Ÿnsect’s collapse raises big questions: Is feed and fertiliser the future of insect farming?
The liquidation of France’s Ÿnsect – once a poster child for insect protein – fuels debate over which business model will define the sector’s future: industrial-scale insects for human food, or smaller, more diversified systems focused on animal feed and soil health
French insect-farming pioneer Ÿnsect has entered judicial liquidation after failing to secure the financing needed to sustain its large-scale operations. Despite raising over €600 million and being hailed as a leader in insect protein, its capital-intensive, highly automated model proved too costly to scale.
Attempts to restructure and adopt a leaner model were not enough, and in December 2025, a French court ordered the shutdown and sale of its assets. While its flagship mealworm facility near Dole will close, a smaller pilot site will continue under a new venture focused on producing fertilisers from insect by-products. An announcement is expected at the beginning of 2026.
MAHA in action: USDA commits $700m to Regenerative Pilot Program
The Trump admin bolsters regenerative agriculture with a pilot programme, as part of the broader Make America Healthy Again initiative
The USDA is launching a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program to support sustainable farming practices — mere days after the Trump administration revealed a $12 billion bailout package for growers impacted by market volatility.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will administer the programme, providing support to farmers who adopt practices that improve soil health, productivity, and water quality, the agency shared in a press release. The programme was revealed during the release of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report in September, as AgTechNavigator previously reported.
Agritechnica 2025: Key trends from the world’s largest ag equipment show
Agritechnica 2025, held last month in Hanover, Germany, attracted nearly 480,000 visitors to 23 halls across 100 acres, showcasing cutting-edge tractors, robotics, AI, and precision farming solutions. Here are the standout trends
OEMs double down on robotics and autonomy
Autonomy and AI dominated the show as manufacturers unveiled next-generation solutions to tackle labour shortages and boost farm efficiency.
John Deere dealers now offer harvest loss management system by Bushel Plus
John Deere and Bushel Plus are working together to address a major issue impacting farmers — harvest loss
Canadian harvest optimization company Bushel Plus is growing in North America thanks to a partnership with John Deere to bring the company’s SmartPan System to dealers across the U.S. and Canada, helping growers reduce harvest loss and earn more money.
Launched in 2016, Bushel Plus offers a drop-pan measurement system, called SmartPan System, that is specifically designed to calibrate to grain loss sensors on combines to assess how much crop is being lost during a harvest, Marcel Kringe, CEO and founder, told AgTechNavigator. The company also offers other aftermarket products for combines.
Trump admin bails out farmers to the tune of $12bn, blames Joe Biden for ag volatility
The bailout or bust cycle continues in the U.S., as farmers prepare to receive a one-time bridge payment to manage market volatility, but the Trump administration is not accepting any fault.
The Trump administration will provide $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers to offset the challenges they faced in 2025, including increased trade market volatility and rising input costs.
The Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program will provide $11 billion of the total assistance to row crop farmers, producing barley, canola, chickpeas, corn, cotton, cramble, flax, lentils, mustard, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, rapeseed, safflower, sesame, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower, and wheat, the USDA shared in a press release.
Why Bayer is partnering with Elaniti to unlock soil microbiome insights
Bayer’s Crop Science Division has teamed up with UK agritech start-up Elaniti to harness the power of soil biology and artificial intelligence. The goal? To help farmers improve crop performance and sustainability by decoding the hidden signals in the soil microbiome
Founded in 2022 by Scott Jarrett and Utkarsh Vaidya after completing the Carbon13 climate-tech accelerator, Elaniti was born out of a simple observation: traditional soil tests often fail to predict real-world crop outcomes.“Our starting point was to spend a lot of time with farmers,” Jarrett told AgTechNavigator.
They discovered that understanding soil function, not just chemistry, was key. And to do that, he stressed, you need to incorporate soil biology.
‘Bury this box, power your farm’: The start-up making soil a clean energy source
A six-inch box buried in the soil might hold the key to powering agriculture’s digital future. So believes UK-based Bactery, which is pioneering bacteria-powered “soil batteries” that generate clean, continuous energy from the natural activity of microorganisms, offering a low-maintenance alternative to solar panels and disposable batteries for remote IoT devices
Jakub Dziegielowski, founder and CEO of Bactery, believes the future of farm energy lies beneath our feet. His company has developed a soil-powered microbial fuel cell that captures electrons released by soil bacteria as they metabolize organic compounds. The result? A self-recharging energy source that can power agricultural IoT sensors without wiring, sunlight, or battery swaps.
The device, measuring just six by six inches, is designed for simplicity: dig a hole, bury the unit, and let nature do the rest. Within days, a biofilm forms inside the reactor, and energy generation begins, continuing for decades with minimal intervention.
Corteva enters joint venture with Hexagon Bio to develop natural crop protections
Corteva Catalyst continues its partnership streak with a joint venture with biotech company Hexagon Bio, marking the 11th such deal for the corporate venture arm
Agriculture company Corteva entered into a multi-million-dollar joint venture (JV) with biopharmaceutical company Hexagon Bio to develop crop protection products, marking its first collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry.
Launched in 2017, Hexagon Bio uses AI, chemistry, microbial genetics, and synthetic biology to “discover chemical compounds linked to protein targets,” the company explained in a press release.
The JV was made possible by the ag company’s venture arm, Corteva Catalyst, which has partnered with 11 companies — across biologicals, gene-editing, and tech platform companies — since its launch last March, the company shared in a press release.
PepsiCo’s Digital North Star: How the CPG giant uses AI, agtech to secure its potato supply chain
PepsiCo did not just spend 2025 launching the latest on-trend snacks and beverages, as the consumer packaged goods (CPG) giant doubled down on its technological investments and innovation — all in effort to secure its supply chain
PepsiCo made meaningful progress on its digital transformation goals in 2025, launching its Digital North Star framework to improve its supply chain, help farmers, and ensure consumers can enjoy the CPG company’s products.
The company unveiled its Digital North Star at its Innovation Summit in Thailand over the summer, which highlighted eight key technologies of key strategic importance, Rob Meyers, VP of global agriculture at PepsiCo, told AgTechNavigator.
Spain probes lab link as ASF outbreak rocks Europe’s top pork exporter
Spain controls 26% of EU pork production and supplies roughly 25–30% of China’s pork, reports Kemiex
Spanish authorities are investigating whether the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak detected in wild boar outside Barcelona may have originated from a research lab – a new line of inquiry that comes as export bans hurt the EU’s largest pork supplier.
Thirteen ASF cases have been confirmed in wild boar in Catalonia since 28 November, triggering an aggressive containment effort to protect Spain’s €8.8bn pork export industry.
