September 18, 2016

UK-based Wheatsheaf Group has made a strategic investment in GrowSafe Systems, a Canadian agtech startup that improves livestock nutrition, health and wellbeing.

Founded in 2012, the Wheatsheaf Group is part of the Grosvenor Estate, the collective assets and business interests of the Grosvenor family, headed by the Duke of Westminster. The group focuses on investments in sustainable food, energy, and water ventures together with multiple trading companies in the North West of England.

GrowSafe uses sensor-based systems and radio-frequency identification (RFID) to improve animal feed conversion through the constant monitoring of bio-metric inputs of each animal along with environmental factors to determine each animal’s health and performance status. Using the flow of data farmers and ranchers can identify sick animals earlier, enabling prompt treatment and resulting in reduced labor, maximized profits and the mitigation of risk, as well as a reduction in environmental impact.

“GrowSafe is a technology platform that has proven its potential to improve efficiency in the bovine sector,” said Graham Ramsbottom, chief executive officer with Wheatsheaf. “It further strengthens our portfolio of businesses that seek to make better use of finite global resources in the field of food production.”

GrowSafe is not the first livestock management business to be backed by Wheatsheaf. In March of this year, the firm made an undisclosed investment in Belfast-based agri-IT company, FarmWizard, which developed the world’s first cloud-based software solution for online livestock management. The company’s application allows farmers to manage their livestock from anywhere in the world through the internet allowing for more efficient use of resources in the beef, dairy, and sheep sectors.

Prior to this, Wheatsheaf led a Series B for New Jersey-based AeroFarms Inc.  AeroFarms develops high-tech, indoor “aeroponic vertical farms” producing 20 different varieties of leafy greens using only five percent of the water used for conventional agricultural production.

Wheatsheaf’s partnership with GrowSafe will support the company as it accelerates its R&D initiatives and strives toward global expansion.

“We are extremely pleased to have partnered with Wheatsheaf,” said GrowSafe CEO, Alison Sunstrum. “Their values of stewardship and integrity and our shared goal of driving improvement in food production will help us grow the business faster and reach more customers sooner.”

“This is an unprecedented time for GrowSafe,” added company founder, Camiel Huisma. “We are at a convergence of interconnected sensors, advanced computing and automation that is leading us into new territory.”

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Lynda Kiernan