September 10, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

St. Louis-based Lewis & Clark AgriFood Growth Fund has led a $7.7 million Series A for BinSentry, a Canadian sensor tech company. 

BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund also participated in the round along with existing investors Garage Capital and Chilligo Investments.

As part of the funding round, Jonathan Goodkey, principal with the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, will be joining BinSentry’s Board of Directors.

Founded in 2017 in Ontario, Canada, BinSentry’s digital sensor technology platform helps lift efficiency for feed mills, livestock producers, and farmers through feed bin monitoring.

Powered by solar energy and operating on low-power, long-range networks, BinSentry’s cutting-edge sensors are mounted on animal feed bins in less than 10 minutes providing feed mills and farmers the ability to monitor feed inventory in real time, automate ordering, prioritize production, and optimize delivery routes, resulting in the elimination of feed outages and greater insight for farmers into animal performance. 

The system, which works for years without needing servicing, also increases on-farm safety by eliminating the need for farm workers to climb feed bins to check inventory levels, and streamlines supply chains by reducing late or unexpected feed orders.

As of 2019, BinSentry had more than 1,000 sensors installed, and was awarded the Forbes Innovation Icon Award. Today, the company is servicing more than 10,000 bins across 20 feed production operations.

“Feed bin monitoring is currently antiquated with significant opportunity to improve efficiency,” said David Taiclet, managing director and general partner, Lewis & Clark AgriFood.

“Our investment team, led by Dr. Larry Page and Suhas Narayanaswamy, has studied this sector in detail and BinSentry’s technology was a clear market leader. We’re very pleased to invest in BinSentry to help expand their innovative technology within the animal production industry.”

Agtech has exploded into its own investment class in recent years. Seed genetics, robots, drones, and biological inputs are just a few of the on-farm technologies being widely adopted. There is one aspect of farming, however, that is lagging behind in benefiting from technological advances – that is feed management – a curious oversight, since animal nutrition and feed accounts for as much as 70 percent of the cost of production for livestock operations. 

“Thanks to its inventive solution, BinSentry is well positioned to disrupt feed inventory management,” said Joe Regan, managing partner, Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, BDC Capital. “In partnership with Lewis & Clark, we will be committed to support the global expansion of this Canadian ag-tech company.” 

Feed management has typically been a highly manual task that is prone to human error, making it prime for tech-driven disruption. And BinSentry CEO Randall Schwartzentruber is excited to partner with Lewis & Clark AgriFood Fund and BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund to grow the company’s presence.

“Their participation supports our mission,” said Schwartzentruber, “… to be a leader in the agricultural technology revolution by bringing a game changing solution for feed bin management.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.