Farmers Business Network , based in San Carlos, Calif., and Sioux Falls, S.D., has announced raising $110 million in Series D funding, led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. and Temasek. Previous investors Acre Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and DBL Partners also participated in this round.
Such an investment in agriculture technology is incredibly rare, Forbes reports. An earlier Forbes article explains what the company does and how it started.
This latest round brings the company’s total equity funding to nearly $200 million.
The investment will be used to expand the company’s offerings, including its digital drop marketing, FBN Direct, and farm analytics services, as well as expand internationally to Canada.
“Farmers Business Network fiercely advocates for farmers – democratizing information, providing market transparency, and leveling the playing field through networking,” said Charles Baron, Co-Founder and VP of Product. “We’re bringing growers the transformative power of a digital farm economy. By connecting farmers digitally, farmers are empowered through network-enabled agronomic insights, transparent online input purchasing, and a global crop marketing network to drive profitability even in the toughest markets.”
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“The pressure this year is greater than ever to save money. Between the input savings and what I’m realizing on the crop marketing premiums, my FBN membership could be worth $90 per acre,” said Pat Duncanson, a farmer from Minnesota. “I’ve committed almost half my acres this year to the crop marketing program and I’m wondering if that’s not enough. It gives me transparency around the prices I’m paying, and has given the grower more power in the market to get premiums. With the seed intelligence I get through FBN Seed Finder, I am unequivocally able to find and buy seeds with confidence.”
FBN launched 2 ½ years ago and now serves more than 16 million acres of farmland.
“Having the buy-in and long-term support of world-class, independent investors is fundamental to our mission of serving family farms. This funding brings massive firepower to the FBN Network. We now have over 200 employees and soon will bring hundreds more high-tech jobs to rural America,” said Amol Deshpande, CEO and co-founder.
