Farmers benefit from Smart Ag investment

Jun 18, 2018

The company received $5 million for product development

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

An ag tech company received a multimillion dollar investment to help bring its automation products to producers.

Iowa’s Stine Seed presented Smart Ag Inc. with $5 million to help the company advance product development and automation.

The investment demonstrates that other organizations believe Smart Ag is creating products farmers need, said Colin Hurd, founder and CEO of Smart Ag.

“Our goals here focuses on how to better serve our customers, and our customers are farmers,” he told Farms.com today. “Us and Stine have some mutual customers and to be able to work with a company like Stine is an excellent opportunity.”

Smart Ag will use the investment in two main ways, Hurd said.

The first will be to bring its AutoCart to more producers through full commercialization. AutoCart‘s plug-and-play usability allows a farmer to automate their grain cart tractors.

The funds will also be used to tackle other labor challenges farmers face.

“Labor scarcity isn’t just a grain cart problem, it can be an operational problem,” Hurd said. “If we can find other ways to apply to our technology, whether it be planting, tillage or spraying, that’s something we’re going to explore.”

Stine Seed’s decision to invest in the Iowa start-up centered on the idea of innovation, Harry Stine, founder of the company, said.

“Agriculture has always been about the development and application of new ideas. We are pleased to be on the forefront of this and see the value in the technology for our own seed production and farming operations,” he said in a statement, the Des Moines Register reports.

Video: Will the 2025 USDA December Crop Report Be a Market Mover/Surprise?

Historically, the USDA December crop report is a non-event or another dud report as the USDA reserves any final supply changes to the final report in January of the following year in this case 2026. But after the longest U.S. government shutdown in history at 43 days and no October crop report will they provide more data/surprise and make an exception?
Our China U.S. soybean purchase tracker is now at 26.6% or a total of 3.2 mmt but for traders it’s taking too long to unfold.
The final Stats Canada production report was bearish canola and wheat projection a record crop in both (it adds to the global glut of supplies) and bullish local corn and soybean prices in Ontario/Quebec thanks to a drought. It will not help the fund flow short-term, the USDA may need to offset it?
A U.S. Fed interest rate cut of another 25-basis point next Wednesday (probability 87.1%) could help fund flow and sentiment in stock and ag commodities into year end.
More inflows into Bitcoin this past week saw prices rebound back above 90,000 with support at 82,000 and resistance at 96,000.
A V-shaped bottom in cattle suggest the lows are in after Mexico reported another new world screwworm case. Lower weights, seasonal demand and higher U.S. beef select/choice values with a continued closure of the Mexican border to cattle will result in a resumption of higher cattle futures into yearend.
Australia is expected to produce its 3rd largest wheat crop ever at 36 mmt adding to the global glut of supplies.
Reports of ASF in hogs in Spain the largest pork exporter in Europe could see the U.S. win more pork export business long-term.
If the rains verify into next week of 3-5 inches for Brazil it would go a long way to fixing the dry regions from the last 2-months, but the European weather model has been wrong for the past 2-months!
Natural gas futures are surging to the 3rd price count as frigid hold temps set in.
CDN $ is also surging to end the week on a very resilient economy and better employment numbers suggesting no interest rate cuts next week.
Finally, the CFTC report showed funds were net buyers of soybeans but sellers of corn, canola and wheat. In real time the funds have gone back to selling as they take some profits.