Highly Talented AgTech Professional - Carl Casale's Tumblr Blog @carlcasale - Tumblr Blog

Ospraie AG Injects Capital for Additive Commercialization

An MBA graduate of Washington University, Carl Casale is an agribusiness executive who has held leadership positions in various prominent agricultural companies. Carl Casale serves as a senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science (OAS).

Ospraie Ag Sciences (OAS) and the investment arm of Bunge Limited have injected additional capital to support the commercialization of the phosphorus fertilizer additive RhizoSorb. RhizoSorb is an invention of Phospholutions Inc., a company on a mission to optimize global phosphorus use. The additional funding will augment the $10.3 million Series A funding amassed by Phosphosolutions in 2021.

RhizoSorb has reduced phosphorus input in row crop farms by 50 percent while maintaining the same nutritional benefit for plants - a critical need in the agricultural sector since phosphorus fertilizer is a limited material and the global investment continues expanding. Forecasts show that the global phosphatic fertilizer market will reach $78 billion by 2025, per a report from Business Wire. In other words, farmers will spend more money on phosphatic fertilizers.

The suboptimal delivery of the nutritional element to plants drives the burgeoning cost of phosphatic fertilizer. Historically, crops absorb only 25 percent of phosphorus input, rendering the remaining fertilizer useless. Then, residual phosphorus contributes to global warming and water pollution.

RhizoSorb doubles the amount of phosphorus available to plants per fertilizer application. The blue-chip additive also optimizes the availability of existing phosphorus in agricultural lands, which means it delivers the same effect on undressed land. The additive has been tested on diverse row crops, including soybeans, barley, rice, corn, and wheat.

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Agritech Company Selected to Participate in Accelerator Program

An agricultural industry leader with extensive knowledge of sustainable food production methods, Carl Casale has served as a senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science since 2018. In this role, Carl Casale identifies investment opportunities in the agritech sector.

F3 Tech selected OAS-backed agritech crop protection company Agragene to join the F3 Tech Accelerator Program, a commercialization program. Its prime objective is to support companies with patented innovative agricultural technology inventions that aim to roll out them out and solve the critical needs in the agriculture industry. The program offers outstanding participants non-dilutive capital investment.

The 2022 Accelerator Program focused on improving resistance to insect pests in agricultural farms - Agragene's niche. Agragene leverages CRISPR, a biotechnology tool, in its proprietary precision-guided sterile insect and sex selection technology known as pgSIT. pgSIT alters the genes responsible for male insect fertility and female insect reproductive viability, which stalls the proliferation of pests. Moreover, Agragene is the only globally licensed company to develop this technology.

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Regalia Biofungicide - Marrone Bio IPM Solution

Carl Casale is an experienced agribusiness executive who brings over three decades of experience in the field to his role as a senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science. In this role, Carl Casale oversaw the $75 million recapitalization of a California-based biopesticide company, Marrone Bio Innovations.

Marrone Bio Innovations rolls out advanced pest control solutions for US farmers. Regalia Biofungicide is one of Marrone Bio's integrated pest management (IPM) products.

Regalia Biofungicide bolsters specialty crops' immune strength and stress tolerance, enhancing crop yield. The product helps crops become immune to various bacterial and fungal diseases, including crown rot, black spot, powdery mildew, alternaria fruit rot, and anthracnose. Unlike conventional pesticides, Regalia Biofungicide is always effective, with a low risk of resistance. The pesticide is suitable for many cash crops, including tobacco, onions, citrus, almonds, and fruity vegetables.

Regalia biofungicide can be applied via diverse routes, including soil treatment and foliar (leaf) application. The biofungicide can be used via an irrigation system (chemigation). Regalia biofungicide is ecologically friendly. The pesticide does not leave toxic residue on crops or in fields.

#Carl Casale #Bio IPM Solution

Why You Should Use Biodegradable Pots

An Ospraie AG Science's senior agricultural partner, Carl Casale is a respected expert in his field. He is responsible for developing strategies for the environmentally responsible production of food. Carl Casale also provides ideas and identifies methods to help farmers produce more while reducing their negative environmental effects. One of the ways he does this is with biodegradable materials.

Most people use plastic pots and module trays when planting seeds or transplanting. However, more people are becoming aware of the advantages of various biodegradable options.

There are many biodegradable pot options you can explore, and they come with the bonus of lasting longer and being relatively easy to deal with. Biodegradable pots can be made from different materials, such as coir, biodegradable plastics, and wood fiber. Biodegradable pots made from coir and wood fiber break down fast, so you do not need to cut them apart.

