture, according to Antony Yousefian, general partner at early-stage venture firm The First Thirty
George Eustice: Resilience must be the new frontier for agri-tech
As the agriculture sector grapples with increasingly volatile weather, rising input costs and pressure to deliver environmental outcomes, former Defra Secretary George Eustice believes it is time to rethink what agricultural innovation actually means
Heineken puts money on the table to drive regenerative barley adoption
Heineken UK is offering financial incentives for regenerative barley production as it seeks to futureproof its supply chain, strengthen environmental credentials and test whether regenerative agriculture can be scaled across its global brewing operations
How Syngenta is using AI to reinvent agricultural innovation
Artificial intelligence could help cut years from the development of new crop protection products while enabling safer, more targeted solutions that better reflect farmers’ needs, according to leading Syngenta researchers. However, the company insists AI...
‘Increasingly critical’: Suntory turns to fruit-waste-derived polymer to tackle water stress in agricultural supply chains
Suntory Holdings has partnered with a Japanese environmental technology startup to test a upcycled soil additive designed to improve water retention, as climate change intensifies drought risks and threatens the stability of agricultural supply chains.
Start-up profile
Can AI disrupt the seed giants? The start-up betting on climate-resilient crops
Two biologists who met in a university book club are using AI to tackle one of agriculture’s biggest challenges: developing climate-resilient crops faster and cheaper than traditional breeding programmes. With partnerships already in place and ambitions...
Why Bayer is separating glyphosate from its innovation portfolio
The launch of Ruveon reflects the changing realities of crop protection: glyphosate remains indispensable to farmers, but growing competition, legal risks and the rise of biologicals demand a different business model
From gut health to soil health: Why agriculture must learn from probiotics
Cybèle Agrocare’s Nina Vinot believes the future of farming lies in applying microbiome science from human health to the soil, but warns that gaps in data, investment and decontamination innovation could hold the sector back
Proveye links up with Grassland Agro to bring satellite-driven grass insights to Irish paddocks
Irish agri-tech firm Proveye is partnering with Grassland Agro to roll out its ProvGrass platform on trial farms, combining satellite-derived grass measurement with soil and fertiliser planning to support data-driven grazing and nutrient management
Regenerative farms cut drought losses by two‑thirds in landmark France study
Early findings from a large-scale European dataset suggest regenerative agriculture can materially improve resilience to climate shocks, with farms in France losing up to three times less yield during recent droughts
‘From science project to scalable platform’: Cibus Capital on why Physical AI is reshaping investment
As capital discipline tightens across agtech, Cibus Capital’s Archie Burgess argues that a new wave of Physical AI – combining robotics, automation and adaptive intelligence – is moving beyond hype to deliver real on-farm returns, reshaping both investor...
Soilless solution: RegenSoil claims breakthrough biochar growing medium that replaces soil 100%
Thai startup RegenSoil claims that its enhanced biochar can fully replace soil, enabling soilless cultivation while improving yield and plant health.
Big brands unite on regenerative ag – but who will pay to scale it?
Forty global food and drink giants back new industry framework, but questions remain over financing the transition at farm level
‘We’re feeding Silicon Valley’: UK looks to Dutch model to fix agri-tech scale gap
Parliament hears stark warnings from SMEs on funding, fragmentation and “missing middle” as MP committee eyes Netherlands trip for solutions
Start-up profile
Why BBLeap believes crop spraying is fundamentally broken
Dutch agtech founder Peter Millenaar argues that conventional spraying misses up to 20% of crops – and says only plant-level precision will deliver the next leap in agricultural productivity
BASF scales up biologicals with new BioHub to boost resilience and flexibility
Fermentation facility at Ludwigshafen underlines strategic shift towards biotech crop protection amid supply chain and regulatory pressures
Mosaic invests in SugaROx to back ‘precision biostimulants’ push
Oxford spinout tackles consistency challenge in biologicals as fertiliser giant doubles down on Biosciences strategy
Mosaic cuts output as input costs soar, but bets on biosciences for future growth
Fertiliser major trims production and capex amid volatile markets, while positioning biologicals as a strategic growth pillar
PepsiCo and Fertiberia scale green fertiliser push across 400,000 acres of European farmland
PepsiCo and Fertiberia are expanding a long‑term partnership to deploy green hydrogen‑based fertiliser across Europe, supporting more than 1,500 farmers as the food giant targets deep cuts to agricultural emissions in its supply chain
Glyphosate under pressure: campaigners’ push for restrictions likely to accelerate search for alternatives
As UK campaigners call for a ban on glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant, pressure is mounting on regulators – and on the industry – to find viable alternatives. Yet while options exist, none currently match glyphosate’s unique combination of...
