DuPont announced Aug. 10 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Francisco, Cal.-based Granular Inc., a leading provider of software and analytics tools that help farms improve efficiency, profitability and sustainability. Granular also operates AcreValue.com, the leading digital marketplace for farmland real estate.

Granular co-founder and chief executive officer Sid Gorham will continue to lead Granular and also will lead Digital Agriculture for DuPont, which includes responsibility for Encirca services, DuPont’s agronomic software business.

“This acquisition is an important component of our commitment to leading and shaping the ag tech market,” said James Collins, DuPont executive vice president with responsibility for the Agriculture segment. “We believe DuPont’s agronomy expertise, deep customer relationships and market reach will accelerate Granular’s business growth and help us deliver more value to growers around the world.”

With its focus on developing innovative solutions to help growers build strong, sustainable businesses, DuPont is creating a digital agriculture ecosystem to support information sharing, services and commerce. This acquisition will enable the business to connect growers, analytics and public and private data to advance its vision for a digitally connected, more sustainable agriculture industry.

“We started Granular to make a big impact on the business of farming,” Gorham said. “I am confident that, as part of DuPont, we will make a bigger impact even faster. DuPont shares our vision for using technology to help farms improve their dollar yield, not just their bushel yield. We are excited to pursue that vision together.”

Granular was founded in 2014 with the mission of helping farmers operate more efficient and profitable businesses. The company serves many farms in the industry across the U.S., Canada and Australia. Granular’s leading position has enabled it to generate tremendous value for growers farming nearly 2 million acres of commodity and specialty crops, according to the announcement.

“Granular’s products – both AcreValue and Farm Management Software – have become indispensable tools for me as the leader of a farm business,” said Trey Hill, CEO of Harborview Farms in Rock Hall, Md. “We also rely on Encirca services to make critical agronomy decisions on the farm, so I am excited to see how this combination of leading products, teams and technologies will shape the future of digital agriculture.”

Collins added, “We are excited to welcome the Granular team to DuPont, and we look forward to working with them to bring a clear advantage to our grower customers. Granular is recognized as a clear market leader, as evidenced by its rapidly growing customer base and its existing partnerships with agriculture industry leaders, such as the recently announced integration of Granular into John Deere’s Operation Center. We look forward to building on this strong momentum.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Following the close, Granular will continue to maintain its offices in San Francisco and Champaign/Urbana, Ill.