💻 USDA: Pretty Fly for a WiFi + India's AgTech Darling, Big Grain Makes Big Bucks, and more...

If slow internet makes you want to pull a Ron Swanson (see above...), the USDA is hoping to help with your frustration. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says they’ll pony up $1.15B for high-speed internet in rural communities.

Every Day I’m Buffering: According to the Federal Communications Commission, 22.3% of Americans in rural areas and 27.7% of Americans on tribal lands lack adequate and reliable broadband coverage. Compare that to our urban friends, who have just a 1.5% lack.

Winternet is Coming: The ReConnect Program through USDA is wifinding ways to focus on helping less populated regions experiencing less-than-desirable internet speeds. Starting Nov. 24, USDA will accept grant applications from electric cooperatives and other broadband providers to help fund projects in rural areas to increase speeds and availability. Tribal lands and socially vulnerable communities will be eligible for full funding through these federal grants.

Areas that qualify for the grant funding must lack sufficient (100 megabits per second download and 20 upstream) access to broadband service and meet other criteria set by the USDA.

I Believe Wi can Fi: Increased internet speeds in rural areas will improve access to health care, educational opportunities, and the global marketplace, Vilsack says.

Quick Hits

→ Corteva’s new chief. The pure-play ag company has named former Nutrien CEO Chuck Magro as its new leader.

→ Sorghum’s solid 2021. Acres of the cereal crop reached 7.3M in the United States, up 24% from 2020 and the most planted acres since 2015.

→ Gencove gets the genome. The startup and genome sequencing company raised a $10M Series A round to scale its unique high-throughput and cost-effective whole genome sequencing solution for the ag and biotech industries.

→ A match made in MRV heaven. Indigo Ag acquired startup Soil Metrics for an undisclosed sum to boost the company’s monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) capabilities.

→ Mulling it over. Family-owned poultry player Foster Farms is reportedly exploring options for a sale.

→ Not a good look. The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis reported that positive cases and deaths in meatpacking plants were 3x higher than original estimates.

→ Jeans never felt so sustainable. The corporate foundation of fashion company Ralph Lauren and the Soil Health Institute are launching the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund, a farmer-facing initiative to promote sustainable cotton production, with a goal of eliminating 1M metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2026.

Indian farmers have something much better than Amazon Prime. It’s a fast-growing, agritech platform startup called DeHaat. And it does a lot more than just get the products they need to their door.

DeHaat just scored $115M in Series D funding, making it India’s biggest-ever AgTech round.

The mother of all farm apps: It’s a LinkedIn, Amazon, crop monitoring tool, and a place to sell their products, all in one app.

AKA full-stack agritech platform: It links smallholder farmers across India with 850 input vendors, agronomists, distributors, financing options, and other service providers.

DeHaat serves 650,000 farmers and has over 3,000 micro-entrepreneurs: the folks who provide delivery of inputs and other products to farmers and collect their produce for delivery onwards.

Casting a wide net: “We at DeHaat are on a mission to build the world’s largest agritech platform,” noted Shashank Kumar, co-founder and CEO.

With agriculture making up 58% of the Indian population’s primary source of livelihood, DeHaat has a prime market to build out a robust ag e-commerce platform.

The Combine wasn’t messing around when it started its Insights Network, a cohort of Nebraska-based producers who want to be on the forefront of AgTech.

By linking up the Insights Network with The Combine’s early-stage companies, collaboration produces industry-altering outcomes. As part of the incubator program, startups are paired with producers across Nebraska, helping bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and farmers.

As a farmer member of the Insights Network, you receive benefits like:

Access to up-and-coming technology in agriculture
Pilot program opportunities
Network with motivated entrepreneurs and other innovative producers

Curious to learn more? Explore all that The Combine’s Insights Network has to offer today.

The “ABC’s” of big grain agribiz are reaping the benefits of an increased demand for food and renewable fuels generated by loosening COVID restrictions. Here’s how their profits are stacking up:

ADM: Archer-Daniels-Midland reported earlier this week that its third-quarter earnings more than doubled from the same period last year. And overall revenue? Up over $5B from 2020’s third quarter. Cha-ching.

Bunge: Stockholders for the St. Louis-based commodities trader are also raking in the cash. On Wednesday, Bunge announced it’s upping its full-year adjusted profit outlook to at least $11.50/share. That’s three bucks more than previously predicted.

Cargill: As the largest private company in the U.S., Cargill can legally be a little stingy with earnings numbers. Still, in a press release late this past summer, the 156-year-old company reported FY 2021 net income at nearly $5B—the biggest profit in its history. Not bad.

So what’s causing those wallets to fatten?

Consumption of corn, soy, and meat is up across the board (especially in China), but where they are really crushing it is with soybeans. Vegetable oil demand has skyrocketed, and, as usual, soybeans (and the alphabet of processors) are there to answer the call.