Bayer AG, a maker of agricultural seeds & chemicals, launched a digital farming platform on Monday that it claims will help US growers implement environmentally friendly practices and connect them with companies looking for more sustainable food, feed, and biofuel ingredients.
The initiative will assist the seed and chemical behemoth in diversifying its revenue stream by capitalizing on a decade-long farm data collection effort. Bayer's ForGround platform will use weather, soil, seed, and farming practice data to make recommendations on how growers can improve soil health, reduce emissions, and use less water and chemicals. According to Bayer, environmental outcomes would then be certified by a third-party verifier, allowing farmers to potentially sell their grain for a premium.
The programme would also allow food manufacturers and biofuel producers to create incentive programmes for farmers to grow crops in a way that would help the companies meet their environmental goals. Bayer will charge companies a flat or per-acre fee for the services, and will make money from farmers through seed and chemical sales, as well as subscriptions to data platforms.
The launch will initially target agriculture in the United States, but Bayer plans to expand it to other countries, though no timetable has been set. The offering expands on Bayer's Carbon Program, which compensates farmers for removing climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. It is one of the most recent initiatives by agricultural companies to meet the rising demand for sustainably produced food while also profiting from data collection through subscriptions to new technology.
"This is both a challenge and a significant benefit for agriculture. However, it is both a challenge and an opportunity for companies that have made global sustainability commitments "said Leo Bastos, Bayer CropScience's head of global commercial ecosystems.
The programme leverages Bayer's strategy of using vast pools of agricultural and climate data to improve farming efficiency while also verifying and monetizing environmental benefits. Farmers must enroll in Bayer's Climate FieldView platform in order to log data about agricultural practises such as no-till farming and cover crop planting.
