August 22, 2018

Australian digital agriculture startup AgriWebb has raised A$14 million (US$10.3 million) through a Series A backed by Wheatsheaf Group, a leading UK-based global investor and developer of agtech businesses. Under the terms of the investment, AgriWebb also acquired FarmWizard, a UK livestock and dairy software platform, from Wheatsheaf. In total, the deal gives Wheatsheaf a 30 percent stake in AgriWebb.

Based in Sydney, AgriWebb is a farm management software provider that is aiming to transform the cattle and sheep livestock industries while improving profitability, provenance, and sustainability along the supply chain. In just three years, AgriWebb has grown from a team of three to having 10 percent of Australia’s cattle and sheep stock ranging across 35 million acres being managed through the AgriWebb platform and resulting in livestock production performance increasing by 20 percent. This track record has established AgriWebb as a market leader in its category offering farmers daily records, and the ability to better handle their animal’s health, pasture productivity, nutrition, accreditation records, and product quality and traceability. The savings in cost, time, and streamlining that AgriWebb can provide livestock producers has seen the company rapidly expand across geographies including New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, and the UK.

“We’ve been very focused on getting a lot of feedback from farmers so our developers know what the ordinary bloke in the paddock needs,” AgriWebb’s John Fargher told the North Queensland Register.

The acquisition of FarmWizard will bring dairy cattle and individual animal management functionalities  into the fold of AgriWebb’s existing cloud based livestock herd management product suite. As the rate of adoption of digitization continues to grow, the combination of AgriWebb and FarmWizard’s capabilities will create a first-of-its-kind solution for livestock producers and enterprises along the value supply chain.

“We are extremely excited at the opportunity this deal presents for AgriWebb, and for the global future of digital agricultural management,” said Kevin Baum, co-founder and CEO of AgriWebb. “Like AgriWebb, Wheatsheaf is committed to making a positive impact on the challenges faced globally in food production and the efficient use of natural resources. The AgriWebb team is proud that Wheatsheaf has recognised our expertise and potential in this field, and are committed to investing in Australian farmers.”

Launched six years ago, Wheatsheaf Group is a part of the Grosvenor family estate business, led by the Duke of Westminster. The fund’s goal is to invest in, directly operate, and help develop businesses in the food and agriculture sectors.

“Wheatsheaf believes in the application of clever technology to solve big problems in global food sustainability, productivity and provenance and has extensive industry expertise and a strong conviction that gives them the confidence to have patience,” Justin Webb, co-founder of AgriWebb, told Startup Daily.

Currently, 70 percent of AgriWebb’s customer base consists of 1,700 farms spread across Australia, with the remaining 30 percent located across seven overseas countries. Although the startup definitely has its eye on global expansion, the process is one that the company feels should be deliberate and methodically achieved.

“The startup graveyard is littered with too many anecdotes of companies that ventured too far too early,” Webb told Startup Daily. “Therefore we are seeking to expand into one region at a time and with a variation of remote marketing, local distribution collaborations and ‘boots on ground’.”

-Lynda Kiernan