Catalytic Themes to Watch in AgTech and Agribusiness for 2024

Introduction

2024 marks the start of the fifth year for Upstream— while the venture funding has slowed within the industry over that time frame, the implications of technology, complex interactions between companies, and macro trends continue to drive compelling new themes to pay attention for agribusiness professionals.

Instead of making predictions (though there are some below), I want to highlight the themes surrounding agtech and agribusiness that I am most interested in over the coming year.

They do not show up in any particular order.

What are you most eager to watch in 2024?

Index:

1. Vertical Ag Software Battles

2. Evolving Crop Input Trends

   1. Differentiation in Formulation Technology and Biologicals

   2. Distributed Production

3. Precision Everything

4. Soil-as-a-Starting Point and the Converging Competition Between Crop Protection and Fertilizer Manufacturers

   1. Honorary mention: Big Ag Developments

5. Augmented Agribusiness Professionals

6. Rocky Raising Environment, Floundering Venture Capital Firms, More Venture Studio, More Bootstrapping, More Consolidation

7. Digital Infrastructure and “Cloud Wars”

8. Challenged Progress on “Climate Smart Agriculture,” Traceability and MRV

9. Final Thoughts

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