Nufarm

What Nufarm does

Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) is a global crop protection and seed technologies company headquartered in Australia (with legal/registered operations at Laverton North, Victoria, and a long-standing Melbourne base) and a workforce of roughly 3,000+ people operating across nearly 50 countries. Tracing its heritage to New Zealand Farmers' Fertilizer Co Ltd (1916) and the establishment of Nufarm Australia in the 1950s, the company sources and formulates active ingredients into herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides for farmers and growers, and complements this with seed technologies through its wholly owned Nuseed platform (canola, sunflower, sorghum, omega-3 canola, carinata, and energy cane). It serves commercial farmers, smallholders, distribution channel partners, and — in an emerging vertical — the biofuels and renewable energy sector.

The company's technology base spans proprietary formulation methods and specialty seed genetics. Notable components include DROPZONE® precision application technology (drift reduction), Dual Salt Technology™ powering the WeedMaster XHL herbicide premix, the RSB-certified Nufarm Carinata Production System (a fully traceable non-food biofuel feedstock supply chain), and the Nuseed platform, which commercialised the world's first plant-based omega-3 (Nutriterra). Manufacturing runs across 10 ISO 14001-accredited sites accounting for over 99% of crop protection production volume.

Nufarm's business model is a channel-driven, seasonal, commodity-exposed manufacturing operation. Revenue is generated primarily through crop protection product sales distributed via wholesalers, retailers, and cooperatives, supplemented by seed sales and technology licensing through Nuseed and an offtake arrangement with bp for carinata oil used in Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Renewable Diesel. Go-to-market is executed through country-specific sales organizations (e.g., Nufarm Americas, Nufarm Europe GmbH, Nufarm Benelux) and direct enterprise engagement, with North America identified as a key growth region. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated through distribution networks. H1 FY2026 results showed underlying EBITDA of AUD 243 million (up 18% YoY), gross profit margin of 33.1% (highest in two decades), and underlying NPAT of AUD 52 million (up 35% YoY), with net debt-to-EBITDA reduced from 4.5x to 3.6x.

Name

Nufarm

Legal name

Nufarm Limited

Website

https://nufarm.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Nufarm is an Australian-based global crop protection and seed technologies company, manufacturing herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides plus specialty seeds (via Nuseed) for farmers, distributors, and biofuel feedstock buyers across nearly 50 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crop Protection and Seed Technologies

NAICS

Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (32532), Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (325320), Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253)

SIC

Agricultural Chemicals (2870), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Biological Formulation, Fermentation & Scale-Up Manufacturing (AFABAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organic Adjuvants & Spray Aids (OMRI Surfactants, Stickers, Oils) (AFABAKAL), Organic & Biological Input Retail (Biostimulants, Biopesticides, OMRI) (AFABAJAK)

Keywords

• Crop protection chemicals
• Agricultural herbicides
• Seed technology
• Specialty seeds
• Biological pest control

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices28 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Crop Protection Products: Sourcing and formulating active ingredients for herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, distributed through wholesalers, retailers and cooperatives. Revenue shaped by seasonal planting and spraying cycles and agricultural commodity price cycles, with balance between branded formulations and commoditized off-patent products.
2. Seed Technologies: Sale of seeds including omega-3 canola (Nutriterra), carinata for biofuels, energy cane, sunflower, and sorghum through the Nuseed platform. Revenue derived from seed sales and technology licensing.
3. Carinata Biofuel Feedstock Offtake: Offtake agreement with bp for carinata oil produced from Nufarm's Carinata Production System, used for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel (RD). The partnership was extended to 2050 with milestone-based funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nufarm manufactures and sells a comprehensive portfolio of crop protection products — herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators and adjuvants — alongside proprietary seed technologies (omega-3 canola, carinata, energy cane, sunflower, sorghum) under the Nuseed platform and biological solutions under the NuBio brand. The company sources and formulates active ingredients, distributes through wholesalers, retailers and cooperatives globally, and operates 10 ISO 14001-accredited manufacturing sites across nearly 50 countries.

