Midwestern BioAg attracts $20m growth capital

Proteus Environmental Technologies and Grower’s Secret now own a controlling stake in the firm after injecting $20 million to help fund its expansion plan.

Midwestern BioAg, the biological agriculture technology company, has attracted investment from Proteus Environmental Technologies and Grower’s Secret, the producer of organic gardening products, as part of an expansion plan.

The news comes amid increasing interest in the promotion of organic and sustainable farming techniques worldwide.

Proteus and Grower’s Secret now own a controlling stake in Midwestern BioAg after injecting $20 million into the company alongside other investors.

The growth capital will be used to expand Midwestern’s reach in the US and overseas. It will “increase the capacity of the company to meet the needs of its customers and extend the diversity and cost-effectiveness of Midwestern BioAg’s products and services,” according to a press release.

“I have witnessed change all over the planet and feel that the time is right to bring more strategic partners on board with a continued common goal of better farming through better soil,” wrote Gary Zimmer, founder of Midwestern BioAg in a statement.

“Biological farming is good for the environment, good for our food supply and leads to healthier food on our tables. It also builds more resiliency and profit into our farming systems.”

Zimmer will remain president and a member of the board, while Dr Tony Michaels, co-managing director of Proteus, will be chief executive.

Grower’s Secret will also be a strategic partner.

“We believe that Midwestern BioAg’s methods are the tip of the spear,” said Chaz Berman, chief executive at Grower’s Secret. “They are disruptive innovations that will improve agriculture, secure food for growing populations while helping to bring soil nutrients and minerals back into balance. We view our investment as strategic and forward thinking as sustainable biological agriculture stretches toward a tipping point globally.”