The Climate Corporation, an agriculture analytics subsidiary of agribusiness Monsanto, has acquired VitalFields, a farm management software company based in Estonia, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, which enabled another Monsanto subsidiary, Monsanto Growth Ventures, to exit, is intended to expand Climate Corp’s reach as a digital agriculture platform to Europe.
Founded in 2011, VitalFields is the developer of a digital tool available in seven European countries that collects field data to help farmers plan, manage and analyse their work in order to improve productivity.
Farmers can also use the tool to monitor and report all pesticide and fertiliser use to ensure they meet European Union environmental standards.
VitalFields was revealed as a portfolio company of Monsanto Growth Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Monsanto, in January this year. It raised $1.2m in a May 2015 round backed by SmartCap, part of the state-backed Estonian Development Fund.
SmartCap had already led a €500,000 ($530,000 at current exchange rates) round for VitalFields in 2014 that included TMT Investments, Wiser Financial Advisors and angel investors Arvi Tavast, Ahti Heinla and Andres Kull, and which brought the company’s overall funding to €750,000.
As a unit of Climate Corp, VitalFields will continue to market its products in Europe and grow its user base. Climate Corp launched its own data analysis platform, FieldView, in 2015, and it covers more than 95 million acres across the US and Brazil and counts over 100,000 US farmers as customers.
Mike Stern, chief executive of Climate Corp, said: “We see how [VitalFields’] digital tools will complement our Climate FieldView platform offerings in the future.
“This acquisition marks Climate’s first step into the European market, and we are looking forward to working with VitalFields to grow and enhance their current tools to help farmers maximise their return on every hectare.”
Chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer agreed in September this year to buy Monsanto for $66bn.