Thompson Coburn releases 2021 Ag Innovation Survey on the impact of COVID, future of the ag industry

The second Ag Innovation Survey was conducted in cooperation with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s AgTech NEXT conference from September to November 2021 and sent to the virtual conference attendees to provide feedback on the questions provided.

The results of this survey provide high-level benchmarking responses with interesting perspectives on a variety of subjects that impact AgTech, from a variety of people working in the AgTech community. With a limited sample size of 13 respondents, it is important to note that the AgTech Innovation Survey is not a rigorous statistical analysis where broad generalizations can be made.

Key takeaways

•  67% of respondents said that they anticipate working on or funding grain handling, processing, or distribution over the next few years. Responses were split evenly between small and large organizations.
• 58% of respondents believe that mixed use real estate developments with farm and ag innovation in one space is the future of indoor farming, while another 25% said they thought redevelopment of vacant buildings is the future.
• When asked about business opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed in the AgTech industry, 67% of respondents identified supply chain adaption as a new area of opportunity for them, followed by 58% identifying food security as a new opportunity area.