This company is making the world’s most resilient crops to survive climate change

Indigo Ag develops crops capable of surviving climate change. The company finds plants thriving where they shouldn’t, then tests them for unique microbes that the company can use in natural seed coatings to cultivate additional hardy specimens. In 2018, Indigo’s resilient corn demonstrated a 5.5% median uplift in yield per acre over traditional seed. The company’s wheat yields improved around 13%, with gains in rice, soybeans, and cotton as well. Farmers in five countries have planted more than a million acres of Indigo-enhanced seed, embracing what cofounder and chief innovation officer Geoffrey von Maltzahn calls a “probiotic” approach to agriculture. Indigo pro­jects more than $1 billion in revenue this year.