JV to amplify both companies’ complementary expertise to develop, scale, deliver differentiated crop protection solutions in high-growth markets

Corteva (NYSE: CTVA), a global leader in seed and crop protection technology, and Globachem N.V., a private company based in Belgium specializing in developing and globally marketing a wide range of crop protection products, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to launch a 50/50 joint venture (JV) to support the development and delivery of new, differentiated crop protection solutions to meet evolving needs of farmers in Europe and the Americas.

The new JV will be independently operated and focus on leveraging late-pipeline to commercial-stage technology from its parent companies to amplify both companies’ ability to develop, register, and market the resulting products, which may be commercialized independently by one or both parent companies.

“This is the latest example of how we’re leveraging collaborations to strengthen and broaden our portfolio as we prepare to launch as a standalone crop protection company following our planned separation,” said Corteva Senior Vice President Brook Cunningham. “By combining our industry-leading pipeline and innovation capabilities with Globachem’s expertise in formulation, we aim to scale and accelerate the delivery of more tailored, comprehensive solutions for core crops in targeted markets.”

The JV will build upon an existing, multi-year partnership between Corteva and Globachem, allowing both companies to immediately benefit through enhanced collaboration. New solutions developed by the JV are expected to launch in the early 2030s and will be sold through established commercial channels.

“The entry into a definitive agreement regarding the establishment of the JV represents an important milestone in our long-standing relationship with Corteva and reflects our shared belief that collaboration is the fastest way to bring meaningful innovation to farmers,” said Koen Quaghebeur, Chief Visionary  Officer and Co-founder of Globachem. “Together, Corteva’s world-class discovery and development capabilities and Globachem’s expertise in product development, formulation and regulatory execution, create a powerful platform for innovation. The JV will accelerate the delivery of differentiated crop protection solutions that help growers address evolving agronomic challenges and seize new opportunities. We are excited to build a company that brings together the strengths of both organizations, creating sustainable value for growers, our partners, and both parent companies.”

The transaction is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to all necessary regulatory clearances and approvals.

Israeli ag-biotech company becomes the first to establish Indiana operations through Iron Nation–Indiana initiative

Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced today that IBI Ag, an Israeli ag-biotech company developing next-generation biological crop-protection solutions, will establish its North American headquarters in Indiana, marking a major milestone in the company’s expansion into the U.S. market.

“IBI Ag’s decision to establish its North American headquarters in Indiana is a testament to our state’s dominance in the agricultural sector and our intentional and persistent pursuit of innovation,” said Gov. Braun. “This is an important first result of our partnership with Iron Nation as we work to connect Indiana’s world-class industries and research institutions with some of Israel’s most promising technology companies. IBI Ag’s presence in Indiana is poised to bring new investment and career opportunities to Hoosiers.”

IBI Ag is the first company to establish Indiana operations through Iron Nation–Indiana, a $60 million investment and business-development initiative designed to help high-growth Israeli technology companies enter the U.S. market through Indiana. The company’s Indiana headquarters will serve as the hub for IBI Ag’s U.S. operations, including field trials and product development, regulatory activities, strategic partnerships, market development and preparations for commercial launch following regulatory approval.

IBI Ag also plans to collaborate with Indiana research institutions and agricultural organizations as it advances its products through U.S. field development and regulatory review. The company already works closely with Indiana-based Corteva Agriscience, providing an important foundation for its growing presence in the state.

“Establishing our North American headquarters in Indiana marks an important step in IBI Ag’s transition from product development toward commercialization,” said Arnon Heyman, PhD, MBA, chief executive officer of IBI Ag. “A permanent presence here will allow us to work more closely with growers, regulators, research institutions, strategic partners and future customers as we advance our products toward the U.S. market.”

The announcement comes during this week’s Indiana–Israel BioHeartland Summit, hosted in partnership with Iron Nation and the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. The event is bringing Israeli technology companies and innovation leaders together with Indiana’s agriculture, healthcare, life-sciences, research and investment communities to create opportunities for economic growth and innovation.

“IBI Ag is establishing more than an office—it is building meaningful roots in Indiana,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Chuck Goodrich. “The company is adding Hoosier leadership, expanding its connections to Indiana’s agricultural industry and preparing to work with our research institutions. It is a strong first example of what the Iron Nation–Indiana partnership can deliver for our state.”

IBI Ag has already added an Indiana-based leader to his executive team. The Indiana headquarters will initially support IBI Ag’s ongoing U.S. development programs and is expected to expand as the company moves toward registration and commercialization. IBI Ag plans to build local capabilities across regulatory affairs, field development, business development and commercial operations.

“Israel has established itself as a global leader in technology and innovation,” said Elad Strohmayer, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. “Indiana has the industries, research institutions and talent to help innovative Israeli companies grow in the U.S. market. By bringing together Israel’s technology ecosystem and Indiana’s strengths, the Iron Nation-Indiana collaboration can help advance solutions that improve lives, strengthen food and agricultural systems and address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges.”

IBI Ag is developing novel bioinsecticides through a platform that combines validated biological targets, protein engineering and AI-driven de novo protein design. Its approach is designed to create highly targeted biological solutions with new modes of action, giving growers effective and sustainable alternatives to conventional chemical insecticides.