Biodegradable pots do not need to be rewashed. Compared to plastic pots that constantly need to be rewashed and sterilized after each use, biodegradable pots break down into the ground and add to the soil.

You can use common household items to serve as pot holders. You can use cardboard from toilet rolls, magazines, or newspapers; they serve as a cost-friendly alternative. Biodegradable pots also reduce the need to move plants when they become larger, creating a convenient way to grow.

#Carl Casale

Three Sustainable Farming Methods

Carl Casale has held executive leadership positions in top agricultural companies. He serves on the Board of Directors of the agribusiness firm Syngenta. In his various positions, Carl Casale has gained extensive knowledge of sustainable food production methods.

Sustainable agriculture focuses on growing plants in ways that protect the environment and overall human and animal health. It can take a variety of forms.

Permaculture centers on production efficiency and reduction of waste by using perennial crops such as nuts that mimic the way the natural ecosystem functions. It involves using techniques like growing without tillage by using equipment like a disc seeder to make furrows for seeds and by using herb spirals, a raised garden created in the shape of a spiral to help with drainage important for herbs, and sun exposure to assist in growing shade loving and sun tolerant herbs in the same garden.

Another method is urban agriculture. Most of the people on Earth live in cities, so there is a need for growing food closer to home. Various sustainable farming techniques such as urban greenhouses, rooftop farms, and indoor hydroponic farms are used in cities.

Agroforestry is another sustainable farming method that contributes to health and the environment. Farmers use this method in dry lands with soils subject to degradation. Agroforestry combines agriculture with forestry by growing trees and shrubs among crops or grazing lands. Trees help protect crops from wind and rain while stabilizing the soil and improving its temperature and humidity.

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Beeflow Increases Pollination and Crop Yields

In recent years, the health of the planet has often been under discussion. With climate change and increasing urban populations, activists are concerned about losing numerous plant and animal species, along with their habitats. Many environmentalists believe bees are the key to keeping plant species alive, which can help increase food production and improve natural habitats.

Bees are responsible for 70 percent of the pollination that occurs in plants across the globe. When a bee lands on a flower, the tiny hairs all over its body collect grains of pollen. Bees use stiff hairs on their legs to collect the pollen and store it in pockets on their bodies. They then carry this back to the nest to feed their offspring, as pollen contains important proteins for bees.

Bees tend to be attracted to one type of flower at a time. In a garden or farm area, bees frequent multiple flowers on different plants. Many plants require this type of cross-pollination to produce viable seeds or more flowers. For example, some types of fruit trees and berry bushes require pollination from another nearby plant to produce any fruit each year.

Beeflow is a company specializing in helping farmers use bees to cross-pollinate their crops to produce more yield each year. The company begins by assessing each farm and strategically placing beehives near the target plant species. A team of agronomists (soil and crop experts) visits each individual area of the farm to determine the best placement, which can vary significantly between adjacent plots.

Beeflow also helps ensure bees are attracted only to the pollen of each specific plant. They begin by feeding the bees special plant-based organic molecules, so the bees are conditioned to want a certain species of plant. This helps keep the bees only on the target plants and makes them less distracted by other flowers. This attraction therapy is a key element of Beeflow, as farms often have yield issues due to bees initially finding certain flowers unattractive.

Bees also require specific nutrients to remain strong and healthy, especially in difficult climate conditions. Bees often become significantly less active during cold weather. Beeflow feeds their bees organic compounds that keep them healthy and can increase their work by up to seven times.

Beeflow’s pollination program can increase a farm’s yield by up to 60 percent. This can have a significant effect on each farm and could also help the global economy by increasing food production. Because bees pollinate the majority of all crops, they are responsible for adding an estimated $183 million to the global economy each year.

Beeflow also advocates for healthy environmental change. They seek to educate farmers on the overall importance of bees, which can reduce a farm’s need for harmful pesticides. Chemicals and synthetic materials can kill bees and disrupt their mating cycles, which in turn will reduce the farm’s crop yield. If the farm can begin to use bees to their advantage, they can produce healthier bee populations and reduce the necessity for environmental pollution from pesticides.

Several environmental and agricultural companies support Beeflow. One company, Ospraie Ag Science, uses the tagline “do more with less,” which is a key feature of Beeflow’s intended positive impact on the environment. Indie Bio is also a supporting company that invests in agricultural technology and start-up companies to cultivate sustainable health products.

