Homegrown agritech ramps up

The past two weeks have delivered good news to BC agritech startups.

The biggest news was the acquisition by Vancouver-based crop data and pest control company SemiosBio Technologies Inc. of AgWorld, an information management firm based in Australia on August 24.

“Together, Semios and Agworld will form one of the largest independent ag-tech solutions providers in the world, servicing growers, agronomists and ag retailers in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South Africa,” a company press release said.

The deal is the third this year for Semios, which earlier this year acquired Altrac, a cellular controls developer based in California, and Centricity, a Washington State developer of a suite of field data collection applications.

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed, but Semios last year raised US$75 million in private equity through a funding round led by Morningside Group of Boston, a private equity and venture capital firm.

A series of significant investments is also helping propel development at North Vancouver-based Ecoation Innovative Solutions Inc.

Biobest Group NV of Belgium took a $10 million equity stake in Ecoation on September 3, with Biobest CEO Jean-Marc Vandoorne joining Ecoation’s board of directors. The investment will support the global commercial roll-out of Ecoation’s crop monitoring platform.

Biobest’s commitment follows a total of $10 million in federal funding from a variety of programs, most recently $3.9 million in AgriInnovate cash in support of cleantech development, as well as $2.5 million raised from investors.

The good news comes in advance of the RegenBC conference in support of the province’s regenerative agriculture and Agritech network. Scheduled for September 28-30, the online conference aims to encourage farmers to harness “the latest and best in agri-technology” in support of regenerative farming practices.

The province defines regenerative practices as those which “aim to restore soils, water and biodiversity health to improve overall ecosystem services and make farmland more resilient to climate change.”

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

1 week ago

Canada's mushroom growers will have to post countervailing duties next week following a US Department of Commerce determination that Canada's tax regime effectively subsidized growers, allowing them to cause "material injury" to US growers through their exports. Canada is a major exporter of mushrooms to the US, with the countries effectively operating as a single value chain thanks in part to one of the largest mushroom producers, South Mill Champs, headquartered in Pennsylvania.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 2
Shares: 2
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 6
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

2 weeks ago

The Jura Ranch near Princeton sold for nearly $5.3 million on May 12, the largest online ranch sale in BC in months, according to CLHBid.com, which handled the sale. The buyer was not named. Formerly owned by Rob and Kelly Lamoureux, which developed the successful Jura Grassfed brand, the ranch includes 2,625 deeded acres and a grazing licence totalling 83,698 acres. Originally offered at $4.2 million, the competitive bidding process delivered a higher value than the current market would suggest. Farm Credit Canada’s latest farmland value survey pointed to 1.7% decline in BC last year, which observers have attributed to tight margins and uncertainties related to Crown tenure.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 40
Shares: 10
Comments: 4

I sure hope it remains as farm land rather than a wind or solar installation.

Great grassland

yeah, who bought it? where are the checks and balances that ensure a ranch can continue being a ranch?

Uncertainty about crown land, aka native land grabs and unceded land claims being tossed around like it wasn't meant to destabilize the country?

American businessmen have quietly accumulated nearly 4,000 acres of farmland in the Robson Valley community of Dunster, sparking calls for restrictions on foreign and corporate agricultural land ownership in BC. Residents say the buy-up has driven population decline and priced out young farmers. MLAs from both parties and a UNBC professor are pointing to Quebec's new farmland protection legislation as a model BC should follo#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Foreign land buyers hollow out Dunster

www.countrylifeinbc.com

DUNSTER – Purchases of swathes of farmland in the Robson Valley by wealthy American businessmen have some in BC demanding restrictions on foreign and corporate ownership of agricultural land.

Likes: 26
Shares: 3
Comments: 1

This is a serious issue in Dunster and one that has impacts for wildlife and human neighbours.

Representatives from Quail's Gate Winery Estate Winery in West Kelowna were panellists during the Okanagan Cultivates event held at Okanagan College's Kelowna campus on May 7. The college has been hosting events like this to help elevate conversations in the community about what's grown locally and its impact on the region's food, wine and tourism industry. The Quail's Gate panel, which included Ben Stewart, discussed the long history of grape growing and winemaking in front of a large crowd who came to listen, learn and taste products from a number of local wineries and restaurants. A new $48.8M food, wine and tourism centre is now under construction at the college to open in fall 2027. The building will have modern food labs, a student-led restaurant and café and specialized training spaces for culinary, viticultu#BCAgd tourism studies.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 8
Shares: 0
Comments: 0