Upstream Ag Professional

This week’s audio edition covers the following:How else will Vylor monetize the Pioneer Dealer Network?The Seductiveness of Silver Bullets in Weed Management

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional includes:Kubota Tests UV-C Machines as an Alternative to Crop Protection ProductsFMC Corporation to Divest India Commercial Business to Crystal Crop Protection for $252 MillionSKK Holdings to Acquire Rantizo Drone Assets in $258.8 Million DealIntroducing Vylor: Corteva Spinoff to Propel Agriculture FurtherSuterra Acquires Vestaron's Product Lines, Active Ingredients, and R&D PipelineSugaROx Raises £2.5 Million from The Mosaic Company as Part of Series A Funding

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional Audio edition covers:Q1 2026 Agribusiness ResultsAlternative Weed Management, Resistance and Integrative Thinking

A detailed deep dive into Clockspeed, Capital, and Conviction: Considerations for R&D and M&A in Agribusiness

Introduction1. The Framing Effect2. The Narrative Fallacy3. Salience Bias4. Authority Bias5. Survivorship Bias6. The Peak-End Rule

Shane Thomas breaks down the global biostimulant market using data and insights from the DunhamTrimmer 2025 Global Biostimulant Report, covering market size, growth trajectories, regional dynamics, product trends, and the competitive forces reshaping the industry. What's covered: The Biostimulant Opportunity — Why the sector has moved from niche to mainstream, including growing recognition of abiotic stress as a yield limiter, nutrient use efficiency pressures, and the strategic push from major crop input companies into plant health. Market Insights — The global market hit $4.47 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $7.88 billion by 2030. Latin America and Asia-Pacific are now the largest and fastest-growing regions, while Europe and North America are maturing. North American Market Highlights — North America crossed $1 billion in 2024, with humic and fulvic acids dominating regionally. Row crops are the fastest-growing application segment through 2030. Commoditization — Why the biostimulant category faces increasing price competition, margin pressure, and a "sea of sameness," and what the differentiation options look like for companies trying to avoid a race to the bottom. Single Biostimulant Molecules — How the industry is beginning to move toward specific molecules with defined modes of action, drawing parallels to target-based discovery in crop protection chemistry. To purchase the full DunhamTrimmer 2025 Global Biostimulant Report: https://dunhamtrimmer.com/reports/glo... For the written Upstream Ag Insights breakdown, see: https://upstream.ag/p/exclusive-break... Subscribe to Upstream Ag Insights: www.upstream.ag

The April 5th Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:Is Precision Agriculture Technology Adoption Persistently Overestimated?John Deere’s archives are powering its modern-day marketing

The March 29th Edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:AgList Biological Report Takeaways + Should We Sell the Modern AcrePeter Thiel and Companies Over Technologies (17:00 min mark)We Have Learned Nothing (24:55 min mark)

The March 22nd Edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:Sentiment and Takeaways from The World AgriTech Innovation SummitAgVend Product Launches and The Future of the Ag Value ChainAgFunder 2026 AgriFoodTech Funding Report Highlights

The March 8th 2026 audio edition covers the following:With crop protection at a crossroads, it’s time for big ag to embrace its big pharma moment The Middle East and Agribusiness Implications

The March 1st 2026 Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers the following:Agribusiness Highlights from Nutrien, Corteva, FMC, Mosaic and BASF

This week’s audio edition covers the following:Agribusiness Results: Nutrien, Deere, and CNHBayer Launches newgold® — A New Multi-Crop Seed Brand Designed to Connect Agriculture to the Low-Carbon Fuel Economy

This week’s audio edition and covers the following:The Hidden Economics of Hardware-first AgtechCropX and the case for consolidation in agtech: ‘We are an M&A machine’

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio editions dives into:Corteva and FMC Results, including the Corteva/FMC settlement and FMC potentially selling their business.Agribusiness Professional GenAI Usage Survey Results