#Carl Casale

Terramera - Intelligent and Sustainable Agtech

Farmers are constantly searching for ways to improve their crop yields in the most efficient manner. Synthetic pesticides and herbicides have long been the answer to crops failing due to disease and insect infestations. Recently, agronomists (soil and crop experts) and environmentalists have highlighted the damage these chemicals can cause to humans and the ecosystem. Terramera, a global agtech (agricultural technology) company, is combining science and artificial intelligence to help transform and revitalize agriculture. The company is committed to reducing the use of synthetic pesticides by 80 percent across the globe by the year 2030. Terramera aims to improve human health and maintain a healthy Earth through improvements in agtech. Terramera was founded in 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It has operations across Canada, the United States, and India. The company holds over 300 patents for various products and technologies that are transforming the agriculture market. One of Terramera’s main contributions involves creating innovative technology that makes crop farming more efficient. The company has patented a unique technology, known as Actigate Targeted Performance, that combines bio-active compounds with science and engineering to enhance crop yields. Actigate uses only plant-based and organic active compounds. The technology identifies the most active ingredients and inserts them directly into targeted plant cells. This causes compounds to be up to 10 times more effective than traditional techniques, such as regular fertilization. This means less of the active compound is needed, which saves time, energy, and money on each crop. Engineers at Terramera also create software programs and machine learning models to determine the best processes and outcomes. They build complex robots and artificial intelligence systems to complete laboratory tasks, such as phenotyping (assessing genetics) and discovering new compounds. This prediction system and use of Actigate technology can dramatically increase yields in conventional and organic farming, as well as home gardening. Terramera additionally seeks to educate farmers by promoting regenerative agriculture. This process uses tools and farming practices to help reduce emissions and remove carbon from the air and trap it in soil. Stored carbon drastically improves soil health, and statistics show it can increase a farm’s profitability by up to 78 percent. Regenerative agriculture can help reverse climate change by replacing the soil’s natural organic matter and reducing the reliance on harmful synthetic fertilizers. As soil health and biodiversity improve, it can help retain water and reduce water consumption. This is especially useful in dry climates with scarce water resources. No-till farming is another form of regenerative agriculture, in which soil is left undisturbed from one growing season to another. Farmers often strategically choose to change plant species in certain fields each year, as crops often deplete specific nutrients from soil. Terramera works to enhance these regenerative agriculture practices, and its Actigate technology can help reduce the need for synthetic materials that harm soil health and the environment. Healthy soil resists insects and larvae, thus reducing the need for pesticides and herbicides. Actigate technology also increases yield, so farms can produce far more crops with fewer resources. Instead of killing pests, Terramera focuses on enhancing positive production numbers. The company is currently working with the Canadian government and the private sector to identify compounds and technologies that will increase global food security through higher crop yields.

#Terramera #agriculture #farming #carl casale

AgroSpheres Spotlighted in Business Worldwide Magazine

As the senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science, Carl Casale leverages his three-decade career in the agriculture industry to identify and invest in agricultural technology startups. In his role at Ospraie AG Science, Carl Casale oversaw a multimillion-dollar recapitalization for Virginia-based AgroSpheres, Inc.

AgroSpheres was one of the companies spotlighted in Business Worldwide Magazine's 20 Most Innovative Companies to Watch in 2020. Every year, Business Worldwide Magazine recognizes companies that have accomplished remarkable innovations in their sector and are pushing the envelope of creativity and industry relevance.

AgroSpheres is making unprecedented moves to strengthen the agriculture industry. One of its inventions is AgriCell manufacturing technology. This patented tool amplifies the effects of biopesticide molecules on target pests without endangering the environment or public health. This technology is paving the way for the emergence of high-performance biopesticides. AgroSpheres’ trailblazing approach to environmentally friendly pest control solutions has facilitated its salience in the global pest control market. The company has been featured in multiple market reports, including Prophecy Markets Insights.

#Carl Casale

Biopesticide Market Size Predicted to Double by 2027

Carl Casale is the senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science in St. Paul, Minnesota. In this position, Carl Casale oversaw the $75-million recapitalization of Marrone Bio Innovations, a California-based biopesticide company.

According to an analytical report by MarketsandMarkets, the 2022 biopesticide market value is $5.5 billion. Factoring in an estimated compound annual growth rate of 15.6 percent, the report forecast that the market will be more than twice this size in five years.

Biopesticides have received wide application because of their ability to minimize environmental pollution. Synthetic pesticides have been subject to multiple climate- and health-related caveats, particularly pollution. Unlike synthetic pesticides, which are made of dangerous chemicals, biopesticides are predominantly natural biochemicals extracted from living cells.

Crops free from synthetic chemical treatment are called organic crops. Organic crop farmers sometimes use biopesticides to protect their crops.

