Upstream Ag Professional - October 26th 2025

Welcome to the 116th edition of Upstream Ag Professional!

Index

1. Better, Not Less: How AgZen Is Partnering with Corteva and Reframing Precision Spraying

2. Introducing the Upstream Ag Video Series: Precision Ag Patent Filings

3. Grao Direto Whatsapp Integration and GenAi in Ag Software Systems

4. Irrigation Manufacturer Results: Valmont Industries and Lindsay Corporation

5. Biocontrol

   1. Increasing the use of biological pesticides in integrated pest management programs

   2. Microbial might: BugBiome’s bioinsecticide targets aphids in the fight against synthetic pesticides

   3. Where’s the progress in bioherbicide development? Industry players weigh in

6. Useful Images and Resources

   1. DunhamTrimmer Bio Acquisition/Agreement Chart

   2. Unlocking the potential of biostimulants derived from organic waste and by-product sources: Improving plant growth and tolerance to abiotic stresses in agriculture

   3. The 2025 Crop Robotics Landscape

7. Laser Weeding News

   1. Carbon Robotics Raise

   2. Laser Lawsuit

8. Intake form for AskUpstream

9. Ben Horowitz's 5 Lessons for Founders and CEOs

10. Other Interesting Ag Articles (9 this week)

Thank you for being an Upstream Ag Professional member!

This week’s audio edition can be found here and covers the following:

1. Better, Not Less: How AgZen Is Partnering with Corteva and Reframing Precision Spraying

2. A Look at Valmont Industries and Lindsay Corporation Technology Revenue and Tech Investments

3. Carbon Robotics Raise and Lawsuit

1. Better, Not Less: How AgZen Is Partnering with Corteva and Reframing Precision Spraying - Upstream Ag Professional

Key Takeaways

• Corteva and AgZen are collaborating to look at ways to improve the in-field performance of Corteva’s crop protection products.

• Precision Mindset — AgZen’s vision is for the future of crop protection to be measured at the leaf, not the acre, focused on active ingredient deposition, not spray volume, that define efficacy and competitive advantage going forward.

Overview

AgZen is a precision spraying technology company. Now they are partnering with Corteva to “identify opportunities to optimize efficiency and effectiveness across our crop protection portfolio.”

AgZen’s first product, RealCoverage, is a camera system mounted directly on a spray boom that uses machine vision to monitor droplet coverage in real time. It provides farmers with insights on how to adjust sprayer settings based on how many droplets hit and adhere to the intended target — whether crop for a fungicide or weed for a herbicide. The system analyzes how droplets behave in reaching the target and enables optimization across variables such as sprayer configuration, product mix, water volume, crop type, and field conditions.

AgZen calls this a Feedback Optimized approach.

Better, Not Less

What stands out to me about AgZen and my conversations with founder and CEO Vishnu Jayaprakash is his emphasis on “better spraying,” not necessarily “less” — something I agree with and have talked about, such as in Precision Agriculture ≠ Less. I think that positioning is critical.

AgZen’s core focus is first on providing the infrastructure and capability to measure and ensure the right amount of droplets/active ingredient is getting to the leaf, and into the plant. That delivers better outcomes to farmers, and can result in better outcomes for crop protection companies, too — less re-spray requirements, less drift, and improved performance.

Precision First Mentality

Subscribe to Upstream Ag Professional to read the rest.