Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural food ingredient company, and Farmer’s Business Network (FBN), Inc., the independent farmer-to-farmer network, today announced a partnership to expand the grower base of Arcadia’s family of specialty wheat varieties, GoodWheat. This new collaboration enables the FBN Direct inputs platform to distribute Arcadia’s identity-preserved GoodWheat seeds to growers in its network, aiming to increase farmer profitability over commodity wheat.
This agreement is a critical milestone in the development of Arcadia’s supply chain and its ability to scale its specialty wheat production to meet the demand anticipated following commercial launch in 2019. The FBN network has been rapidly growing its analytics, agricultural inputs distribution infrastructure, farmer member base and geographical reach, now representing over 24 million acres in the United States and Canada.
Arcadia’s GoodWheat is a non-transgenic (non-GM) portfolio of innovative wheat quality traits, including high fiber resistant starch, reduced gluten and others. GoodWheat was developed to add value to the entire wheat supply chain, from seed to table, by enabling a wider range of healthy choices to meet evolving consumer demands. Arcadia believes farmers can improve their economics by growing these premium specialty grains instead of commodity wheat. In addition, food manufacturers can differentiate their products by integrating these new GoodWheat varieties directly into their food formulations.
“With their commitment to innovation and growing network of premier farmers, the FBN network is an ideal partner to help us build capacity for our specialty wheat varieties,” says Raj Ketkar, Arcadia’s president and CEO. “Arcadia’s GoodWheat branded ingredients will provide consumers with healthier choices in their favorite foods, and the high demand for these premium products will enable improved economics for wheat growers.”
“This important partnership with Arcadia provides our members access to grow specialty, identity-preserved GoodWheat and enables them to earn a premium over commodity wheat,” says Amol Deshpande, CEO and co-founder of the FBN network. “Together, we are working to improve the economics of wheat production for farmers and bring wheat buyers a unique high-value crop.”
