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Earnest Agriculture

Earnest Agriculture’s microbe-matching platform creates probiotic seed coatings that improve farm productivity.
2018
02-Oct
02-10
Rantoul, Illinois, United States
  • AgTech
  • Probiotics
  • Seeds
  • Soil Management (Fertilizers, Amendments, Biochar, Microbes)

Innovation

Industry Problem

Farmers need to improve crop resilience, nutrient efficiency and soil health while reducing dependence on chemical inputs.

R&D Focus

Prairie-derived microbial consortia, seed coatings and crop-specific microbe matching.

Innovative Solution

A proprietary selection and matching process combines stress-adapted prairie bacteria into crop-specific teams delivered through seed coatings or planter-box treatments.

Solution Effectiveness

The platform has been validated in greenhouse and multi-state field trials, including 2023-2024 field proof and global 2025 trials; detailed yield statistics were not published on the reviewed pages.

Investment Funding

Last Funding Stage

Pre-Seed

Total Funding Amount

1.5M

Last Funding Amount

1.5M

Last Funding Date

01-01-2024

Startup Stage

Seed

Lead Investors

gener8tor, Evergreen Climate Innovations, SOSV, MassChallenge, VentureWell

Revenue

$1M to $10M

People

Founders

About

Earnest Agriculture is an ag biotech startup developing advanced microbial seed coatings to enhance soil health, boost crop resilience, and improve nutrient efficiency. By leveraging prairie-derived microbes and a proprietary microbial matching platform, Earnest delivers sustainable, science-driven solutions that help farmers reduce dependence on chemical inputs while maintaining high productivity. Technology & Innovation Earnest Agriculture’s probiotic seed coating, Prairie Plus, is designed to optimize nutrient use efficiency , plant resilience, and disease protection. The company’s unique approach combines native microbial strains into tailored consortiums, maximizing effectiveness across different soil conditions.

Products

Product

Prairie Power microbial seed coating for stronger roots and crop performance; Prairie Plus for natural disease suppression is in development.

Star Product

Prairie Power, because it is the first field-deployed product from the microbial platform.

Demo Product or Complete Product?

Field-trial and paid-trial stage. Prairie Power is being trialled with growers; Prairie Plus disease suppression is described as in development.

Future Plan

Market Expansion

The company conducted global 2025 field trials and is extending the platform to more crops and application methods.

M&A and Collabs

Collab

Offers flexible development and commercial partnership models for seed, crop-input and retail partners.

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