EU opens door to €50,000 emergency support for farmers hit by Iran war cost spikes
Brussels has loosened state‑aid rules to help farmers and transport operators cope with soaring fuel and fertiliser prices linked to the conflict involving Iran, but payments will depend on national governments acting
Yara chief warns Iran conflict could put 10bn meals a week at risk as food price impact looms
Yara International chief executive Sven Tore Holsether has warned that the war in Iran risks removing up to 10 billion meals a week from global food production, even as the fertiliser major posted better‑than‑expected Q1 2026 results. While near‑term...
Why Syngenta is betting on biology, AI and modelling to reinvent crop protection
As Syngenta commits $130m to a new bioscience R&D hub in the UK, Dave Hughes – the company’s global technology scout – explains why digital science, biologicals and soil innovation will define the next era of agtech
Study offers new way to stop global potato pathogen once linked to Ireland’s Great Famine
Scientists in Sweden say they have taken an important step towards combating potato late blight, a destructive plant disease historically linked to Ireland’s Great Famine and now spreading more widely as climate change reshapes growing conditions.
SAI Platform pilots point to ‘adaptable pathway’ for regenerative agriculture transition
After validating its four-step regenerative framework across 35 pilots in 25 countries, Geneva-based SAI Platform says the results offer global food and beverage supply chains a practical, flexible route to scale regenerative farming without losing local...
Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman: Why agtech needs to learn to fail faster
With capital tightening and exits slow to materialise, Leaps by Bayer’s Derek Norman argues that agtech must adopt a tougher, more disciplined mindset – testing to fail early, not to validate success – if it wants to remain investable
Start-up profile
Nanomnia: Delivery science is becoming the deciding factor for next‑generation biologicals
As peptides, dsRNA and other fragile biological actives move closer to market, Italian nano‑biotech Nanomnia believes growth will increasingly come from developers who need delivery to be enabling, not incremental
UK biosolutions eye growth as resource insecurity sharpens
New data from BIA BioSolutions shows UK biosolutions companies have raised £1.46bn in equity since 2018, underlining the sector’s growing importance as policymakers and industry look for domestic, biology‑based solutions to insulate the economy from...
Rovensa Next doubles down on AI and training to deliver more practical biosolutions support
Biosolutions company Rovensa Next is rolling out a global AI platform and training academy to help distributors and growers move from fragmented biosolutions data to more practical, crop‑specific and evidence‑based recommendations in the field
CRISPR wheat cuts carcinogen risk without yield loss, strengthening case for precision gene editing
Ultra‑low asparagine wheat developed by Rothamsted Research shows how precision gene editing can help food producers meet tightening safety regulations, without sacrificing productivity, marking a significant step forward for safer, more compliant food...
Fertiliser shock fuels interest in hyperspectral satellites for precision nitrogen use
As fertiliser prices surge following geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, UK growers are under pressure to cut input costs without sacrificing yields. A new on‑farm collaboration between crop intelligence company Messium and a Northamptonshire grower...
Foray Bioscience and Z’s Nutty Ridge target a faster path to scaling hazelnut trees
A new partnership between plant biomanufacturing start-up Foray Bioscience and New York-based nut tree breeder Z’s Nutty Ridge aims to overcome one of agriculture’s hardest scaling problems: how to commercialise elite varieties of long‑lived perennial...
