Growmark and CHS launched Cooperative Ventures, a new $ 50 million capital fund that will focus on creating advancements in breakthrough technologies for the agriculture industry.
The fund has identified three core investment areas to maximise the impact of each investment: crop production, supply chain, and sustainability. Growmark and CHS will provide agtech start-ups access to distribution capabilities within multiple value chains, allowing for opportunities to test and refine at different scales. Having cooperative member-owners and customers within the same ecosystem are to take innovative ideas to a new level to create shareholder value and customer-focused solutions.
Special attention will be paid to the start-up’s strategic fit with both Growmark and CHS. Other factors will be based on their drive to lead in the start-up space, the ability to deliver value and quality, the experience of management, and ultimately the ability to take a product or service to market. Cooperative Ventures will be comprised of teams based out of Bloomington, Illinois, and St. Paul, Minnesota.
The combined markets of the two companies cover millions of acres and thousands of farmers that is to create an industry-leading test field for products and services within North America.
Also read: Growmark launches agtech testing platform