Ask An Expert: Ag Tech’s Hottest Topics For Investors

Emmet McGonagle

Jun 17, 2022

Remi Schmalz, director of North American Business Development at TELUS Agriculture, has hailed broadacre ag tech as “the hottest thing that's going on” for investors in the sector.


Speaking to moderator
Marty Seymour, director of industry and Stakeholder Relations at Farm Credit Canada and “cowboy at heart” as part of Valhalla Private Capital’s “Ask An Expert” series, Remi described ag tech as a “very broad” umbrella of technological niches, including different farming systems, softwares, IoT, sensors and marketplace content.


The self-proclaimed “expert” in broadcare crop farms explained: “The world is certainly very focused on carbon emissions and ESG-related efforts, and broadacre agriculture is one of the components of that. 


“Right now, if someone looks up ‘broadacre ag tech companies’, almost every company would have some sort of flavor around the topic on their website,” he continued.


On the other hand,
Alison Sunstrum, founder and CEO of CNSRV-X - a Canadian company which researches and applies emerging tech in agriculture - cited food processing as the “biggest opportunity” in Canada’s ag tech industry.


With a focus on robotics, packaging and waste repurposing, Alison remarked that new innovations in food are bridging gaps within the ag tech world. This is achieved through endorsing a "one health approach" within the sector, in which "healthy animals, plus healthy plants, equal healthy humans".


However, while Alison warned that ag tech outside of crop farming is becoming difficult to invest in as an angel, the Conserve X founder deemed livestock “an area to invest in, particularly if you can figure out what regenerative agriculture is”.


Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our
contact page.

By Emmet McGonagle 01 Dec, 2023
Canada’s unemployment rate has trended higher once again this month, according to the latest iteration of Statistics Canada’s November labour force survey.
By Emmet McGonagle 29 Nov, 2023
More than half of workers believe that disclosing worker compensation details on job postings will lead to better equality in pay, according to the latest iteration of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index . The index - which is based on a survey of 3,302 members in Canada between June and September 2023 - found that 52% of people asked felt that people sharing their pay information (including salary and bonus) would improve workplace equality, compared to 48% in 2022. This number varies between different generations, with younger Canadians more likely to express support for pay transparency (73%), followed by 69% of Millennials, 46% of Gen X and 44% of Baby Boomers. However, 37% of those surveyed remarked that they felt anxious about sharing their pay information - a 2% rise from the year prior. Likewise, just under half (49%) said they felt well compensated for the work they do while 74% expressed that the pay gap between CEOs and employees had become too wide. The people of LinkedIn have come out in their dozens to give their two cents on the topic, with Adrienne Tom , executive resume writer for executives, saying: “ I'm all for salary transparency, so long as the number is clear and legit. Some postings list salary ranges so wide that the actual salary number isn't entirely clear, leaving job seekers confused.” “If you have a manager who is not advocating for the pay gap, you are working for the wrong manager,” remarked career strategist Sweta Regmi , while noting that women in Ontario earn an average of $0.87 for every dollar earned by men. On the topic, she added: “Salary ranges with job postings can help close the gender pay gap while allowing companies to find qualified candidates more quickly.” Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our contact page .
Share by: