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Jul. 14, 2025 by Jennifer Marston, AgFunder News Canadian measurement and insights platform Miraterra made further inroads into soil measurement this week with its acquisition of California-based Trace Genomics. The acquisition by Miraterra--which includes Trace Gemonics' full IP portfolio, its in-market products, and its analytical lab in Ames, Iowa--adds soil biology measurement capabilities to Miraterra's offering, which "significantly enhances our understanding of soil health," Miraterra CEO Nate Kelly told AgFunderNews. Trace Genomics uses soil DNA sequencing to help growers and agronomists better grasp the biological complexity beneath their fields and make decisions for crops based off that information. Increased sustainability and profitability are widely touted as benefits of this testing compared to conventional soil-testing methods. At the same time, these offerings tend to cost more than conventional soil-testing methods and are therefore often a tough sell to farmers. Of late, this has raised questions about the viability of the sector. For example, Pattern Ag, which is similar to Trace Genomics, merged with EarthOptics in 2024. While the deal was billed as the creation of "a category leader to power soil digitization," others (notably Shane Thomas at Upstream Ag), suggested it was "more reactionary than strategic given the current environment." Trace Genomics' cofounder Poornima Parameswaran noted in a LinkedIn post this week that "Trace's journey took a different path than we originally envisioned." She acknowledged to AgFunderNews that "the market headwinds in agtech were real," but added she is "proud of what we built and the trust we earned from customers who believed in our vision." To read the entire article click here. Tweet |
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