This funding accelerates deployment of new offerings and embedded capabilities throughout the food and ag value chain
Bushel, an independently owned software company and leading provider of software technology solutions for growers, grain buyers, ag retailers, protein producers and food companies, has announced the closings on its $47 million Series C investment round. The oversubscribed round was led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood, a St. Louis-based food and agriculture focused investment firm, and Continental Grain Company, a global holding company focused on agriculture, food and protein production. Participation from new and existing investors include Cargill, Scoular, Germin8 Ventures and others. In addition, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. is expected to close their investment in the round in the coming weeks.
“We are excited to invest further into Bushel alongside some of our high-value partners like Cargill and Scoular,” said Chris Abbott, Co-Head of Continental Grain Ventures. “Bushel is one of the leading independent software companies in agriculture, and serves as the critical link connecting growers to grain buyers, processors, brands and consumers. This funding accelerates deployment of new offerings and embedded capabilities throughout the food and ag value chain. We believe it results in better outcomes for growers and the supply chain.”
Bushel’s platform now reaches 40% of grain origination in the United States, resulting in inarguably the largest technology network effect among growers and grain buyers in the U.S. today. $22 billion of grain is contracted annually within Bushel’s ecosystem. Bushel’s collaborative ethos will continue to accelerate adding new participants throughout the value chain, particularly CPGs and consumer brands that will benefit from upstream and midstream data insights and help deliver on sustainability promises.
Jake Joraanstad, CEO and Co-founder of Bushel said, “We are here to build on the agriculture industry’s century of infrastructure investment. We’re here not to disrupt but instead, to collaborate and help lead the industry into the digital age with strategies that make sense and provide value for all stakeholders in the ag and food value chain. We serve as the independent integration hub that saves businesses significant manual effort, time and expense, while also strengthening the relationships between growers and agribusinesses through secure, proven and easy to use software products and services.”
Larry Page, Managing Director of Lewis & Clark Agrifood said, “Digital innovation has landed on the farm, but few companies are focused on the digital side of agriculture (or lack thereof) from the farm gate and beyond. We hear so much noise in the space with very little real traction. As Bushel has consistently gained market share, it has become clear that the ability to connect data with physical grain has significant value for many stakeholders in our food system.”
