BlackRock led a $250m Series F round in Farmers Business Network.

BlackRock led a $250m Series F round in Farmers Business Network, a farmer-to-farmer network and e-commerce platform based out of San Carlos, California. The round saw participation from new investors Baron Capital Group, Balyasny Asset Management, Mandi Ventures, Lupa Systems and Ron Shaich. Existing investors DBL Partners, Temasek, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, GV, Expanding Capital, and Kleiner Perkins also took part in the funding. Certain funds managed by Fidelity Investments Canada and affiliates also participated in the financing. "Our mission as a company is to improve the profitability of farming families around the world for generations to come. Many farmers and ranchers were already struggling before the disruption and financial challenges brought on by the pandemic. We will double down on putting farmers first by further investing in technologies that lower costs, improve transparency and create local community development opportunities in rural areas," Amol Deshpande, FBN Co-Founder and CEO.