American farmers often face cumbersome regulatory and compounded reporting issues that hamper both their expansion opportunities and worse, the capacity to effectively sustain operations. Fallow AG, a new fintech company based here, strategically focuses on addressing and resolving those critical issues—including capital access–through innovative data-driven means.

According to Naveed Iqbal, CEO of Fallow AG, this significant challenge for farmers is reflected in an annual acreage report that the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires as a condition of most federal farm programs. Since crop and production performance can occasionally be adversely affected by drought and other issues, the information formally filed on that acreage report reappears in disaster and loss claims. It also has to square with a second acreage report the farmer files with its crop insurance provider.

The information required on the forms does not reflect modern farm operations.  “The farmer is essentially asked to produce a document that has almost nothing to do with how the operation actually runs,” said Iqbal.

The net effect?  A poor and inadequate record of a farming operation can emerge, especially in complicated operations. That record produced by that process can negatively impact farmers in a major way.

A negative cascading effect can result as the submitted information is consolidated into financial records that include farm program payments, insurance history and loss claims. These consolidated records can inadvertently exaggerate negative issues against performance.

The Fallow CEO, a serial founder who comes from a senior banking and operations technology background, explains how this happens: “The federal form process was built for a certain kind of farm. Growers who raise specialty crops, farm across state lines, or run layered ownership structures spend a major part of every year translating what they actually did into outdated information boxes that were not built to hold it.”

These are the records that a lender reviews prior to extending an operating line of credit.

“This may seem abstract, but it’s what Indiana and U.S. farmers face every year,” said Iqbal. “The key point? A farm that is hard to describe on paper is hard to price, and lenders make up the difference by asking for more documents rather than by getting a better picture.”

Ethan Anson, 5th generation farmer in Knox County confirmed the challenge: “It’s hard to say with real confidence what our operation qualifies for in a given year. That’s not a knock on anybody. There’s just an enormous amount of complexity stacked up in these programs.

“Fallow is working towards helping me not leave money on the table,” he emphasized.

“Crop diversification helps mitigate risk and grow our farm, but it creates a complicated record keeping process,” said Blake Mouzin, a fourth-generation farmer in Knox County. “Fallow simplifies and streamlines that process and gives us more tools for evaluation.” –

Fallow AG, the new fintech company starting up in Vincennes, plans to level that financial playing field by establishing new processes and standards to produce an accurate view of performance. The company formally began operations in The Pantheon business and innovation center here on August 30.

How will Fallow AG achieve change and resolve issues? “The company takes the documents an operation already produces, including acreage certifications, farm and tract maps and crop insurance elections, and builds a single record of the operation out of them,” explains Iqbal. “For the farmer the near-term value is practical, as Fallow AG produces  cleaner filings, a clear view of what the operation qualifies for, and documents federal program money the farming operation never claimed.”

Iqbal emphasizes one rule as the center of Fallow AG: “The farmer sees the same picture of the operation that a lender would see, and Fallow only helps a farmer improve the accuracy of that view.”

Iqbal came to the problem from an objective fintech view outside agriculture. He holds a PhD in applied mathematics and a master’s in operations research and spent years at JPMorganChase building risk and fraud systems, including the device authentication protecting more than 40 million banking customers. He went on to found and lead a fintech company in Columbus, Ohio, from 2019 through 2025.

“I never saw myself living in a small town,” he said. “But my family wanted to move closer to grandparents, so I was fortunate to move to Vincennes a year ago.”

In Knox County he found The Pantheon, a business and innovation center in downtown Vincennes, and started sitting down with farmers, lenders and county Farm Service Agency staff to learn how agricultural credit decisions get made.

“With respect to successful farming, people really don’t appreciate how hard this is to do, and how well American farmers do it,” he said.

He has since conducted two open sessions in the building, putting early versions of the Fallow AG model in front of farmers, bankers and ag industry people for evaluation and refinement.

“I found my people at the Pantheon,” he said.

“Fallow AG represents excellent potential and a strong match for the development assets in the region,” said Drew Garretson, President of the Pantheon board and a vice president with Keystone Cooperative in Indianapolis.  “We expect Fallow AG to develop the means to address key issues in agricultural-related finance and capital formation.”

The start-up is strategically positioned to tap critical resources for an agribusiness-centered initiative, according to Chris Pfaff, CEO of Knox County Indiana Economic Development. “There exists a strong depth of related capital and agribusiness experience in the Knox County region that Fallow AG can leverage as it builds its models and growth opportunities,” noted Pfaff.

“Knox County sits at the intersection of deep agricultural knowledge and a growing entrepreneurial culture, and Fallow AG’s launch reflects that,” said Christy Wright, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. 

“When a founder with fintech experience lands in a community this close to production agriculture, good things happen,” she added. “We are excited to see this kind of activity continue to grow across Indiana.”

Fallow Ag was selected this summer to take part in AgriNovus Indiana’s 2026 Velocity Accelerator. Twelve agbioscience startups were chosen statewide, four of them in the farmer-focused innovation track. Guided by research and strong mentorship, Velocity participants will create solutions to defined challenges. Velocity culminates with a $25,000 prize for each track and an opportunity to move big ideas forward.

The company works with three signed design-partner operations across Indiana row-crop and specialty farms, and will work out of The Pantheon.