September recap: Top 10 agriculture innovation, startup, business and trend stories

EXORT technology uses naturally occurring plant microRNAs to fine-tune crop processes, with Syngenta claiming yield improvements of 5-10% in extensive field trials and a first commercial launch planned for Latin America in 2027

Syngenta has unveiled a new biological technology that it claims represents the first novel mode of action in the sector for more than two decades, using naturally occurring plant microRNAs to improve crop yields and quality at extremely low application rates.

Called EXORT, short for EXOgenous RNA Targeting technology, the platform is designed to identify, extract and deliver plant-derived microRNAs that regulate biological processes including grain growth, fruit set and development.

Precision-bred soybeans have outperformed expectations in a landmark UK field trial, with Corteva demonstrating that gene editing can dramatically accelerate crop maturity in Britain’s climate. The results strengthen the case for commercial soybean production in the UK, potentially reducing reliance on imported protein while showcasing the advantages of the country’s more innovation-friendly regulatory environment

Corteva says the performance of its precision-bred soybean trial in Warwickshire has exceeded expectations, providing some of the strongest evidence yet that soybeans could become a viable commercial crop in the UK.

The trial, hosted at the company’s Wellesbourne Research Station, demonstrated how gene editing can help soybeans flower and mature much earlier than conventional varieties, overcoming one of the biggest barriers to growing the crop successfully in Britain’s cooler climate.

Can electric farm equipment be a hedge against rising fuel prices and repair costs?

Known for its electric appliances, Cincinnati-based clean-tech company GoSun is moving into the agricultural space with an electric-powered compact tractor, developed in partnership with India-based Moonrider. The company is tapping into what it sees as a gap in the North American market, leveraging advancements in battery technology to help farmers save over the lifetime of the vehicle, Patrick Sherwin, founder and CEO of GoSun, told AgNavigator.

Biotechnology start-up Robigo has secured Series A funding led by Bayer’s venture arm, Leaps by Bayer, as it seeks to commercialise engineered microbial biopesticides. For Bayer, the attraction lies less in a single product and more in a platform it believes could generate a pipeline of crop protection solutions across multiple crops and diseases

Robigo, a biotechnology company developing crop protection products using engineered microbes, RNA interference (RNAi) and CRISPR technologies, has raised an undisclosed Series A funding round led by Leaps by Bayer.

As Corteva prepares to spin off its seed and genetics business as Vylor in October, the company has unveiled a new investment platform, Vylor Edge. But with several existing Catalyst investments set to transfer across, unanswered questions remain about how the new vehicle will operate alongside Corteva’s established innovation platform

Vylor, the advanced seed and genetics company set to spin off from Corteva on October 1, 2026, has launched Vylor Edge, a new investment platform designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of emerging agricultural technologies.

Ahead of its October 2026 separation from Corteva, Vylor has unveiled an ambitious corn innovation pipeline built around proprietary traits, gene editing and licensing opportunities. It provides the strongest evidence yet of Corteva’s plan to create a higher-growth, royalty-driven genetics company whose value lies increasingly in intellectual property rather than crop protection

As Corteva prepares to spin off its advanced seed and genetics business as Vylor on October 1, 2026, the company has offered a compelling explanation for the separation: a corn innovation roadmap centred on proprietary biotechnology, gene editing, elite germplasm and licensing revenue.

The announcement goes well beyond a product update. Instead, it highlights the types of assets that investors typically value differently from a diversified crop protection and seeds company, namely intellectual property-rich technologies capable of generating long-term royalties and expanding licensing opportunities.

Gene editing, biologicals and AI generated excitement at World Agri-Tech in London. But the bigger message was decidedly pragmatic: the industry has plenty of innovation, now it needs the regulation, finance and distribution models to get it onto farms

There was no shortage of ideas at this year’s World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London. But there was little sign of shiny-new-object syndrome.

Instead, conversations repeatedly returned to the fundamentals. Farmers are grappling with climate volatility, water scarcity, high input costs and mounting disease and pest resistance. They need technologies that work reliably, fit existing farming systems and, crucially, make economic sense.

The technology is increasingly there. The bigger question is whether the regulation, investment and business models are.

Yara has opened Europe’s largest industrial carbon-capture facility at its Sluiskil ammonia and fertiliser plant in the Netherlands, capable of capturing up to 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. But while the technology is proven and the infrastructure is in place, the bigger challenge may be convincing customers in cost-conscious fertiliser markets to pay for the emissions reductions

Yara has officially inaugurated a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at its Sluiskil ammonia and fertiliser plant in the Netherlands, creating what the company describes as Europe’s largest industrial carbon-capture operation.

Corteva spin-off Vylor has partnered with Belgian biotech Rainbow Crops to develop climate-resilient corn using AI and multiplex gene editing, offering an early glimpse of how its new Vylor Edge investment platform plans to combine external innovation with Vylor’s genetics and commercial capabilities

Vylor puts open-innovation strategy into action with Rainbow Crops gene-editing deal

As Corteva prepares to spin off its advanced seed and genetics division into new company Vylor next month, it has unveiled the technology underpinning its planned 2027 hybrid wheat launch, arguing it has overcome the economic and technical barriers that have long prevented hybrid wheat from reaching scale

Ahead of its planned separation on 1 October, Corteva has confirmed that Vylor, its new standalone seed and genetics company, will launch hybrid hard red winter wheat in North America in late 2027 using a proprietary hybridisation system called Xpedite.