September 8, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Conti Ventures has led a $35 million Series B for PatternAg Inc. in support of the company’s breakthrough metagenomics platform. Conti was joined by Bidra Innovations and existing investors The Production Board, Valor Capital Group, Founders Find, iSelect, LAUNCH, and Ospraie Ag Sciences. 

Just as genomics is rapidly being adopted as the front line diagnostic method in the area of human health, Pattern is applying the same techniques to understanding plant health.

Leveraging cutting-edge advances in genomic sequencing, Pattern provides data-driven, evidence-based, and long-term predictions about crop risks and nutrient deficiencies at scale in row crops.

These predictive soil analytics track pest, pathogen, bio-fertility, and nutrient levels for corn and soybean growers across the U.S. Midwest – giving farmers actionable insights into the ways soil biology impacts their on-farm outcomes and enabling them to plan crop protection, seed selection, and fertility decisions for the upcoming season. The resulting increase in yields and ability to more precisely control inputs has the potential to boost profits by $60 per acre.

“Pattern understands the power of focus for early-stage enterprises,” said Chris Abbott, co-head of Conti Ventures and new member of the Pattern Board of Directors. “By aiming their platform technology at key customer pain points in corn and soybean crops, they have built a practical product that helps farmers increase their profitability.”

Having launched only four years ago, the capital from this Series B brings total funding for Pattern to $60 million. It also will help expand Pattern’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio, which already includes the largest soil metagenomics dataset in the global ag industry.

“We are excited to help them continue to build a full stack predictive agronomy product on their metagenomic platform which starts with biological activity in the soil,” said Abbott. 

This year, Pattern will be serving thousands of U.S. farmers with more than 1 million acres to be sampled. This service will allow growers to refine their management decisions through customizable recommendations via an intuitive platform.

“Pattern’s results shocked us,” said Paul Sittig, Amber View Farms of South Dakota. “Sudden Death Syndrome in soybeans is not usually a concern, so we don’t typically treat it. When we saw how high our field pressure was for SDS, it was a red flag for us.”

“We are used to getting 70 bushel an acre soybeans, but with this new information, and treating for a disease we didn’t even know we had, this may push us to 75 or 80 bushel an acre beans.”

Eventually, Pattern envisions a future where conventional ag inputs are enhanced, or entirely replaced with precision microbiome engineering.

“Soils are a massive natural carbon sink, second only to oceans,” said David Friedberg, founder, The Climate Corporation and The Production Board.

“Because of this, healthy soils are critical not just for food production, but also for climate change mitigation. Pattern is generating the information architecture that will enhance the microbiome to simultaneously optimize short term agricultural yields and long term global soil health.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.