Marrone Bio is one of the organizations at the forefront of biopesticide production in the United States. Marrone Bio invests in research that leads to the creation of diverse biopesticide products, including bioherbicides, bio fungicides, and bioinsecticides.

#Carl Casale

How Agro-Tech Investments Boost Productivity

Carl Casale serves as a senior agricultural partner with Ospraie AG Science. Here, Carl Casale helps identify agricultural tech investment opportunities that align with the consumer desire for sustainable food production. These include CF Industries Nitrogen, its largest investment to date, and the acquisition of the CHS refinery in Kansas.

According to the FAO, the world population will reach 9 billion by 2050. This makes the need for agro-tech all the more crucial. Since global food production would need to grow by 70 percent to feed that number of people, agro-tech seeks to increase productivity from farms and farmers.

Agriculture technology investment solutions range from improving crop yields to improving animal health. Technology can increase crop yields by improving fertilizer use, irrigation, or soil quality. It can also enhance livestock health by providing vaccines or improved feed.

Technology also can reduce the need for expensive inputs, such as pesticides and feed additives, by allowing farmers to plant less susceptible crops to pests and diseases. Furthermore, technology can enable farmers to monitor their fields more efficiently, reducing the risk of damage from pests and disease.

#Carl Casale

The Ukraine Crisis and Global Food Supply

West St. Paul, Minnesota resident Carl Casale is a senior agricultural partner with Ospraie AG Science. With decades of experience working in the agricultural industry, Carl Casale understands the dynamics of the field, including the war in Ukraine and how it affects the global food supply. In early 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, setting the stage for disruptions in global supply chains, particularly in the agricultural industry. This came in the backdrop of strained supply systems heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. After World War II, global food supply chains became so integrated that if one unit in the system suffers, others are quick to experience the effects. Today, Russia and Ukraine account for about 30 percent of the world’s wheat production, meaning the invasion affects the commodity’s availability around the globe. Global food distribution networks rely on transport and logistics, two elements controlled by oil. With Russia being a major oil and gas producer, the food supply system is at risk if sanctions imposed by Western nations are anything to go by. Africa is the hardest hit owing to its dependence on Russia and Ukraine for wheat and other commodities such as fuel and fertilizers. The solution is to end the war, lest things turn out as they did in Syria. After war broke out in Syria in 2011, the years that followed saw many refugees move to neighboring countries and Europe. Germany, for instance, spent about $25 billion in 2015 taking care of Syrian refugees, an expense that would might been saved had the nations of the world invested in ending the war.

#Global Food Supply

About Grandevo WDG - Marrone Bio Innovations Products

A respected executive with decades of experience in the agribusiness industry, Carl Casal formerly served six years as the president and CEO of CHS, Inc., a prominent member-owned cooperative in the United States. Carl Casal joined Ospraie AG Science in 2018 as a senior agricultural partner, where he identifies agricultural technology investments. He also led the $75 million recapitalization of Marrone Bio Innovations.

Manufactured by Marrone Bio Innovations, Grandevo WDG is an advanced micro-organism-based pesticide that helps protect a diverse spectrum of organic and conventional crops from insect pest infestation. Examples of these crops are potatoes, pome fruit, medicinal plants, citrus crops, and tree nut crops. Grandevo WDG undermines insect pest attack and leaves no residue or exposes farmers and employees to chemical dangers.

The active compound in Grandevo WDG is synthesized by a bacterium called Chromobacterium subtsugae. The active compound affects sucking and chewing insect pests in multiple ways such as mitigation of reproduction, inhibition of feeding, and annihilation of the pest. Grandevo WDG can serve as a stand-alone pesticide for farmers since it presents a very low risk of insects developing resistance to it. However, some farmers integrate the biopesticide into their modern integrated pest management systems, which are rotational arrays of pest control techniques that help prevent insect resistance to control measures.

#Carl #Casale

Growing Food Closer to Home May Food Insecurity

A senior agricultural partner at Ospraie AG Science, Carl Casale is responsible for identifying Ag Tech investment opportunities. Carl Casale advocates for sustainable agriculture, such as vertical farming, as promoted by Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS). IGS believes that growing food closer to home can help reduce the food security crisis. According to David Farquhar the CEO of IGS, disruption of the global food supply chain contributes to the food security crisis. Mr. Farquhar pointed out that 72 percent of food consumed is grown and shipped from different regions or continents. However, growing crops indoors and in stacked layers helps deal with food shortages and lower distances food has to be transported. Vertical farms help grow crops more quickly by extending a crop growing day to 18 hours, and farmers also have control over weather seasons. IGS also supports a hybrid model where farmers grow starter plants on vertical farms before transplanting them to the fields or polytunnels. By allowing this model, it means that IGS stand with supporting farmers using traditional farming methods rather than being their competitors. This will also help reduce imports while dealing with climate change challenges.

