Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) in Middlefield, Ohio, has raised $4.7 million in equity and debt during its first round of external financing.
The round was led by "seasoned ag investor" Tree Trunk Light with debt financing from other unnamed organizations, the regenerative agriculture company said in a statement.
AEA develops and makes plant nutrition products and sells them, along with information, training and services that include soil testing, to customers in North America, according to its website.
The company's products, which are primarily applied to the leaves and roots of plants, focus on strengthing the plants so farmers can reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides and pesticides while improving their yields, the company said.
AEA plans to use its latest financing to add to its agronomy team, pursue research and development trials in new areas of regenerative agriculture, and build AI and tech platforms to take regenerative agriculture decision making and best practices to farmers, the company said.
Advancing Eco Agriculture was founded by John Kempf, an Amish farmer, in 2006, according to the company's website.
"We are thrilled to work with investors who know agriculture and fully grasp the potential of AEA in changing how the world grows food," said Jason Hobson, AEA's CEO, in his company's statement.
Paul Bergman, Tree Trunk Light's founder and managing director, will continue in his role as executive chairman of Advancing Eco Agriculture to facilitate its latest financing and implement the company's strategic plan, AEA said.
Tree Trunk Light's investment "will accelerate the expansion of AEA's geographic footprint and outsized impact on food quality, yield and farmer profitability," said Bergman, who has nearly two decades of executive leadership experience in the global agriculture and food industries, according to his company's statement.
Advancing Eco Agriculture is owned by Phillipe van den Bossche, an early stage impact investor in several companies that focus on regenerative agriculture, the Middlefield company states at its website.
Bossche, who is AEA's vice chairman, also is chairman and CEO of Rein Morgen Holdings LLC and managing partner of Zeno Capital Partners, both in New York City, as well as founder and chairman of Ozadia Plant Science, a plant nutrition consultancy to cannabis and hemp growers, according to his LinkedIn page.
