Canadian telecoms company Telus has launched an agriculture division that has UK agritech businesses Muddy Boots and Hummingbird at its heart.
London-based Hummingbird is working in partnership with the telecoms giant while Herefordshire’s Muddy Bootshas been acquired by the company, alongsidea number of America’s most innovative agritech businesses.
Other acquisitions by Telus Agriculture include US firms AFS Technologies, AGIntegrated, Agrian and TKXS, as well as Canada’s Decisive Farming and Farm at Hand.
Telus has also entered into an agreement to acquire Canadian firm Feedlot Health Management Solutions subject to certain conditions.
The most recent acquisitions were of AFS Technologies, a global leader in sales and distribution solutions to the consumer goods market, and Agrian, a management platform for precision, agronomy, sustainability, analytics and compliance.
“Telus Agriculture is tackling agriculture and agri-food’s complex data management challenges by linking systems together in new ways,” said Francois Gratton, chair of Telus Agriculture.
“Connecting the value chain and building solutions that make it convenient and valuable to shift to digital will help our customers drive industry-wide profitability while delivering better, healthier products to the consumer.”
Telus added that its new agriculture division has been formed “to leverage advanced data systems and artificial intelligence to streamline operations, improve food traceability, and provide consumers with fresher and healthier food”.
Ultimately, the group wants to optimise food production and boost yields to feed a growing world population. By 2050, global food supply demand is projected to rise by 70 percent, and regulation and consumer demand are driving new data requirements for the agriculture industry.
Telus Agriculture currently supports more than 100 million acres of agricultural land, backed by a team of more than 1,200 experts across Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Slovakia, Armenia, Germany, China, and Australia.
