CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tillable, the online marketplace for the $32 billion farmland rental market, today announced an $8.25 million Series A funding round. The round was led by top agtech investment holding company The Production Board, with participation by First Round Capital.
Tillable’s easy-to-use online marketplace helps landowners and farmers determine fair rent for farmland, helping both sides connect on an efficient, convenient and secure online platform.
With Tillable, landowners can optimize the financial return on their land, gain visibility into how their acreage is used, and identify growers who will act as responsible stewards for their properties’ long-term viability. Tillable helps farmers expand operations with a convenient platform for screening farmland based on factors such as price, acreage, soil type and location.
In addition to connecting landowners and farmers, Tillable brings much-needed efficiency and reliability to the farmland rental market. Tillable helps owners secure multiple offers for farmland rental, captures data on land and farmer performance, and streamlines administration through standardized online leases and digital payments.
“Over 40 percent of all U.S. farmland is rented, and while landowners collect $32 billion in rent every year, it’s estimated that they leave $8 billion on the table due to underpriced rent,” said Tillable Co-founder and CEO Corbett Kull. “But it’s not the landowners’ fault. The tools and data just haven’t been available to understand fair rental value for farmland or to aggregate demand among farmers, and this is especially true for the increasing number of landowners who do not live on or near their property. With Tillable, landowners and farmers both are in a much better position for long-term success.”
Kull has a track record of success as an agriculture technology entrepreneur. He was the co-founder of 640 Labs, where his team created breakthrough technology to help farmers record highly accurate data on planting, fertilization and harvest to better understand performance and optimize yields. He later served as the head of Chicago operations for The Climate Corporation following its acquisition of 640 Labs.
Tillable will use the Series A funding to expand its engineering, sales and marketing teams in order to rapidly accelerate its efforts to attract landowners and farmers to the platform ahead of the 2020 growing season. The company’s identification of a market need and its plan to disrupt and improve age-old, inefficient processes are among the attributes that attracted investors.
“Tillable’s goal fits well with ours: to improve the efficiency and economics of global food and agriculture markets,” said David Friedberg, Founder and CEO of The Production Board. “By applying sound economic principles and technology to an underserved market, Tillable is improving the information exchange between landowners and farmers, which will in turn help maximize both the value and responsible use of America’s farmland.”
For more information about Tillable, visit www.tillable.com.
About Tillable
Tillable is the first true online marketplace for the $32 billion U.S. farmland rental market, optimizing returns for landowners and helping farmers access land to expand operations. For more information, call 833.845.5225 or visit www.tillable.com.
About The Production Board
The Production Board (TPB) is an investment holding company focused on improving the efficiency and economics of global food and agriculture markets. TPB conducts deep market and technology research, develops fundamental investment and business model theses, and actively founds, or invests in, companies to pursue those theses. TPB is backed by several corporate, institutional and family office partners. www.theproductionboard.com
About First Round Capital
First Round is a seed-stage venture firm focused on building a vibrant community of technology entrepreneurs and companies, including Uber, Square and Warby Parker. Through custom-built software, incredible in-person experiences and a host of other unique services, we help tiny companies get big while constantly reimagining the role of venture capital. www.firstround.com
Media Contact: Clay Kuntz, clay@propllr.com, 317-440-8397