Royse Agtech offers an indepth panel discussion surrounding the growing agricultural tech atmosphere (08/2016). Panel is in partnerships with Moss Adams LLP.

1. Investment in AgTech

2. Presented by:
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with the requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication,
including any attachment to this communication, is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties
under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to any other person any transaction or matter addressed herein.
Roger Royse
@rroyse00
www.rroyselaw.com

3. Need for Agriculture Technology
• The Earth’s population is expected to reach 9 billion by
2050
• The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization
predicts that food production must increase by 60% -
70% (Kauffman) to meet increasing demand
• Prices will increase by 50%
• 90% of the growth in crop production needs to come
from higher yields on existing farm land
• More output from fewer inputs

4. Context By the Numbers
- 9 Billion people
- 100% more food
- 70% from technology
By 2050

5. Agriculture Economy
• Average farm in California is a $6 million to $10
million business
• The agriculture industry is a $46 billion per year
industry in California
• 70% of all farms have internet access as of 2012
“California is at the cutting edge of innovation within the
agriculture sector from water use efficiency to research
advancements and product development. Through social media
and the information age we have the power to transform
people’s relationship with government in a positive way.” -
Secretary Karen Ross, CFDA

6. Funding Agriculture Technology
• The agriculture technology market is still immature,
with most deals done at the seed stage
• In 2012, there was an estimated $27 billion of venture
capital investment in the United States
• Of this, agriculture technology companies raised about $100
million resulting from 40 deals
• While a majority of U.S. venture capital deals take place in
Silicon Valley, only around 20% of agriculture technology
deals take place there, with the rest occurring closer to big
agriculture markets

7. Funding Agriculture Technology

8. Funding Agriculture Technology

9. Investment Sources
CROWDFUNDING
ACCELERATORS
INVESTMENT FUNDS

10. Precision Agriculture
• Allows farmers to determine when, where, and
what to plant with a level of accuracy not
previously possible
• Today, precision agriculture provides:
• Satellite navigation and guidance
• Monitoring and mapping of yields
• Live soil information through sensors
installed in vehicles

11. The Future: Big Data
• Companies are now collecting vast amounts of
data to improve precision agriculture and
predict farming trends
• Data can be uploaded to the cloud in real-time
providing farmers with instant information on
their land and crops
• Climate Corp., recently acquired by Monsanto
Company for $950 million, uses Big Data to
generate trillions of data points to predict daily
patterns and insure farmers against the weather
scenarios of their choice

12. IT
Social Mobile Analytics Sensors

13. Social Media
Recognizing the Global Agriculture Community is Connected and Engaged
Credit: mAgriculture: The Application of Mobile Computing to the Business of Farming

14. Mobile Only (and Beyond)
The enterprise potential of mobile is greater than today’s smartphone and tablet apps
Emerging
Threats
Public Weigh
Scales
Plant Pest
Detection
Report a Pest
Cattle Brand
ID
CA Geoportal
CA Mobile
Gallery

15. Analytics
Putting the Power of Research in the Hands of California Farmers while Protecting our Environment
Variety
• Sensors
• Reports
• Images
• Equipment
• Meters
• Forecasts
• Pricing
• Location
• People
Volume
• Sensors
• Equipment
• Pumps
• Meters
• People
• Satellites
• Drones
• Forecasts
Velocity
• Batch
• Monthly
• Weekly
• Daily
• Hourly
• Near Real Time
• Real Time
BIG DATA

16. Problems / Opportunities
• Data Standards
• No standard today
• Makes data use/cooperation a challenge
• There are groups working on it (AgGateway,
Open Ag Data Alliance)
• Data Privacy/Ownership
• Who owns the data?
• Who controls the data?
• Is there intellectual property in the data?

17. Legal Issues: Data Ownership and Privacy
Data Ownership:
• The American Farm Bureau Federation (“AFBF”) warned that
companies collecting data from farmers may use the data to
their own commercial advantage in ways not foreseen by
farmers
• The AFBF advised farmers to consider their data ownership rights
when agreeing to contracts which store data in the cloud
Privacy:
• Environmental activist groups are demanding information
and transparency from farmers and with data in the cloud
there is now more information for them to request
• In 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency controversially
released personal information on farmers following a Freedom
of Information Act request from environmental groups
• Data could be sensitive and farmers may want to keep
some information out of the public eye e.g. pesticide
use

18. Drone Technology
• Drones could revolutionize farming through:
• Mass data collection
• Surveying land and planting seeds
• Surgical precision in the use of pesticides, fertilizer,
and water
• Brazil and Japan already use drones in agriculture,
however commercial use of drones is still prohibited
in the U.S.
• Safety and privacy concerns that affect urban areas
may not apply to farms
• However, farmers are concerned that drones will be
used by environmental groups to spy on and monitor
their operations

19. Food Technology

20. Other Technologies
• Biotech
• Soil
• Water
• Pesticides, herbicides
• GMOs
• Hydroponics and
aeroponics
• Big Data

21. Concluding Thoughts
• Conferences
• Incubators and
Accelerators
• Crowdfunding
• Venture Capital
• Angel Funds

22. Contact Us
www.rroyselaw.com
@RoyseLaw
MENLO PARK
149 Commonwealth
Blvd. Suite 1001
Menlo Park, CA 94025
LOS ANGELES
445 S. Figueroa St.
31st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
SAN FRANCISCO
135 Main Street
12th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Menlo Park Office: 650-813-9700

23. Panelists
Roger Royse
Royse Law Firm
Bryan Powell
Moss Adams LLP
Larry Kammerer
Moss Adams LLP
Eric Ellestad
Local Roots
Erica Riel-Carden
Royse Law Firm