Matt McIntosh Closures and mergers pose a risk for ag-tech adopters What farmers should weigh before investing in ag-tech equipment and services When ag-tech companies fail or change hands, farmers can be left with unsupported equipment, disrupted services, and costly decisions about what comes next. ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER AGRONOMY Chuck Baresich liked his fully electric, autonomous tractor. Now, with the parent company bankrupt, he has to reconsider what they can do with it. It’s an unfortunate situation for Baresich and his colleagues at Haggerty Creek Ltd. in Bothwell, who spent hard-earned money on a product from what appeared to be a promising company. More unfortunately, it’s not the only instance in which a company’s bankruptcy or sale has affected the use of previously purchased equipment. Together, these experiences highlight an endemic risk for those investing in agricultural technologies: investments made today could be unsupported tomorrow. It’s another reason automation and other technologies are adopted more slowly, or at least less seamlessly, than some advocates predicted. BANKRUPTCIES AND ACQUISITIONS For Baresich, lived experience trialling leading-edge agricultural equipment has made him quite concerned about the risks of business acquisitions, if not outright business failures, in the ag-tech space. In the case of his autonomous-optional electric tractor – produced by what was the California-based company Monarch – Baresich says the product was “90 per cent of the way there,” and had been successfully employed for a number of different tasks at Haggerty Creek. “In my opinion, I don’t even care if the robot has paint. As long as it works, it doesn’t need to look beautiful. It just has to function. - Chuck Baresich, Haggerty Creek Ltd.
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