Farmers Edge Inc T.FDGE

So bearish that maybe the bulls will have their day?

[dt_core]

I spent a few days getting acquainted with FDGE (interesting name if ever its deemed the books are cooked!). I used to own AJX, a company with lots of promise that never fully materialized. What I've learned is that farmers are fickle and naysayers so convincing them to change their ways and adopt new services, especially those related to tech, tends to be met with skeptisism and a long adoption window. Having said all that precision ag particularly on the data side will become more important as climate change wreaks havoc on the world and reduces yields so I can get behind the macro story. So my question to those on the board that are investors in Farmers Edge is what potential do you really see in the company and can this company ever turn things around before running out of cash? I like that Fairfax is a significant investor but at the same time I'm wondering why they simply haven't taken the company private again given the share price (it would be easy for them to do and a blip on the cash use radar for them). I know Fairfax has bought some shares in the open market but it's not particularly material to them in terms of size, rather it just seems to be signaling.

Some other questions and observations if anyone knows the answer or cares to comment:

1. Behind the scenes its seems management has a lot of unqualified individuals in high level roles and having the CEO's wife act as CMO despite a poor track record and non-relevant experience rings a alarm bells about nepotism and potentially misdeeds behind the surface (check out news on Bridging Finance to see how a situation like that can incredibly go wrong). I also saw discussions that unofficially the CFO Patrick left due to significant concerns about the company's direction and leadership, though that hasn't been confirmed. 

2. Total acres seems to be a focus but monetizing those acres has become increasingly challenging and conversion rates from free to paid customer seem to be droping consistently. I'm sure there is more to the story, some management explanation that could either be real or made up but wondering what others think. Is there a deeper level of beneath the surface analysis that gives you comfort that depsite recent trends the long term looks positive?

3. Just googling Farmers Edge and FieldCommand on farmer blogs/review sites and one is met with a plethora of poor commentary, bad customer service, and customers not interested in retaining FDGE services. Why is this? Is this related to the company's core product and can they turn it around? If so what steps have they initated?

4. Cash flow - big negative, the latest management presentation suggests much lower cash use in 2022 and sufficient capital to get to breakeven. Analyst reports suggest non cash flow neutrality until 2024 at the earliest and a likely need to raise additional capital (though unclear if that's debt or equity). Who do you think is right and why?

5. How does FarmersEdge solutions compare to other services in the market such as FieldView? What advantages does FarmersEdge provide and is it something that farmers actually care about enough to pay for?

[gossamer4]

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[Possibleidiot01]

Dt-core Well written as usual. I have no answers for your questions ( did you see the John Deere autonomous tractor release? ). What I do have is major scepticism about Fairfax's involvement. It could be I'm still angry about their involvement in AGT Food  and Ingredients where I was not happy with the resulting takeover ( under?) And there's talk of AGT going public again. You

[sparkyAg]

I made a couple of post on this puppy when it want public.  I just never got the ridiculous valuation. Good management can make something out of nothing.  But that does not appear to be the case here.   They appear to have had a chance and squandered it.  This business does not appear to have a stratgic advantage over anyone.   Precision Ag is becoming a big

[deepervalue1]

I still think the big idea the company is selling has a lot of potential but articles like this leave me on the sidelines until there is positive momentum with real substance. https://knowtechie.com/farmers-edge-5-reasons-why-you-should-avoid-funding-this-company/

[deepervalue1]

Looking more at this article I'm struggling to verify some of the numbers the author presented back to the filings, so take it with a grain salt and do your own verifications/research on the authors statements.

[Possibleidiot01]

Hey sparkyAg I had to  look up Deveron and Clean Seed which have revenues that are a little low for me to consider investing in. Interested to see you mention Bee Vectoring which is a story stock I have followed for a few years with potentially disruptive green tech. Again  mimimal revnues but they have something unique. You could have mentioned my pick ? - Water Ways Technologies - WWT

[navajojoe]

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[tinkvid]

I put a little money in. I think regenerative agriculture will become more prominent.

[rabnud]

one would think this whole deal would be widely used considering what things like seed, fertilizer and high equipemnt costs we are starting to see now more than ever