by Peter Wren-Hilton | Jul 7, 2025 | 2025 Salinas Biological Summit
In her Welcome address at this year’s Salinas Biological Summit, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross called for post-Summit action. It’s fair to say that I think we delivered!
For Wharf42, two of the highlights of this year’s Summit were the signing of an MOU/LOI between Platform10 and BPIA/CSIRO. Both signings illustrate just how far Platform10 has come since its launch in November 2023.
The signing with BPIA (Biological Products Industry Alliance) brings together North America’s largest biological industry body with Platform10. The signing with CSIRO brings together Australia’s key science agency and Platform10. Whilst the two groups are different, they bring together key stakeholder interests: Growers, researchers and industry. They also represent counter-seasonal opportunities by brining northern and southern hemisphere regions together.
Wharf 42 will be uploading every Summit video to this website on Thursday 10 July. You can check out both signings and the conversations leading up to them after this date.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | May 21, 2025 | Wharf42
The 2025 Salinas Biological Summit will see the launch of the Global AgriBio Start-up Network; a network that will provide both in-person and virtual support to the rapidly emerging early-stage biological community.
Whilst the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology in Salinas will provide a physical base, webinars and virtual meetups will ensure that start-ups everywhere can connect and engage with the Network program. The Network will partner with other ag biological-based organizations, innovators and investors, and longer-term will become a potentially significant feeder channel for Platform10.
Supporting the build of the Global AgriBio Start-up Network will be Wharf42’s Palo Alto-based Director, Growth Strategies, Claire Lee.
Claire spent eight years at Silicon Valley Bank – six of those as Head of SVB’s Startup Banking Division and later as Global Brand Ambassador at SVB’s investment arm, SVB Capital.
Claire joined SVB in 2014 from Microsoft, where she spent a decade working on emerging technologies, including cloud and emerging businesses (startups) in emerging markets. During her time at Microsoft, Claire led the Local Software Economy initiative engaging Government, Academia and the private sector, before moving to California in 2011 to join Microsoft’s Emerging Business Group. Claire was part of the leadership team that brought Microsoft BizSpark and Microsoft Ventures to market.
In short, Claire has been here before. Building global start-up ecosystems have been a core KPI for the best part of 15 years. As the Mixing Bowl’s 2023 Biologicals Landscape Map & 2024 Biocontrol Landscape Map demonstrate, there are hundreds of start-ups around the world engaged in ag biological research, development & commercialization. The Global AgriBio Start-up Network is being designed to provide the support and advise necessary to assist these companies scale to assist growers address some of the key input challenges that they face.
At the 2023 Summit, we announced the launch of Platform10. I cannot be more excited that at next month’s 2025 Summit, we’ll be announcing the launch of another major global initiative designed to build a better-connected & strategically important start-up community..
by Peter Wren-Hilton | May 12, 2025 | 2025 Salinas Biological Summit
We are delighted to once again share a content-rich program for the 2025 Salinas Biological Summit.
Key themes in June will address some of the major opportunities and challenges facing biologicals and the broader ag inputs market;
- the regulatory environment
- the consumer environment
- emerging technologies
- the investment landscape
- cross-border opportunities
Growers will once again be at the center of the conversation. When Wharf42 & Western Growers first hosted the Salinas Biological Summit back in 2023, grower engagement was highlighted as a key purpose. 2025 is no different.
As well as providing highly informative content from both national and international experts, the Summit provides a great platform for networking and delegate engagement.
We are delighted to be in Woodland for the 2025 Summit. With its close proximity to Davis & Sacramento, it provides us with the opportunity to host additional delegate side events throughout the Summit week.
Check out Program | The 2025 Salinas Biological Summit | Wharf42 Limited for further updates.
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Apr 18, 2025 | Brisbane Biological Symposium
Having just arrived back from the US, it’s Back to the Future!
At February’s Brisbane Biological Symposium, delegates were treated to a number of highly insightful presentations and panel discussions, delivered by experienced local and international experts.
To ensure that the content rich program could be shared, every session was recorded to enable the wider global ag inputs industry to view post-event. Today, I’m delighted to be able to provide the VIMEO link to enable you to view all 16 recorded sessions.
Check out the link here: 2025 Brisbane Biological Symposium on Vimeo
One of the major outcomes of February’s Symposium was the joint contribution from key Australian & New Zealand research institutes. It was great to have representatives from CSIRO, Hort Innovation, GRDC, Plant & Food Research & AgResearch sharing the same platform.
This trans-Tasman input will be reflected at June’s 2025 Salinas Biological Summit. As New Zealand & Australia gear up to launch Platform10 field trials in 2025/2026, delegates in Woodland will hear from significant Australia and New Zealand stakeholders.
For anyone who has tracked Wharf42 over the years, building a strong trans-Tasman agritech ecosystem has been a key target of ours. February’s Brisbane Biological Symposium delivered that in spades.
Thanks once again to all the speakers and attendees who helped deliver such an inspiring day. Your collective contribution was awesome!
by Peter Wren-Hilton | Feb 26, 2025 | evokeAG
Wharf42 experienced an awesome evokeAG 2025!
We were joined in Brisbane, Australia, by Dennis Donohue, Director, Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology & Dr. Jeana Cadby, Western Growers Director, Environment & Science.
On Monday 17th, we all took part in the Brisbane Biological Symposium, co-hosted with CSIRO & supported by AgriFutures Australia. The Symposium gave us the opportunity to soft-launch Platform10 in Australia. Dr Adrian Percy, Executive Director of the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (N.C. PSI) and Platform10 Advisory Board member gave the keynote speech. A number of leading Australian and New Zealand speakers provided valuable insights into the opportunities facing the trans-Tasman region. I was delighted that three key New Zealand organisations spoke at the event; Plant & Food Research, AgResearch & ‘A Lighter Touch‘.
The collaborative trans-Tasman theme continued well after the Symposium. On Wednesday 19th, I had the opportunity to moderate the Platform10 Biologicals panel at an evokeAG 2025 conference breakout session. I was joined by Adrian, Jeana & Louise Thatcher from CSIRO. We continued to discuss how this global initiative could support farmers & growers everywhere transition from hard chemical pesticides to lighter chemistry and biologicals. The conversations went well beyond the rooms of the conference. On Thursday & Friday last week, following evokeAG 2025, I engaged in several wash-up meetings with key Australian stakeholders looking to engage with Platform10.
Those conversations continue today. Over the coming weeks, I expect to be able to share details of a trans-Tasman framework designed to bring key New Zealand & Australian stakeholders together to take a leading role in the build of Platform10’s global outreach. It’s an opportunity for our region to step up and play a significant role in helping farmers and growers everywhere adapt to the world’s changing regulatory and consumer environment.
evokeAG 2025 was a great place to start this trans-Tasman discussion. Please check out this website for ongoing updates as these conversations develop.