A deep dive into learnings, stories and key takeaways from the book JR Simplot: A Billion the Hard Way.In this episode of Upstream Ag Insights, host Shane Thomas dives deep into the legendary life and business empire of John Richard Simplot through the book A Billion the Hard Way. From a fourteen-year-old runaway to the "wildest billionaire in the West," Simplot’s story is a masterclass in vertical integration, commodity market economics, and early technology adoption. We trace the journey of the J.R. Simplot Company from its humble beginnings in rural Idaho to its current status as a multibillion global agribusiness giant. Learn how Simplot built his first fortune by turning "other people's waste" into valuable products — a playbook he applied to everything from orphan lambs and cull potatoes to the massive dehydration contracts that fed the U.S. military during World War II . Key Highlights: The Electric Sorter & The Coin Toss: How a 1928 gamble on cutting-edge machinery and a legendary coin flip marked the true founding of the company . The French Fry Revolution: The story behind the 1967 handshake deal with Ray Kroc that put Simplot’s frozen fries in every McDonald’s worldwide . Vertical Integration Mastery: How Simplot secured his own supply chains by building fertilizer plants, opening phosphate mines, and pioneering the modern ag retail model with Simplot Grower Solutions . From Potatoes to Semiconductors: The "unexpected turn" where Simplot's understanding of commodity markets led him to support a Boise startup called Micron Technology, turning a $1 million investment into $4 billion .ReferencesJR Simplot: A Billion the Hard Way by AtteberyThe Idaho Angel On Their Shoulders - The Washington PostThe Simplot Saga: How America’s French Fry King Made Billions More in Semiconductors - FortuneFrom Mr. Spud to Mr. Chips - The New York Times

The January 25th 2026 edition of Upstream Ag Professional Audio Edition covers:What Claude Code and CoWork Buzz Means for Agribusiness ProfessionalsJohn Deere Rolls Out See & Spray Gen 2 and Upgrades Sprayer Lineup

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional Audio Edition covers:Are Farmers AgTech Guinea Pigs? BASF Agricultural Solutions Acquisition of AgBiTech

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:2026 Ag Equipment Dealer Business Outlook & Trends Report Highlights and AnalysisThe Great Unbundling of AgribusinessNewLife Biosciences Receives Patent Approval for Remediate for Biological Remediation in Agriculture

This week’s audio edition covers the following:Corteva, Hexagon Bio Form Multi-Million Dollar JV to Power Next-Generation of Nature Inspired SolutionsGROWMARK Expands St. Louis Manufacturing With Biologicals Production Plant

This week's Upstream Ag Professional Audio Edition breaks down the John Deere 2025 Investor Day, including:Leap Ambitions KPIsAI EffortsNew product uptake See & SprayHarvest AutomationAutonomy

This week's Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:Provivi, Syngenta strike major Brazil deal on pheromone pest controlFMC at Goldman Sachs Industrials and Materials Conference 2025Harvest Loss Technology2025 Crop Life 100 Report: Highlights and Analysis

This week's audio edition covers the following:Highlights of multiple storiesRetailers Need to Take a Stand

This week's Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:Q3 2025 Crop Protection and Seed Results HighlightsICLs New Ambition: Global Specialty Nutrition DominanceMicrosoft and Land O’Lakes Collaborate on AISyngenta opens Cropwise digital platform to developers to co-innovate and tackle agriculture’s technology divide

This week’s audio edition covers the following:Q3 2025 Agribusiness Results Highlights from Corteva, Nutrien, TELUS, Mosaic and CNHJohn Deere Customers Use See & Spray™ Technology Across Five Million Acres in 2025

Inside Ag Retail Excellence with Brad Oelmann, CEO of Farrell Growth Group In the first episode of the Upstream Ag Insights interview series, Shane Thomas sits down with Brad Oelmann, CEO of Farrell Growth Group, to unpack what defines top-performing ag retail businesses today. Brad brings decades of experience across the crop input value chain — from his early days at American Cyanamid and UAP, to leading United Suppliers through its merger with Land O’Lakes, and now advising retailers through Farrell Growth Group. This conversation dives into: - How Farrell benchmarks ag retail performance and what the strongest operators do differently - Financial and strategic indicators that define a thriving ag retail business - The evolving dynamics of crop protection, fertilizer, and seed margins - How leading retailers are adapting through cost-to-serve models, offer design, and service unbundling - The future of ag retail amid consolidation, new technologies, and changing farmer expectations Whether you’re in retail, manufacturing, or agtech, this discussion offers a grounded, data-driven look at where the ag retail business is heading and what it takes to stay ahead. Subscribe for more interviews and insights at www.upstream.ag

