DuPont buys agri valuation tool amid drive to ‘democratize the data’

The $300m acquisition of San Francisco-based Granular includes AcreValue, which aggregates data on the US farmland market.

DuPont has acquired agricultural software provider Granular as it seeks to tap growing demand from buyers and sellers for sound data on farmland.

In addition to offering farm management software, Granular operates AcreValue.com, which aggregates soil history, topography, weather and data to help users assess the productivity and value of individual plots.

Transaction details were not disclosed, but Agri Investor understands the deal is valued at about $300 million.

John Chrosniak, vice-president of strategic services and planning at DuPont Pioneer, told Agri Investor that, while the fund management software was the bigger prize in the short run, AcreValue also responds to demands from producers for tools that can help them understand the growing potential of farmland.

“One of the biggest challenges that we hear from growers is the complexity of solutions. You have data that doesn’t flow. It’s not the same data and you end up having inconsistencies. That becomes a real burden on growers,” he said. “One of the things that we want to be sure of is that we create simple solutions for growers, that work, that deliver real value.”

Tamar Tashjian, AcreValue vice-president, told Agri Investor that the company uses a proprietary process to gather county-level public records on farmland transactions, striving to be the most accurate reflection of the farmland real estate market. Having developed a predictive algorithm that values properties, it has begun to work with real estate agents to post information about market opportunities as a step towards using the platform to facilitate farmland transactions.

“Right now, there are a lot of information asymmetries that drive a lot of the dealflow in farmland real estate,” Tashjian said. “Our hope is that by democratizing the data and information about what’s happening in the market and where farmland values are, we will help create a more efficient market.”