Mellinger’s Minutes: Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) entities by Traditional Agribusiness
The steady increase in Non Traditional Players (NTP’s) becoming involved with farmland, animal production, infrastructure, and mid-stream assets is a regular fixture of my reporting. Equally significant are efforts by traditional agriculture and food players to be more nimble, entrepreneurial, and engaged in AgTech and FoodTech trends. By es
Read moreA Tale of Two Craft Beer Markets
The U.S. craft beer market has grown by leaps and bounds, evidenced by the number of breweries rising from dozens in the 1980s to more than 5,000 as of 2016, according to stats cited in Fortune. While some reports suggest growth in the U.S. craft beer market may have plateaued, craft brewers hunting growth have set their sights on Asia for exp
Read moreFrance’s Roquette Invests $300M to Build World’s Largest Pea Protein Factory
In a move that reflects the growth potential for plant-based proteins, French specialty ingredient supplier, Roquette, is investing C$400 million (US$300 million) - the largest pea protein investment made in the food sector to date, to build the world’s largest pea processing facility in Canada. "This is one of the largest private sector
Read moreMidwestern Dairy Farmers Hunting Margin Could Spur M&A
The past couple of years have delivered blockbuster deals in the agriculture sector, however, consolidation is not limited to only the major players. In recent weeks, dairy cooperatives Prairie Farms Dairy and Swiss Valley Farms unveiled plans to merge, creating a combined entity that is expected to generate $3 billion-plus in annual sales. An
Read moreBREXIT: What’s In Store For UK Agriculture?
On June 23, 2016, voters in the United Kingdom channeled Groucho Marx and decided to leave a club that actually wanted them as a member. Although the National Farmers Union officially favored remaining in the EU, a significant majority of farmers (in some polls almost 60 percent) wanted to leave. This sets up a fascinating conundrum: how can v
Read moreShipping Containers to Revolutionize Fresh Food Production
Australian ag-tech startup Sprout Stack is preparing to open its second round of capital in a bid to raise further funding prior to commercializing its automated fresh food production units in early 2017. Designed to revolutionize the way in which fresh produce is grown and distributed, the Sprout Stack unit is a standard intermodal shipping c
Read moreChina Ag Readies Reform Amid $450B Commitment
China’s agriculture industry is on the cusp of a sea change, evidenced by a recent multi-billion dollar commitment to the region’s rural farmland. The Agriculture Development Bank of China and the country’s Ministry of Agriculture have earmarked $450 billion (3 trillion yuan) for local agriculture, which will be allocated via loans,
Read moreOman Sees Continued Investments in Large Scale Ag, Aquaculture Projects
Oman has been increasingly on the radar for agriculture, food, and aquaculture project development. Most recently, a large scale off-shore aquaculture project off the north Al Batinah coast known as “Sahwa” is being undertaken with the goal of eventually meeting 25 percent of the country’s national production target. Located 15 kilome
Read moreWhat Today’s Farmland Prices Mean for Investors [+PODCAST]
In the past months, farmland prices have continued to creep downward, leaving behind the record prices of the past few years. The August 8th Land Values Report from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service shows farmland values dropped 0.3 percent nationwide in the past year. However, changes in farmland values vary from region to reg
Read moreRichardson Invests $120M to Expand Alberta Canola Plant
Canadian agribusiness, Richardson International, announced it is investing $120 million to modernize and significantly increase the capacity at its canola crushing plant in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The project is aiming to increase the facility’s daily crushing capacity by 2,000 tons, bringing the current annual capacity of 450,000 t
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