Philanthropy steps in where VC won’t: DSV and Renaissance launch venture engine for climate‑ready crops
Deep Science Ventures and Renaissance Philanthropy unveil a new venture creation project aimed at building a generation of field‑ready crop‑resilience technologies backed not by traditional VC capital, but by high‑ambition philanthropic funding willing...
Soil health intelligence start-up Miraterra closes oversubscribed seed round with $16m CAD
Miraterra is piecing together a complete soil analytic software service, with the help of capital funding and its acquisition of Trace Genomics
On the nose: Faster, cheaper soil biology assessment nears commercialisation
The QUOLL electronic nose from Australia is moving toward commercialisation as researchers advance field validation and prepare the technology for wider use on farms.
Investor profile
Xinomavro Ventures wants to drag the wine industry into the digital age
The world’s only wine‑focused tech investment fund says vineyards are facing agricultural challenges sooner – and more severely – than other sectors. Xinomavro Ventures believes that makes them the ideal proving ground for new ag innovations
Back to basics: For Sierra Leone’s amputee farmers, agri‑tech begins with a wheelbarrow
Agri‑tech innovation is often synonymous with automation, robotics, AI and gene‑edited crops. But for many farming communities around the world, transformative technology looks very different. Sometimes it’s not an algorithm or a sensor, but a tool...
Tesco puts ‘low‑carbon’ potatoes on shelves in major test of consumer appetite for sustainable produce
The UK’s first crop of ‘low‑carbon’ potatoes has arrived on supermarket shelves, marking a milestone in efforts to prove that more sustainably produced foods can secure both retailer backing and mass‑market consumer uptake
Agri Smile prepares Vietnam launch after successful trials lift rice yields by 43%
Agri Smile is preparing to distribute its biostimulant in Vietnam after field trials saw an increase in rice yields by 43% while delivering a sixfold return on investment.
Can new incentives accelerate precision agriculture adoption in the UK?
The UK’s flagship farm‑payment scheme has been overhauled into a more streamlined, delivery‑focused model. But will SFI26’s push toward measurable, on‑farm action transform precision agriculture into a practical necessity for British farmers?
EARA’s Regen Compass aims to chart a clearer path for Europe’s regenerative farming
The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture says its new Regen Compass provides a trusted, farmer‑centred navigation tool to bring clarity and integrity to Europe’s fast‑growing but fragmented regenerative agriculture landscape
UK unveils first PFAS strategy as scientists warn soil contamination is poorly understood
With major evidence gaps remaining around how PFAS behave in soils and what this means for food systems, the government has launched new plan to track ‘forever chemicals’
MyEasyFarm launches €1.6m ‘MyEasyAI’ project to fast‑track low‑carbon sugar beet farming
With sugar beet under pressure in France’s climate‑stressed Grand Est region, the French MMRV specialist teams up with beet producer Cristal Union and the University of Reims to harness AI, primary data and a farm ‘digital twin’ to accelerate the...
Mother plants ‘pre‑programme’ their seeds: new discovery could reshape crop breeding and resilience
A breakthrough by scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute has revealed for the first time how “mother plants” pass environmental information directly to their developing seeds – a finding that could transform approaches to crop...
McCain unveils UK ‘Farm of the Future’ to accelerate regenerative agriculture amid global onboarding drop
New research hub aims to fast‑track regenerative practices across McCain’s 4,400‑farm global network as latest data shows progress slipping from 71% to 69%
How Brazil Potash is helping the LatAm country become fertiliser independent
Brazil is a major importer of fertiliser, but one Canadian company is planning to flip the script with a potash mining project set to launch in 2030
Why soil testing is crucial to developing a fertiliser plan this growing season
Proper soil testing can be a crucial first step in developing a fertiliser plan that improves soil health and reduces expenses
Can biostimulants help farmers reduce fertiliser spend? Redox president discusses cost-saving benefits
Redox Bio-Nutrients has certified the composition, efficacy, and safety of its Mainstay Si product with The Fertilizer Institute, as farmers across the globe search for ways to reduce their input costs amid market volatility