Upstream Ag Professional - March 2nd 2025

Welcome to the 83rd Edition of Upstream Ag Professional

First off, thank you for your patience during this week’s transition to the new platform.

There were some emails that went out that looked phishy, some saying subscriptions ended and some with broken links to log in, so thank you for bearing with me. The transition is about 95% complete at this point and I do not anticipate any unforeseen issues moving forward— outside potential errors on my end trying to use a new system!

Below you’ll find a link to a ”how to” page that goes through the login process to the new www.upstream.ag website: How to Page (it’s really simple)

Feel free to check out the Professional Hub when you login— there is access to previous Upstream reports and 50+ Upstream Ag Professional images available for download in the Visualization Hub. I’m excited for you to experience it!

One thing I am still working on is the audio component and getting that in one spot. This week’s audio edition can be found at the link below with the following topics:

1. Varda Evolves to Varda Foundation

2. Syngenta Acquires Novartis Biological Assets

3. Bushel updates payments platform to help farmers and agribusinesses strengthen financial management

4. Yamaha Motor Launches Yamaha Agriculture, Inc. to Deliver Automation and Digital Crop Management Solutions

5. 2025 Bank of America Agricultural and Industrial Conference Highlights and Analysis

   a. Corteva

   b. Nutrien

   c. FMC

Upstream Ag Professional Audio March 2nd 2025

EDIT: For all Upstream Ag Professional members, please know I am aware of the formatting issues in this week’s e-mail. I am currently working on fixing the issue for all future editions. Thank you for your patience.

Index:

1. 2025 Bank of America Agricultural and Industrial Conference Highlights and Analysis

2. February 24th Agribusiness Earnings Results Summary

3. Why is now the right time for the ag input and ag retail industries to re-evaluate their go-to-market strategies?

4. John Deere Announces New Technology Upgrades: See & Spray and Harvest Automation

5. Varda Evolves to Varda Foundation

6. Syngenta Acquires Novartis Biological Assets

7. Bushel updates payments platform to help farmers and agribusinesses strengthen financial management

8. Yamaha Motor Launches Yamaha Agriculture, Inc. to Deliver Automation and Digital Crop Management Solutions

9. Long Questions/Short Answers

10. Other Notable Ag Articles

Thank you for being an Upstream Ag Professional member!

New Report Coming on Wednesday: Foundations of Precision Spraying

Over the past six months, Upstream Ag Insights and the AgTech Collective have taken a deep dive into precision spraying, analyzing real-world adoption, challenges, technology, market and competitive landscape. This report provides insider intelligence and farmer led insights you won’t find anywhere else—critical for agribusiness professionals working in crop input manufacturing, ag retail, equipment, agtech startups, consulting and investors in the space who want to have a leading understanding of precision spraying and it’s range of implications on farmers, competitive dynamics and their business.

Inside the Report:

• The Evolution of Precision Spraying – It’s history and why it’s gaining traction now.

• Technology Breakdown – Systems, approaches, and real-world applications, including a look at the various types from offline, to online, to green-on-brown, to green-on-green.

• Value & Challenges – What’s driving adoption, and what’s holding it back.

• Key Players & Market Positioning and the Ecosystem – John Deere, AGCO, CNH Industrial, Greeneye, Solinftec, ONE Smart Spray and more. The report includes a look at over 30 companies directly and indirectly related to precision spraying.

• Regional Adoption Trends – Where it’s taking off and why.

• Impact on Input Manufacturers & Retailers – The business implications and strategic considerations for those not working directly in equipment or precision ag.

The report will be available for purchase from the new Upstream Ag Insights website on Wednesday, March 5th with an e-mail sent elaborating on what’s included, along with a sneak peak at the report and the link to purchase.

All Upstream Ag Professional subscribers qualify for a discount.

2025 Bank of America Agricultural and Industrial Conference Highlights and Analysis - Upstream Ag Professional

I dive into key executive commentary and insights from FMC, Corteva, and Nutrien from the Bank of America Agriculture & Industrial Conference. These discussions offer a window into how major agribusiness leaders view market dynamics, innovation, and strategic priorities heading into 2025 and beyond.

1. Corteva

   a. M&A Priorities

   b. Which agribusinesses balance sheets are better positioned for acquisitions?

   c. Biological Route to Market and Revenue Streams

   d. Trait Licensing Costs and Journey to Neutrality

   e. Brevant Seed Ambitions

   f. Gene Editing and Microbes

2. Nutrien

   a. Biostimulants and Bionutrition 5 Year Growth Expectations

   b. Nitrogen Fixing Products and Biostimulant Product Treatment

   c. De-Commoditizing Fertilizer at the Retail Level

   d. Ukraine and Potash / Nitrogen Pricing Dynamics

3. FMC

   a. Rynaxypyr acerage by crop type

   b. Diamide Cost Restructuring Timeline and Generic Comparison

   c. New Product Growth Expectations

   d. Plant Health and Biological Business

   e. Can Publicly Traded Incumbents Evolve Their Route to Market?

For the full article, check out the above.

Below are some of the highlights:

1. Nutrien Bio Growth a Key Driver

Last week I covered Nutrien’s FY 2024 results, including a highlight from them that their nutrient and biostimulant business grew 8% year over year, and are projecting ~15% growth in 2025.

This week they shared more interesting aspects of their business, including the following on growth in the next five years from proprietary biologicals and nutrition segments:

Subscribe to Upstream Ag Professional to read the rest.