Farmers Business Network raises $300 million

Farmers Business Network, the global farmer-to-farmer network and ag tech company, announced the closing of $300 million in Series G funding. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with participation from LN Mittal Family Office, ADM Ventures Investment Corp., Colle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital, and Tudor Investment Corporation.

The financing included existing investors: funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Temasek, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., GV, Baron Capital Group, DBL Partners, BAM Elevate.

FBN will use the capital for general corporate and working capital purposes and to fuel the growth of both its FBN Direct and FBN Financial platforms. FBN intends to hire over 350 new team members in the next year and make significant investments in technology and data science.

In particular, FBN will expand its financial offerings with new land, operating and equipment loan and insurance products to meet all the financial needs of farmers. IP investment in FBN Direct will focus on crop protection, seed breeding and biologicals, and robotics with on-farm research and development.

“Our mission is always to increase the profit potential of family farms and this investment will enable us to continue to innovate for our network of more than 33,000 farmers whose operations span North America and Australia. We continue to invest in IP and technology that deliver industry-leading efficiency, choice and price transparency for purchasing ag inputs while we scale our fintech and sustainability platforms to provide farmers the information and data they need to make the best choices for their own bottom lines.” – Amol Deshpande, CEO and co-founder, FBN.