#Food

Oregon Blueberry Conference Tackles Food

A West St. Paul, Minnesota resident, Carl Casale graduated from Washington University and holds a master of business administration. Carl Casale is experienced in the food industry and attended the Oregon Blueberry Conference in 2019. The Oregon Blueberry Conference in 2019 features discussions about the future of the planet, which included talks about the global population, urbanization, and food. According to a study and statistics, the population in Africa and Asia will heavily outnumber the rest of the world by 2030. The estimated population in Africa and Asia is almost 8 billion people, 80 percent of the entire population in the world. This creates a worldwide food problem and hunger as there would be too many people to feed and too few resources. The Oregon Blueberry Conference aimed to find solutions to produce more food and sustain the entire planet by that time. One way food production can be enhanced is with the use of biocontrols. Biocontrols would be used as supplements to pesticides. The conference concluded that microbiomes could also be used to enhance and improve the health of plants. Alongside these solutions, digital agronomics and data analytics can track efficiency and ensure improvement and progress.

#Blueberry

Investment in CF Nitrogen

Ospraie AG Science’s Senior Agricultural Partner, Carl Casale has successfully sought investment opportunities for various venture campaigns. Before joining Ospraie AG Science, Carl Casale was a CEO at CHS Inc., where he is known for presiding over tremendous growth and financial management. Because of this the company was able to among other things reduce working capital by $400 million to help fund a $2.8 billion transformational investment in CF Nitrogen. The investment in CF Nitrogen was a way to add value for CHS owners given that there is a dynamic market for nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing and distribution. Such an investment offered immediate benefit to CHS owners and customers. The company’s decision to invest in CF Nitrogen was reached after a realization that it would cost more to construct its own fertilizer plant. Going ahead with the construction would not achieve the return on investment considering that the involved construction costs, water supply challenges, and overall risk had changed since the idea had been proposed.

#Nitrogen

Plant Biotechnology Access to Food Sustainability

Carl Casale holds a master of business administration from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor of science in agricultural economics from Oregon State University. Carl Casale participated in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy 7th Annual International Symposium, where he discussed various ways to sustainably feed the world’s population in 2050 using current technology. Titled “Will and Waste: Sustainably Feeding 10 million People in 2050,” the presentation examined the capability to sufficiently feed the world’s population in 2050 using already existing food production technology. According to a 2017 statement from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world population will reach 9.8 billion in 2050. Food output should thus increase by 60 percent to feed everyone. Plant biotechnology offers a feasible way to increase food production through improved seed, data-driven decision making, precision fertilization, and organic bio-control. Though a relatively new science, between 1996 and 2017, farmers grew 2.15 billion hectares of biotech crops due to superior value. However, the technology remains highly restricted in Asia, Europe, and Africa, thus stifling the effort to feed the world sustainably. The uptake in Asia is below 20 percent compared to more than 80 percent in the Americas. In addition, emerging inventions promote reduced product use per unit area of land through targeted fertilization and bio-control. However, the product costs block out many small-scale farmers, who, with subdued yields, cannot purchase the products. In 2017, despite accounting for 75 percent of the tons of harvest in sub-Saharan Africa, only five percent received the herbicides. Corrective measures such as micro-loan programs enable access to modern crop production tools.

#Plant Biotechnology

Understanding Company Recapitalization

A senior agricultural partner with Ospraie AG Science, Carl Casale has extensive experience identifying and overseeing agricultural tech investment opportunities. His responsibilities include aligning the investment with customer desire for food production sustainability and increased yields with reduced environmental impact. Also, Carl Casale leads recapitalizations for various companies in the agriculture technology sector, such as the Marrone Bio Innovations' $75 million recapitalization. Recapitalization describes the restructuring of a company’s stock ownership, debts, and equity. Recapitalization can become necessary or desirable for several reasons. The primary goal is often to inject new capital, either as a loan or investment, to offset a tentative deficit and increase available liquidity for further investment. Second, a cash injection helps finance a full or partial major shareholder exit, in most cases, the owner or owners. The exiting partner may seek to take hard cash from the company through a significant one-time payment, followed by installments over the years, by selling either a majority or minority stake to a capable investment partner. After the handover, the new investor can help improve management discipline, stabilize the company’s cash position, and increase equity stake value.

#Recapitalization

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