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Fertilizer International 509 Jul-Aug 2022

31 July 2022

CRU Fertilizer AgriTech Forum welcomes you to Dallas!

CONFERENCE PREVIEW

CRU Fertilizer AgriTech Forum welcomes you to Dallas!

CRU Events will convene the Fertilizer AgriTech Forum in Texas at the Aloft Dallas Downtown, 7-9 September.

CRU is pleased to announce it will be hosting its first Fertilizer AgriTech Forum in Dallas, Texas, in September 2022. The event links innovation with sustainability – a theme which continues to rise up the fertilizer industry’s corporate agenda.

A meeting of minds

The aim is to bring together established fertilizer producers and emerging AgriTech companies under one roof.

“This is a new fertilizer matchmaking event encouraging collaboration between producers and start-ups,” comments Chris Lawson, CRU’s Head of Fertilizers. “It’s all about promoting nutrient use efficiency and sustainability through AgriTech advancements.”

High fertilizer costs spur innovation

Farmers are not alone in embracing innovation and changing their practices. Fertilizer producers and distributors are now establishing in-house venture capital funds and innovation teams. Their job is to identify new technologies and new product opportunities – such as those those offering biologically assisted improvements in nutrient use efficiency, for example.

Now is the ideal time for market participants to come together and share ideas. Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed over the past two years, as has been well documented. These high prices have led to soaring profitability and improved cash balances for incumbent producers. At the same time, established industry players are now taking a real interest in innovative products and services that until recently were sceptically dismissed – at least by some.

Right: The Aloft Dallas Downtown is the 2022 venue for CRU’s Fertilizer AgriTech Forum.
PHOTO: ALOFT

Hear from the key players

Some of the biggest fertilizer producers in the industry will be sharing their approach to investing in innovative AgriTech via an ‘experience exchange’ panel, a key highlight of the event. The panel is a who’s who from the fertilizer industry and includes:

  • C Ryan Bond, Sr, Director, Global Business Development & Innovation, Nutrien
  • Kim Nicholson, VP AgTech and Innovation, Strategy and Growth, Mosaic
  • Hadar Sutovsky, Vice President External Innovation, ICL Group
  • Samuel Taylor, Executive Director, Rabobank.

This authoritative panel will discuss:

  • How industry incumbents are positioning themselves to address the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies
  • The timelines and levers for systemic innovation
  • Geographical disparities within the sphere of agricultural innovation
  • How innovation will evolve and change the fertilizer industry.

In addition to this panel, the forum will highlight the role AgriTech innovation will play in reducing the environmental footprint of the fertilizer industry, while ensuring it continues to meet its core aim of global food security. The World Trade Organization, The Fertilizer Institute and others will be present to offer their insights.

Start-up showcase – a platform for innovation

Thursday’s agenda offers a view of today’s industry and recent moves to embrace and invest in innovation. Friday’s focus, in contrast, is on start-ups and emerging fertilizer AgriTech players. Individual AgriTech companies will have the chance to pitch their technology to the industry – and have the opportunity to talk about what they do, their formula for success, their ambitions on partnerships and investment, and how the industry can benefit from collaboration. Confirmed presenters for the start-up showcase include:

  • lSolving the nitrogen equation – Opus-MAX technology as an alternative or complement to biological approaches. Presented by John Appel, President and Board Member, BPS Agriculture.
  • Bridge building – renewable power and fertilizer. Presented by Nico Pinkowski, CEO, Nitricity Inc.

Keep an eye on the event’s website for the latest announcements on start-ups presenting at the forum.

See you in Dallas

Rising interest rates and the cost of capital could potentially scale-back investment in new technologies. But with food security and sustainability hot on the business and political agenda, the outlook for continued investment in and collaboration on AgriTech remains positive.

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