Inside Ag Retail Excellence with Brad Oelmann, CEO of Farrell Growth GroupIn the first episode of the Upstream Ag Insights interview series, Shane Thomas sits down with Brad Oelmann, CEO of Farrell Growth Group, to unpack what defines top-performing ag retail businesses today.Brad brings decades of experience across the crop input value chain — from his early days at American Cyanamid and UAP, to leading United Suppliers through its merger with Land O’Lakes, and now advising retailers through Farrell Growth Group.This conversation dives into:- How Farrell benchmarks ag retail performance and what the strongest operators do differently- Financial and strategic indicators that define a thriving ag retail business- The evolving dynamics of crop protection, fertilizer, and seed margins- How leading retailers are adapting through cost-to-serve models, offer design, and service unbundling- The future of ag retail amid consolidation, new technologies, and changing farmer expectationsWhether you’re in retail, manufacturing, or agtech, this discussion offers a grounded look at where the ag retail business is heading and what it takes to stay ahead.For a full transcript, and detailed key takeaways, become an Upstream Ag Professional member at www.upstream.ag

This week’s audio edition covers the following:FMC Q3 2025 ResultsThe Four Forces Reshaping the Crop Protection Industry and What Comes Next

This week's audio edition covers the following:Better, Not Less: How AgZen Is Partnering with Corteva and Reframing Precision SprayingA Look at Valmont Industries and Lindsay Corporation Technology Revenue and Tech InvestmentsCarbon Robotics Raise and Lawsuit

This week's Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:The Danger of Dominant Logic: What Pioneer’s Blind Spot Reveals About Disruption in AgricultureAscribe Bio Closes $12 Million Series A Financing to Advance Next-Generation Natural Crop Protection Co-Led by Acre Venture Partners and CortevaEcorobotix Crosses Over $200 million Raised: A look at Revenue, Business Model, GTM and Paths to Exit

The October 12th 2025 Edition covers the following:Revolutionizing Wheat: A look at Corteva, and Competitors, Hybrid Wheat InitiativesVive Secures $10 Million in Oversubscribed Financing RoundProfluent announces multi-year collaboration with Corteva to accelerate sustainable, AI-powered crop innovationOerthBio Shuts Down

This week’s audio edition covers the news on Corteva to Spin-Out Seed from Crop Protection and Liabilities. *Due to some error this week's edition got cut to only the Corteva news.

The topics covered in this week's audio edition include:Highlights from other stories in the written edition.AskUpstream OverviewDrone Startup Guardian Agriculture Shuts Down + Are VCs to blame?Salience Bias and Model Usage in Ag

This week's edition covers:WIPO Agriculture Patent Landscape Report Highlights and AnalysisH1 2025 Agrifood Funds ReportNutrien Says The Future Is A ‘Clicks and Mortar Business’

This week's edition covers the following:Clockspeed and Capital Allocation in Ag: Are food and agriculture giants sleepwalking into irrelevance?Corteva explores splitting seed and pesticide units

This week's audio edition covers:Patent Breakdowns: Nitrogen Fixing TechnologyFollow up from Moa and Gowan Partnership Last Week: Amplifiers and Corteva Fungicide Synergist Patent ApplicationLand O’Lakes, Inc. and Local Ag Retailers Announce Participation in AgRogue Growth Partners to Find, Fund and Scale New Ag Technologies

This week's ediiton covers the following topics:Moa develops groundbreaking category of crop protection; signs partnership deal with GowanVCs Should Still Chase Agtech Cinderella’s

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio covers:Q2 2025 Equipment Manufacturer Results Highlights, Themes and AnalysisWhat Crop Input Providers Can Learn from Louis Vuitton, Ferrari and GucciPerception Risk in Farming

