AgTech 3.0 or Ag 3 is revolutionizing the global agricultural system. Top AgTech companies are bringing farmers and growers a range of advanced technological solutions that are improving productivity and resilience, while increasing biodiversity and protecting the environment.
This article features ten pioneering AgTech companies that are harnessing advances in AI, robotics, biotech, data analytics, and biogenetics to put farming on a par with the wider high tech sector, and achieve long-term food security in the face of climate change, population growth and urban drift.
Population Growth
The global population reached 8 billion in 2022. It is expected to surpass 10 billion, and perhaps push towards 11 billion by the end of the century. AgTech innovation is key to feeding over 8 billion (increasingly urbanized) people.
Climate Change
2024 was the hottest year on record. Rising temperatures are causing a proliferation of extreme weather events, including droughts and flooding, and associated consequences such as major fires and lower crop yields. AgTech innovation enables adaptation and greater resilience among food producers.
10 of the Top AgTech Companies Driving Innovation in Agriculture
John Deere
John Deere has been a major manufacturer and constant innovator in the agricultural machinery sector for almost two centuries. The company is now a leader in the development of autonomous tractors and farm-management platforms. John Deere’s range of agricultural vehicles offers solutions for almost every aspect of farming, from land preparation, seed planting and crop spraying, through to final harvesting and processing. Automation transforms the productivity of farmers and reduces dependence on hired labor.
John Deere’s Automation 4.0 Package offers farmers a suite of vehicle technologies that includes AutoTrac™ and AutoPath™. Their precision agriculture technology is designed to reduce input costs while simultaneously increasing yields and presenting lower maintenance and fuel requirements.
Lindsay Corporation
Lindsay Corporation is helping farmers to address one of the most pressing challenges of climate change; effective water management. The company has 70 years experience designing and manufacturing irrigation solutions and is drawing on its experience to develop precision solutions for sustainable agriculture. Lindsay specialises in pivot irrigation systems that allow tailored irrigation of field crops. Center pivot and lateral-move systems ensure uniform water distribution and can offer key advantages over drip and flood irrigation.
In addition to robust and durable irrigation systems like Zimmatic, Lindsay Corporation is empowering farmers with remote irrigation management systems like FieldNET™. Users can manage and schedule crop irrigation via a handheld device, saving time and resources.
ICL Group
ICL Group is one of the world’s most technologically advanced specialty minerals companies and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers by volume. Agmatix is a pioneering agro informatics company that is part of ICL’s AgTech digital solutions. Agmatix is contributing to global food security by providing agriculture professionals with advanced AI-powered solutions that transform the scope and potential of agronomic field trials, agriculture analytics, and regenerative agriculture.
Agmatix solutions for agronomists and growers include Field Data Collection and Analysis, Crop Nutrition Management, the Sustainable Agriculture Platform, and Predictive Modelling & Insights. Agmatix is focused on providing standardized agronomic data that enables professionals to leverage data-driven insights and make informed decisions.
Calavo Growers, Inc.
Calavo Growers is a major international distributor of avocados and other fresh fruit produce and is traded on the NASDAQ. Surprisingly, the company began life a hundred years ago as a Californian agricultural cooperative. Calavo has been a constant innovator in the fruit sector (which plays an often overlooked role in global food security). Calavo is harnessing satellite and drone technologies to monitor farmland and substantially improve crop yields.
Calavo uses satellite imagery combined with AI to provide precise data on crop health, soil moisture, and the presence of pests and predators, allowing the company to implement precision solutions. Calavo is also utilizing advanced blockchain technologies to create a more transparent supply chain with optimized sourcing and tracking.
FMC Corporation
FMC Corporation is a major US chemical company that started out in 1883 as a pesticide manufacturer serving California’s fruit orchards. FMC is now one of America’s leading agricultural sciences companies and a pioneer in the precision agriculture and biologicals sectors. The company’s Arc™ farm intelligence is an innovative precision agriculture platform that utilizes predictive tools to anticipate pest and insect predation. It enables users to create proactive pest control plans and substantially reduce damage to crops.
FMC also offers precision weed control with custom herbicide combinations through its PrecisionPac® Application Innovation. Growers can obtain the optimal herbicide rates and ratios for each plot and crop, reducing costs and negative environmental impacts for greater sustainability.
