November 22, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Farmers Business Network (FBN), the pioneering direct-to-farm and farmer-to-farmer tech platform, announced a $300 million Series G led by Fidelity Management & Research Company.

Also participating in this round, which earned the company a valuation of $4 billion, were LN Mittal Family Office, ADM Ventures Investment Corp., Nolle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital, and Tudor Investment Corporation. These investors joined a field of returning existing investors including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, select funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Temasek, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associations, GV Baron Capital Group, DBL Partners, and BAM Elevate. 

This financing follows upon a $250 million Series F raised by the company in August 2020 that, at the time, gave the company a valuation of $1.75 billion. 

With roots in Midwestern agriculture combined with Silicon Valley technology, together with its Farmers First® promise and its work to redefine value and convenience for farmers, FBN has attracted more than 33,000 members farming more than 80 million acres across the U.S., Canada, and Australia to its network with the goal of reducing the cost of production while maximizing crop value.

FBN is committed to family farmers and ranchers, believing that price transparency is key to democratizing the market for farmers of all scales and geographies – believing also that transparency enhances competition within the manufacturing, wholesaling, and retailing stages of the supply chain.

Toward this goal, FBN provides timely and transparent price data on crop protection products, biologicals, seeds, technologies, and services, as well as e-commerce purchasing and financing options. These tools arm farmers with the ability to make optimal decisions for their operation, their family, and the planet.

“We created FBN to be a growers’ advocate and to allow them to use information in fundamentally new ways, which helps them to be more profitable and thrive on their land,” Charles Baron, co-founder of FBN, told GAI News in a prior interview.

Over the past year the company has seen significant growth and expansion through a number of channels. In March the company acquired animal health and nutrition platform Prairie Livestock Supply into its business holdings. That same month the company announced it had expanded its FBN Direct product offerings with the addition of 17 new biological products; announced that its FBN Health Insurance program was servicing farmers all 50 U.S. states; and most recently, launched Farmland Capital – a new funding source for farmers. 

FBN stated that it intends to use the capital from this round for general corporate and working capital needs – to fuel the growth of its FBN Direct and FBN Financial platforms, particularly with new land, operating, and equipment loan and insurance products; to make significant investments in its technology and data science, including IP investment in FBN Direct with a focus on crop protection, seed breeding, biologicals, and robotics with on-farm research and development.

The company also stated that it will add more than 350 new members to its team over the next year, and plans to allocate capital to the support of its Gradable® platform that measure and verify the carbon score of grains and other crops, and then connects farmers with grain buyers who are seeking low-carbon, higher-premium commodities. 

Amol Deshpande, CEO and co-founder, FBN, said “Our mission is always to increase the profit potential of family farms and this investment will enable us to continue to innovate for our network of more than 33,000 farmers whose operations span North America and Australia.”

“We continue to invest in IP and technology that deliver industry-leading efficiency, choice and price transparency for purchasing ag inputs while we scale our fintech and sustainability platforms to provide farmers the information and data they need to make the best choices for their own bottom lines.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor 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 Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.