Highlights from Australian agrifood innovation.

Leading Australian venture capitalist Matthew Pryor of Tenacious Ventures shares his insights and experience with growers and advisors at the Australian Cotton Conference this week. He believes the industry’s climate-adaptive technologies can attract global collaboration and multi-million-dollar investment. And now is the time for cotton growers to engage with consumers in the digital realm like never before – to drive opportunity and ensure rightful representation.

An Australian IT entrepreneur has created a turnkey greenhouse solution that makes commercial vanilla production a reality outside of the tropics. Now, Australian Vanilla Plantations is seeking investors to scale production of its innovative proprietary geodesic Vanilla Dome, and grow Australia’s share of the lucrative vanilla market. Expressions of Interest close Friday, 30 September 2022.

Well-known TV weather presenter and meteorologist Jane Bunn found most apps use only one weather model for forecasting, meaning if that model was “having a bad day” so could you or your business. Jane’s Weather places four models in one app to counter this problem, and with the help of AgriFutures grow^AG. is now seeking up to $750,000 equity investment from angel, corporate and institutional investors.

Feeding the world in 2050 is a colossal challenge which we face today. Main Sequence Ventures, co-founded by CSIRO, is actively seeking solutions from researchers, innovators, and inventors developing ground-breaking ideas that could become globally significant companies

Specialising in nutrient extraction technology to convert food waste into useable ingredients, has paid off for Whole Green Foods. The Western Australian startup is now raising a $2 million bridging round and seeking investment partners with interest in food tech, nutrition, waste reduction, including farmers with access to horticulture waste streams. Expressions of Interest close 31 August 2022.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries is seeking suppliers for its Farms of the Future Agtech Catalogue, which will connect providers of IoT devices and connectivity solutions with farmers looking to adopt new digital solutions. Expressions of Interest close Friday, 12 August 2022.

Big data has been spoken about as the next big thing in precision agriculture for years, but uptake has often been limited. DataFarming’s Tim Neale believes enough people and investment are now coming to the sector to turn that around. And with the launch of DataFarming’s Series A $5million capital raise, the future is looking bright. 

As the largest agricultural research and development organisation in the world, Bayer Crop Science is at the forefront of innovation. Phil Taylor, the Director of Open Innovation and Outreach for Bayer Crop Science delves into their approach to unlocking ‘cool innovation’ and how grow^AG. is helping to harness these novel solutions that will benefit growers around the world, including Australia.

A new on-site rapid water testing device designed to facilitate real-time decision making for better health and nutrition outcomes across Australian pig farms is ready for commercialisation. The Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd, Hone and Ridley are seeking partners testing high volumes of water samples, to support the commercialisation of the product, now listed as an opportunity on grow^AG..

Blue sky thinking by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation and the University of Western Sydney has uncovered a promising new plant-based compound for combatting common insect pests in cotton, horticulture and broadacre crops. A rare opportunity now exists for a commercial partner to further develop the early-stage biological pesticide with global market potential. Expressions of Interest close Sunday, 31 July 2022. 

Bridging the gap between industry challenges and problem solvers, the AgTech and Logistics Hub is accelerating Australian agrifood innovation – supporting innovators to fast-track solutions to some of the sector’s biggest challenges. Its Open Innovation Challenge 2 is now open for innovators with solutions to reduce inorganic waste and plastics used in horticulture, and closes on 1 July, 2022. 

Feeding the growing population is one of the most pressing issues being addressed by global agrifood innovation – but it’s not only human nourishment that’s being investigated. Sydney entrepreneur Shaun Eislers has developed a pet food range using insects as the primary protein source, and is now working with AgriFutures grow^AG. to connect with investors, wholesalers and distributors.