Benson Hill, Inc.
Soybeans are an important staple that contribute to food security both as a high protein source of human nutrition and as an animal feed. Soybeans are also showing interesting potential as an alternative fuel source. Benson Hill is leveraging genetics and AI-driven plant technologies to provide growers with a range of resilient seeds and varieties that can meet the challenges of climate change. Benson Hill is working to disrupt the existing soybean commodity market that currently prioritizes volume over quality. The company aims to deliver nutritionally dense sustainable crops on a scalable basis.
Other next generation Benson Hill technologies include the CropOS® technology platform that uses digital twins and in-silico breeding predictions to develop plant breeding solutions. The roadmaps generated by CropOS® finally become living plants in the controlled environment of a Benson Hill Crop Accelerator that utilizes indoor speed breeding and rapid prototyping.
Arcadia Biosciences
Arcadia Biosciences is a leader in the field of agricultural biotechnology and is strengthening the food supply chain with research into traits that enhance crop quality and yields. Arcadia is focused on improving the nutritional quality of basic foodstuffs and enhancing their suitability for the modern market and consumer preferences. The company developed GoodWheat, a variety of wheat with reduced gluten and increased starch levels. It is also adapting HB4 wheat technologies to soybeans with highly promising results, increasing yields and resistance to abiotic stress.
Arcadia also owns the Zola brand, offering 100% coconut water drinks as a natural and sustainable low-calorie alternative to sports drinks. Coconut water functions as a natural electrolyte drink that can help users to rapidly rehydrate and re-energize.
Local Bounti Corporation
A key emerging aspect of sustainable agriculture is the ability to grow food close to the consumer base, reducing strain on transport infrastructures (food miles) and associated costs and environmental pollution. Local Bounti innovates to revolutionize agriculture, enabling locally based sustainable food production with an emphasis on supplying local communities with fresh and healthy food choices. Local Bounti specializes in leafy greens and herbs that are essential for a balanced diet. The company has developed state of the art greenhouses that eliminate the need for chlorine baths and gas flushing processes.
Local Bounti’s Stack & Flow Technology® uses up to 90% less land and water than traditional vegetable farming methods and also makes growing units highly cost effective. A seamless growth process maximizes light space and airflow throughout planting, germination, nursery and the final hydroponic greenhouse phase.
Auga Group
Auga Group is a pioneering Lithuanian company that is combining a commitment to sustainability with a high degree of expertise in organic farming to develop a sophisticated vertically integrated, closed loop organic farming operation. What this means on a practical level is that Auga operates a range of (apparently) unconnected organic agricultural enterprises like dairy farming and mushroom growing and uses them to supplement and assist each other in a sustainable circular economy. As well as producing food for the consumer market – including the US and over 30 other countries – Auga is producing staple commodities.
Auga is emerging as an AgTech innovator with a focus on biomethane infrastructure, hybrid tractors and agricultural machinery,and new feed technologies to reduce the carbon footprint from livestock herds. The company’s underlying philosophy is “no cost to nature” and it’s earning a reputation for sustainable practices.
Royal DSM
Royal DSM is a Dutch multinational with health, nutrition and materials divisions. The company is making a significant contribution to animal nutrition and health, improving the lifespan of ruminants and poultry and contributing to animal welfare and ethical farming in the process. The cattle feed additive Bovaer effectively reduces methane production and the overall carbon footprint of dairy farming.DSM also channels its technological resources into producing nutritional supplements and groundbreaking functional ingredients for human consumption.
DSM’s technological capacity extends to salmon, shrimp and egg production and the company offers digital platforms to optimize the color quality of egg yolks and seafood through improved nutritional solutions.
AgTech Innovation as a Key to Food Security
Top AgTech companies are constantly innovating and pushing existing technological boundaries to deliver food security through sustainable agriculture. Companies like ICL Group, Lindsay Corporation and Benson Hill are transforming the global farming system and enabling the new agricultural revolution.
As the world’s population increases, and climate change challenges growers, AgTech innovation is the key to improved yields, next generation vertical farming and urban farming, and new agricultural practices that improve soil health, increase biodiversity and strengthen rural communities.
