2025 Market Facts VRP - Flipbook - Page 82
74 | ECO NO MI C PRO FI L E & MA R K ET FACT S 2025
COURTESY MEATI.
Meati closed its massive facility in Thornton ahead of a sale of the company.
AGRICULTURE
Outlook mixed for agriculture sector
Forecasting in the agriculture sector has always been a risky endeavor,
whether one is attempting to predict the weather or economic conditions.
That’s certainly the case in 2025, when the outlook looks sunny in some
aspects but cloudy in others.
On the positive side, U.S. net farm income, which measures profits, is
projected to increase in 2025 after declines in 2023 and 2024. Net farm
income reached a record high in 2022. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
forecasts 2025 net farm income to reach $41 billion, up 29.5% from 2024.
But strong domestic demand could be countered by challenges in
exports, with ongoing tariff battles potentially affecting demand for U.S.
products overseas.
And volatility in commodity prices, increasing farm debt and continued
consolidation in the ag industry pose additional challenges.
In the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, agribusinesses reflect
differing economic conditions:
• Global food company JBS (NYSE: JBS) rang the opening bell on Wall
Street in July, in celebration of the company’s listing on the New York
Stock Exchange. JBS USA, the company’s North American subsidiary,
is based in Greeley.
• Boulder-based Meati Foods, a mushroom-based whole-food proteins
producer that raised about $400 million from investors in recent years
prior to its sudden financial implosion this spring, could soon be sold
for about $4 million. The news came after the company announced
plans to close its massive production facility in Thornton, eliminating
150 jobs.
• S&W Seed Co. (Nasdaq: SANW), which develops, produces and sells
alfalfa and sorghum seeds, defaulted on a line of credit, fired its CEO,
terminated all non-essential staff and announced plans to voluntarily
delist its stock from the Nasdaq exchange.
• Halter, a New Zealand ag-tech company behind a fenceless system to
help cattle ranchers manage their herds, has a new home on the Front
Range not far from where the University of Colorado Buffaloes roam.
The company, which boasts a $1 billion valuation after its recent $100
million Series D fundraising round, has established its North American headquarters in Boulder.
• Colorado State University recently celebrated the opening of its
10th Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station — the Metropolitan
Agricultural Research Center, or MARC. Located at CSU Spur in
Denver, the new center focuses on urban agriculture, organic growing
methods and harnessing the latest agricultural technology.
As 2025 progresses and 2026 awaits, expect a continued mixed outlook
for agriculture, and for agribusinesses in the region.