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio edition covers:Q2 2025 Crop Protection and Seed Company Results: Themes, Highlights and Analysis Competing on Analytics and the Future of Ag Input CommercializationJohn Deere Q3 2025 ResultsBuilding to Exit: Lessons from Bilberry's Journey & Acquisition

This week's edition covers the following:Q2 2025 Agribusiness Results Summary: Bayer, Corteva, Nutrien, Mosaic, and ICLPrecision, Platform, Performance: Inside Meristem’s BIO-CAPSULEInterest in biostimulants ‘extraordinary’ despite 86% funding drop to category

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional dives into:Q2 2025 Agribusiness Earnings Results Summary: BASF, FMC, UPL, AGCO, CNH & TELUSFarmers Business Network Secures $50MGrowers Edge Acquires FarmTest to Help Retailers and Manufacturers Deliver Proven Product PerformanceDTN Acquires Grain Discovery, Expanding Digital Capabilities for Agribusinesses GeoPard and MCPsRantizo Spray Operations Acquired by Strategic Investment Group; Business Rebrands as American Autonomy, Inc.BioConsortia Closes Financing to Accelerate Launch of Nitrogen-Fixing Biofertilizer and Global Expansion

This week's edition covers the following topics:Q2 2025 Agribusiness Earnings Results Summary: BASF, FMC, UPL, AGCO, CNH & TELUSFarmers Business Network Secures $50MGrowers Edge Acquires FarmTest to Help Retailers and Manufacturers Deliver Proven Product PerformanceDTN Acquires Grain Discovery, Expanding Digital Capabilities for Agribusinesses GeoPard and MCPsRantizo Spray Operations Acquired by Strategic Investment Group; Business Rebrands as American Autonomy, Inc.BioConsortia Closes Financing to Accelerate Launch of Nitrogen-Fixing Biofertilizer and Global Expansion

This week's edition covers highlights from Pivot Bio's Innovation and Investor Day in Minneapolis, MN.

This week’s audio edition covers the following:Companies vs. TechAgVend Launches Loyalty & Rewards Program Builder + CHS Capital and AgVend expand connection to deliver digital financing solutionsIt's time to "Open Up" around FMISQ2 2025 AgTech Venture Capital Investment and Exit Round UpDoes AgTech Have a Terminology Problem?

This week’s audio edition covers:Inside Miraterra’s Bet on Soil IntelligenceLavie Bio Sale to ICL Closes

This week's edition covers the following stories:Highlight H1 2025 AgTech Funding Agribusiness CVC InvestmentsPrecision Ag Dealer Survey HighlightsCan AI Get EQ + Judgement + Context and Displace Agronomists?

This week’s audio edition covers:Stratus Ag Research Biostimulant Survey 2024: Insight from the American Farmer + The Nuance of BiostimulantsCorteva CEO Chuck Magro at Wolfe Research Materials Conference: Commoditizing Gene Editing Technology

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional Audio Edition includes:Precision and Digital Ag Highlights from John Deere’s Brazil Investor Day (45 second mark)M&A Challenges in Ag (4:38 mark)Crop Protection Programs (15:45 mark)

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional audio edition includes:Q1 2025 results and macro themes across ag equipment manufacturers (3:30)The intersection of machine vision tools and weed resistance mechanisms (8:30)Ergodicity and why survival, not optimization, explains how farmers and agronomists make decisions (15:20)

This week’s audio edition of Upstream Ag Professional covers:Q1 2025 Fertilizer Manufacturers Results Highlights (3:10 mark)Unlocking Chemistry with Code? A Look at AI in Crop Protection Discovery (16:20 mark)Brilliant Harvest Brings AI to Equipment Dealers (28:07)

This week's edition of Upstream Ag Professional covers:Quick Hits on Q1 2025 Crop Protection and Seed Company Results (5:00 min mark) Bayer Bankruptcy Filing? (19 min mark)John Deere Acquires Sentera to Integrate Aerial Field Scouting (25:15 min mark)