As AgriThority® Board of Advisors discussed trends for the year so far and looking ahead, the theme for 2026 is improvement. While it won’t be a year for the record books, signs are pointing up for the agriculture industry as a whole and for ag innovation development. Five trends emerged from the April AgriThority Board of Advisors meeting.
- Brazilian companies are still investing despite the margin squeeze on inputs. Another positive is the LATAM biologicals market that remains strong, according to Valdemar Fischer, Formerly Chairman, Syngenta Group LATAM & non-executive director positions. Farmer profitability has been down in the last year, but the biological market grew in volume, according to CropLife Brazil.
“It’s a very sustainable trend for biologicals in the coming years to see that while farmer profitability has been down, biologicals have continued to grow,” he said. “It’s very positive for our industry.”
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) market is picking back up, according to Jim Schultz, Managing Partner, Open Prairie, fifth-generation agriculture investor and entrepreneur. Additionally, Fortune 500 companies are being more active again, which could continue to improve the investment outlook for agricultural innovations.
- Trade deal negotiations with China could have a great impact on the agriculture industry, according to Schultz. Fischer agrees that the low demand from China impacts all of agriculture, but especially in the U.S. and Brazil where production is high.
- Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) and keeping nitrogen on the land continues to be an area of increased interest to stakeholders and investors alike, according to Adrian Percy, Executive Director of NC Plant Sciences Initiative at NC State University. Percy also sees the research grant landscape changing for universities and a growing interest in the use of AI in agriculture.
- “HB4 trait adoption in large-scale commercial farming operations in Argentina has been below original expectations, according to Christophe Dumont, Senior Management Executive. Relying on genetic engineering to improve drought tolerance to preserve yield in a crop like wheat remains a challenge. Until the potential of genomic selection and NGTs can be fully demonstrated at scale, precision agriculture using sensors, satellites, predictive tools and variable rate irrigation will remain a key resource for farmers.
The group discussed that most issues facing agriculture today are complex, and the technologies developed to solve those complex issues require proven ROI for farmer adoption. But that is the challenge ag innovators, investors and companies are charged with: Address complex problems with simple, profitable solutions for farmers to implement.
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