MyAgData Secures $2 Million from the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund for Expansion of Electronic Acreage Reporting Platform
Financing Helps MyAgData Bridge the Gap between Farmer-Created Precision Ag Data, the USDA and Crop Insurance Companies
EFFINGHAM, IL, August 22, 2018 – Open Prairie has made its second investment through the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, a growth-stage private equity fund dedicated to providing capital to agribusiness companies throughout rural America. The $2 million of convertible debt financing will allow MyAgData to scale its technology infrastructure and expand its sales and marketing teams to accelerate adoption of the MyAgData platform.
MyAgData, headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, is an agricultural-focused data analytics company that has developed an industry-leading acreage reporting solution. The revolutionary cloud-based platform, available in both standard and mobile formats, enables collection of layers of geospatial data from precision-ag technologies prevalent on today’s farm equipment, simplifying the reporting process for crop insurance and USDA while also allowing for traceability of food production. MyAgData seamlessly integrates production ag data, facilitates management of the data, and transmits results to any stakeholders authorized by the producer. MyAgData saves time and money for all users and provides a higher level of accuracy than manual reporting.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to collaborate with Open Prairie. They have a wealth of experience, knowledge and insight in agriculture,” said MyAgData CEO Deb Casurella. “This arrangement will help us position MyAgData® for the explosive growth predicted for electronic reporting.”
Open Prairie Partner, Jason Wrone, commented, “MyAgData has developed a robust platform that implements efficiencies that lead to increased profitability for producers. With only 5% of acreage reporting currently being done electronically and initiatives underway to increase adoption to greater than 90% within the next five years, Open Prairie is eager to begin leveraging its network and expertise to facilitate the next phase of expansion for MyAgData.” In conjunction with the financing, Mr. Wrone will join the MyAgData Board of Directors.
About Open Prairie
Open Prairie, based in the heartland of America with headquarters in Effingham, Illinois, is a multi-faceted private equity fund management firm with deep roots in rural America. Founded in 1997, Open Prairie has consistently focused on facilitating capital accessibility in underserved markets. The Open Prairie team has managed funds ranging from technology-based venture capital to farmland portfolios. Through its expertise across all functional business disciplines and an extensive network of professionals, Open Prairie works in partnership with its portfolio companies to accelerate growth while providing top-tier returns to its investors. For more information about Open Prairie, please visit www.openprairie.com.
About the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund
The Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund is a targeted $100 million private equity fund licensed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC). With a collaborative partnership comprised of investors from Farm Credit institutions, commercial and community banks, strategics, family offices and high net worth individuals committed to advancing rural America, the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund is focused on providing debt and equity capital of $2 - $10 million to growth companies in food and agriculture. For more information on the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, please visit www.openprairie.com.
About MyAgData
MyAgData was established in 2012 by a team of experts in precision farming, crop insurance and technology. The MyAgData platform includes a mobile app, configurable cloud-based application and web services that can be used in concert by producers to provide a complete suite of acreage reporting solutions to crop insurance companies and the USDA while also streamlining farm management practices to improve profitability. For additional information, visit www.myagdata.com and follow MyAgData on Twitter @MyAgData.
Contacts
Open Prairie
Jason Wrone – +1.217.347.5430
jason@openprairie.com