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Farmers Edge partners with US seed distributor

A partnership with Eastern Colorado Seeds sees the precision agtech company's expand further, expanding its reach into eight western Plains states.

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High angle over the shoulder view of a male laboratory technician or scientist checking seedlings in a tray during genetic engineering experiments

Canadian precision agriculture company Farmers Edge has partnered with seed distributor Eastern Colorado Seeds (ECS) to expand its sales reach.

ECS specialises in forage crop sales to its customer network of 3,000 growers in the western Plains states of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and Utah, but will also be rolling out Farmers Edge data and analytics products..

Farmers Edge has been busy with its US and international expansion. This year so far, the company has partnered with IBM-owned The Weather Company, hired former Monsanto executive Lucas Trindade, expanded its Brazil operation and held a C$58 million ($45.8 million; €40.6 million) capital raise. Chief executive Wade Barnes also told Agri Investor the company will open a permanent office in Russia, on top of operations in the US, Brazil and Australia. He said the company is targeting regions that have the potential to support increased output.

ECS chief executive Clay Smith said Farmers Edge stands out from many other precision agtech companies for its successes in commercial growth, powered by the company’s combined expertise in agronomy, customer services and technology.

“At the end of the day, [Farmers Edge has] the people, the technical support and the infrastructure in place to bring precision agriculture to our expanding customer-base of world-class growers,” said Smith in a statement.

Investors in Farmers Edge include Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co, the Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers’ (KPCB) Green Growth Fund, and Osmington, a manager that provides services for Canadian institutional investors.