Biological Innovation for Agriculture
Creating synergistic biological solutions for healthier plants, people and planet.
Where the agriculture industry has problems, nature provides solutions.
Unlocking nature’s ability to improve production efficiency while combating excess fertilizer use, restrictions on chemical use, pesticide and herbicide resistance — for farmers, challenges appear at every turn and even current solutions can create their own sets of problems.
Imagine how miraculous it would be if there was a natural way to effectively and sustainably address them all at once.
PlantSustain leverages the naturally symbiotic relationship between organic chemistry, biology and plants to improve production, strengthen resilience and help crops reach their genetic potential.
PlantSustain provides a platform of biological solutions at scale to improve plant health and vigor, and enhance the impact of microbial and nutritional inputs and soil resources.
Bacteria and fungi live naturally within the soil and internal tissues of plants. These relationships are ‘symbiotic’, whereby the plants nourish the microbes, which in turn provide biological control and biological nutrition benefits to plants.
These benefits are known to reduce the need for chemical pest and disease control inputs, and synthetic fertilizer applications, resulting in more sustainable farming systems.
PlantSustain’s platform of biological inputs supports both plant growth and microbe survival, delivering greater resource-use efficiency for higher, more consistent returns to growers.
News
Generation Food Rural Partners Launches PlantSustain to Revolutionize the Plant Protection and Soil Amendment Industries, Appoints CEO
PlantSustain will partner with key research institutions to focus on the commercialization of groundbreaking biological innovation for Agriculture.
About PlantSustain
PlantSustain is a biocidal microbe technology company aiming to replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides with a platform of naturally symbiotic bacteria and fungi solutions. Leveraging the expertise and innovation developed at leading universities and research institutes, we boost plants’ natural resistance while increasing nutritional intake for healthier crops and the environment.
PlantSustain was established within the FoodTech investor Big Idea Ventures’ Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) Fund.
Simon Hill
CEO
Simon brings a rich background in family farming, agricultural science, and corporate development. With a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Agricultural College. His journey from rural South Australia to global leadership underscores his commitment to driving positive change and sustainability in the agricultural industry.
Simon’s career trajectory evolved from agronomy to senior roles in corporate management, including major account management for Syngenta in Southern Australia and leading the containerized grain trading division of the Australian Barley Board — ABB Grain.
Energized by international business development, Simon has cultivated businesses across Australia, Asia, East Africa, and the USA, where he has been based over the past two decades. He has advised mid-market private equity firms on international corporate development strategies and guided agricultural technology companies in global market expansion. In his previous role as COO at Biolevel, a UK-based biological nutrition company, he drove international development operations, forging strategic partnerships and fueling revenue growth.
Now as CEO of PlantSustain, Simon spearheads the identification, screening and conceptual proof of biological innovation, leading commercialization efforts to bridge the gap between novel research and practical application in agriculture.
PARTNERS
About the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) Fund
Generation Food Rural Partners (“GFRP” or the “Fund”) is a RBIC-licensed investment fund designed to drive economic growth and development in rural communities in the US. The Fund invests in the area of Food, Agriculture and Protein technologies to form new companies based on intellectual property, creating living wage jobs at its portfolio companies.
GFRP is backed by members of the Farm Credit System, including Farm Credit Services of America, CoBank, Compeer Financial and Mid-America Farm Credit. GFRP is a part of Big Idea Ventures, the world’s most active investor in FoodTech, investing in the best food technology and AgriTech companies globally.
Big Idea Ventures has teams in the United States, Europe and Asia and has invested in more than 110 companies across 30 countries.