Nora Zhou

A trade association that represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce launched the $4m agtech fund alongside Silicon Valley Venture Partners.

Chinese drone technology company DJI is raising more capital in an effort to expand its offering globally.

Stevia First Crop, a California-based agricultural biotechnology firm that focuses on the industrial scale production of stevia, raised the capital to expand research and development.

Skyward is the latest drone-related company to raise capital in a seed round led by a group of venture capital firms including Verizon Ventures, the VC arm of the telecommunications giant.

AquaVenture Holdings, a Californian water service provider created by Virgin Green Fund and VC firm Element Partners, raised the capital from seven investors in a round led by Element.

The USDA will invest the capital into water conservation partnerships that aim to solve regional water issues.

Rural America Fund II has made its first investment in Aquatrols Corporation of America, which produces a compound to optimise soil-water-plant interactions. RAF II is still fundraising for a $75m target.

The US buy-and-lease farmland fund manager is targeting $225m and has already raised $123m according to SEC filings. It is set to close its first fund at the end of May.

Bayer will work closely with entrepreneurs at Flagship and its innovation arm VentureLabs to identify technologies that could be helpful to Bayer’s mission of improving farming and agriculture.

Meritus Ventures and Innova Memphis were selected by the USDA to be RBICs and are raising $125m between them to invest into early-stage rural and agtech companies in Tennessee.