Farmer’s Business Network, Inc., a US based agtech firm with a mission to power the prosperity of family farmers around the world by helping them maximize their profit potential, has closed a $250m Series F funding round. The round was led by BlackRock Inc., with participation from new investors Baron Capital Group, Balyasny Asset Management LP, Mandi Ventures, Lupa Systems and Ron Shaich. Existing investors DBL Partners, Temasek, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., GV, Expanding Capital, and Kleiner Perkins also took part in the funding.
FBN will use the capital to expand the availability of best value, direct-to-farm crop inputs through FBN Direct℠ that reduce the cost of production. It will also further develop the Crop Marketing and Financial Services solutions designed to help farmers maximize the value of their crops.
“Our mission as a company is to improve the profitability of farming families around the world for generations to come. Many farmers and ranchers were already struggling before the disruption and financial challenges brought on by the pandemic.”
FBN℠ Co-Founder and CEO Amol Deshpande
The FBN network has grown to cover more than 40 million acres of member farms in the U.S., Canada and Australia. By providing timely and transparent pricing on crop protection products, biologicals, seeds, technology and services, as well as ecommerce purchasing and financing options, FBN arms farmers with the tools they need to make the best decisions for their business, their families and the planet.
Its Farmers First® promise has attracted over 12,000 members to the network with a common goal of maximizing their farm’s profit potential. FBN’s emerging Crop Marketing and Financial Services (“CMFS”) platform is providing the most technologically sophisticated platforms to help manage risk or get key financial services such as insurance or loans.
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