How three companies answered this question

For startups, speed to market is widely held as a competitive advantage, and it underpins the logic of raising more to build faster. Whereas in agriculture, validating on-farm technology and growing market share are constrained by seasonal cycles and natural and geographic heterogeneity. It takes time to build the evidence, relationships, and trust needed. 

Three recent guests on our podcast each identified this as a key issue for their companies and spoke about how they build farmer trust and then match this timeline to capital sources, channels, and rollout. 

InnerPlant and Green Evolution Technologies

In episode 217, CCO Gary Schaefer from InnerPlant discussed how the company commercialised a new biotech trait in under two years, turning soybeans into sensors that give real-time insight into disease in crops. Their first product, CropVoice, uses a network of sentinel plants to monitor for threats. So far, CropVoice has been released only to a small, committed cohort of farmers, despite a clear vision for widespread adoption. This has allowed the InnerPlant team to quickly learn more about product delivery — a text message is better than an app, for example — while early customers build confidence in a technology that they’ve never seen before. For one grower, this meant conducting his own side-by-side trial throughout the season, which concluded in a 26 bushel yield increase from one field to another. As Gary says:

‘Getting and generating awareness for something new in agriculture takes time, and I don't believe there are any shortcuts to it.’

Similarly, in episode 215, Chad Godsey, Chief Agronomist at Green Evolution Technologies (GET), believes that a slower and more deliberate path to market can build a better understanding of how a product works across different environments and management systems. This is particularly important for a company like GET that is commercialising a hydrogel technology: insoluble gel-forming polymers that are engineered to store water and nutrients in the soil. In thinking about adoption and the growth of the company, Chad emphasised that farmers trust their own on-farm trials more than research papers.

‘We could spend 20 years researching stuff, whether it be small plots or even larger scale plots, and I still don't think farmers are either going to believe it or have enough faith to make that jump.’

So GET’s strategy includes tailoring recommendations to specific soil types and crops, and building specialised networks of agronomists who understand how to utilise the product correctly. 

In addition to a staged and segmented go-to-market approach, Gary and Chad spoke about having farmers on the cap table (i.e., as investors) and how this changes expectations. Their hypothesis is that farmer investors are more likely to accept longer timeframes for returns than typical VC investors. 

RB Sellars: a lesson from outside agtech

Family-owned farm clothing brand, RB Sellars, might not appear to have much in common with agtech companies like InnerPlant and GET, but in episode 216, CEO Jim Gall shared hard-earned insights on what it takes to build and defend trust with the same farmer customers. Again, aligned capital and understanding of production cycles came through. As Jim notes: 

‘Farming family shareholders understand that you don't compromise the future of your brand and the business for a short-term kick.’ 

After leading a deep dive into RB Sellars’ cotton supply chain, Jim chose to prioritise brand authenticity and a longer-term view. This saw the company shift to using traceable Australian cotton for their work shirts, with the higher cost offset by the ability to claim shirts that are ‘proudly grown in Australia’.

In another, counterintuitive example, Jim also spoke about how truly understanding the farmer customer allows the company to be faster and more responsive despite the same seasonal constraints that agtech companies grapple with. By timing the release of garment ranges with specific farm activities (like harvest, sowing, or shearing), RB Sellars can move beyond the traditional two-season fashion brand cycle. 

The bottom line

So, what do these three examples mean for agtech founders? It means getting clear on how to align your investor’s growth and return expectations with your customer’s trust-building timelines. And it also means thinking hard about whether to use a channel that has already built that trusted relationship, or whether you want to build one from scratch.

For more insights on building companies with farmer customers and delivering value from novel technologies in agriculture, you can listen to the full episodes via the links below.

What if every plant was a sensor? with Gary Schaefer

Can tech make agriculture brands more authentic? with Jim Gall, RB Sellars

Why good agtech doesn't always get adopted, with Chad Godsey

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