Upstream Ag Insights - January 8th 2023

Essential news and analysis for agribusiness leaders

Jan 08, 2023

∙ Paid

Welcome to the 150th edition of Upstream Ag Insights!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season.

I wasn’t going to write the 1st edition of 2023 until next week, but there was enough news that caught my attention to kickstart things this week.

With Upstream Ag Insights starting in January of 2020, this month marks the 3rd anniversary of the newsletter and the beginning of the 4th year of writing the newsletter.

Thanks to those who have continued to read, share and reach out over the last several years!

Index for the week:

Upstream Ag Insights Focal Points for 2023
Carbon By Indigo Pays $3.7 Million In Second Tranche of Payments
John Deere News
1. John Deere Executives at the Consumer Electronic Show 2023
2. John Deere Debuts New Planting Technology
3. InnerPlant Croptastic Podcast with John Deere
4. Why Deere Thinks Satellites Are the Next Big Technology to Invest In
5. John Deere Turns To 3D Printing More Efficient Engine Parts
6. John Deere Spends More on Dealer Incentives, R&D in 2022
The Next Fintech Revolution: Agriculture Finance
2022 AgTech Venture Capital Investment and Exit Roundup
Washington AG Joins Suit Against Syngenta, Corteva
1. Implications of FTC Lawsuit
AGI and Its Digital Business To Undergo Reorganization
Precision AgTech Buying Intentions Survey: How Ag Retailers Will Invest in Technology in 2023
GROWERS Builds An Alternative Way For Farmers To Connect With Agribusiness And Establishes A New Network Of Ag Retailers

1. Upstream Ag Insights Focal Points for 2023

I began writing about the topics, themes and interests for Upstream for 2023. However, I kept coming back to the fact that they weren’t that much different than 2022.

There are some slight adjustments, such as the “Public Offering Window Closing on AgTech” from 2022 (I think the window is very shut at this point) moving towards “Capital Raising Headwinds Picking Up Steam in 2023”.

The majority were just extension of what I had last year.

With that, it’s easiest to read what I put together last year if you wish and over the coming weeks I’ll highlight some of the nuances I am watching and looking at for 2023.

Upstream Ag Insights Outlook 2022 - Upstream Ag Insights

2. Carbon By Indigo Pays $3.7 Million In Second Tranche of Payments - The Daily Scoop

This is the second time this year Indigo has announced payments via their carbon program. Overall, it’s encouraging to see payments being made in the carbon space.

Farmers earned $30 per carbon credit sold in Carbon by Indigo’s second round of payments.

This number seems consistent with their statements earlier in 2022 where their CEO said

As we started our journey, we've watched the price double in the last two years. We've now arrived at $40 a credit is what they're buying. And there's so much more demand.

The $30 “payment to farmers” is consistent with the $40/MT statement and just includes the Indigo 25% take rate off the top of the price.

Indigo stated that there were 450 growers participating in the payments this time around. At the stated farmer price per MT of $30 and $3.7 million in total attributable to the farmer, that means Indigo sold 123,300 MT of carbon offsets.

This works out to:

Upstream Ag