Yamaha Motor Ventures Leads $7.5M Series A Funding Round for Verge Ag

Apr 28, 2022

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. — Yamaha Motor Ventures, the strategic business development and investment arm of Yamaha Motor Co., announced April 28 it led a $7.5 million Series A funding round for Verge, developers of the world’s first AI-powered interactive software that enables farmers to plan, simulate, and validate the movement of equipment in the field and execute field operations efficiently.

“This investment in Verge Ag underlines our thesis that precision farming technologies are mission critical to a sustainable future for agriculture,” says Nolan Paul, partner and global ag tech lead for Yamaha Motor Ventures. “The convergence of farm equipment, automation and digital solutions are required to grow more food, more sustainably and with considerably fewer resources.”

The $7.5 million funding round led by Yamaha Motor Ventures also included participation from the Fall Line Capital, SP Ventures and Artesian/GrainInnovate. Following the latest raise, Verge Ag is developing the digital twin of the farm that will help farmers assess the dependencies between land and equipment when planning field operations. This provides farmers a seamless planning experience with a data framework that fosters innovative data reuse, integration and visualization to enable digital characterization of fields, terrain, water flow, and operational windows.

“We are developing a solution that helps farmers manage their land and equipment to efficiently and remotely execute field operations, enabling farming to be truly autonomous,” says Ryan Johnson, CEO of Verge. “This capital powers our strategic plan to increase the adoption of Launch Pad in key markets including the U.S., Latin America, EU and Australia. We also plan to ramp up hiring for roles across our engineering, marketing, sales and corporate development teams.”

Source : Farm Equipment

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.