Product overview

Nufarm offers a comprehensive crop protection and seed technologies portfolio organized around three core pillars: Crop Protection (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, and adjuvants), Seeds (through the Nuseed platform including specialty seeds for human nutrition and biofuels), and Biologicals (under the NuBio brand). The portfolio includes branded products like DROPZONE technology, Oxbow herbicide, Carnadine insecticide, and Joust fungicide, alongside specialty seeds such as omega-3 canola, carinata for biofuels, and energy cane. Nufarm's products serve agricultural, horticultural, and industrial vegetation management markets across nearly 50 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NuBio: Biological solutions brand for sustainable crop protection
• Nuseed
• DROPZONE
• Nucrop
• Sustainable Potato Platform (SPP)
• NuBio

Products and services

• Crop Protection Solutions Comprehensive range of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and plant science solutions for sustainable farming practices, sold to commercial farmers, distributors and cooperatives globally.
• Nuseed Seed Technologies Seed technology platform providing hybrid crops including canola, sunflower, sorghum, omega-3 canola, and carinata for various end markets including human nutrition, animal feed and biofuels.
• Oxbow Herbicide Phenoxy herbicide effective on weeds that have become resistant to other herbicides, particularly in grain growing regions.
• Carnadine Insecticide Broad spectrum insecticide containing the active ingredient acetamiprid, offering an effective alternative to less sustainable competitor products.
• WeedMaster XHL Herbicide Herbicide premix powered by patented Dual Salt Technology, combining isopropylamine and potassium salt forms for advanced weed control.
• WeedMaster NHL Herbicide Herbicide launched ahead of the 2026 season for corn and soybean growers.
• Valtera Cereals Herbicide Herbicide blend offering residual soil active and burndown weed control for up to eight weeks in cereals.
• Credit Xtreme Herbicide

Quantifiable outcome

• H1 FY2026 underlying EBITDA up 18% to AUD 243 million, with gross profit margin of 33.1% — highest in two decades.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• bpflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Nufarm and bp partnership to accelerate Nuseed Carinata as a low-carbon biofuel feedstock. The original agreement was signed in 2022 and extended to 2050 in March 2026, covering Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel (RD). The amended agreement includes a capital-light investment model with milestone-based funding to advance Carinata seed technology and expand operations across South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) and an Australian pilot program. The partnership addresses growing biofuel demand driven by government mandates requiring industries to meet interim emissions targets by 2030 and net-zero targets by 2050.
• GranbiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Long-term alliance with Granbio drives global Energy Cane expansion, strengthening the biomass-to-fuel value chain for scalable renewable feedstock.
• CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Long-standing partnership with CSIRO in Australia to deliver crop protection solutions and to commercialise the world's first plant-based omega-3. Nuseed (Nufarm's seed platform) collaborated with CSIRO and GRDC (Grains Research and Development Corporation) on the plant-based Omega-3 project.
• KD PharmaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with KD Pharma in the development of omega-3 products for human nutrition.
• Yield 20minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Yield 20 in biomass oil and related initiatives.
• UnileverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Unilever in biomass oil to replace petrochemical ingredients in beauty and household cleaning products.
• Robotics PluscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Robotics Plus to develop quantum sprayer technology for the Prospr™ robot, advancing precision agricultural solutions.
• Kilter AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Norwegian-based Kilter to develop autonomous precision application robots for highly targeted herbicide application. Nufarm participated in Kilter's €6.5 million strategic financing round led by Kubota Corporation (April 2026).
• EnkocoreTechnology or IntegrationNufarm was one of the first companies to invest in Enko's ENKOMPASSTM technology platform, which combines DNA-encoded library screening with machine learning and structure-based design to quickly find new, better performing, and more targeted chemistries for crop protection.
• Crop.ZoneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Crop.Zone to develop Nucrop, a hybrid herbicide-electric solution for chemical-free plant control.
• University of QueenslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the University of Queensland securing federal funding to establish the Australian Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection (2017-2019).
• Marrone BiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Marrone Bio to develop Grandevo Bioinsecticides (2017-2019).
• WWF (World Wildlife Fund)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNufarm operates in collaboration with WWF and the Bioplastics Feedstock Alliance, with carinata currently grown primarily in Latin America and third-party certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB).
• Sumitomo ChemicalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement signed 2011-2013 with Sumitomo to co-develop new formulations of crop protection products.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Corteva: Global crop protection and seed company with overlapping herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide portfolios as well as seed genetics — directly comparable to Nufarm in product category, customer base (row-crop farmers), and distribution model.
• ADAMA: Israel-based global crop protection company specializing in off-patent formulations — directly comparable to Nufarm's branded-and-generic crop protection model with similar customer base and distribution through ag retailers. ADAMA previously divested EU assets that Nufarm acquired.
• FMC Corporation: US-listed pure-play crop protection company with global herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide portfolio — closely comparable to Nufarm in product mix, channel-to-grower GTM, and exposure to row-crop and specialty crop markets.
• UPL Limited: India-based global crop protection company with broad herbicide/insecticide/fungicide portfolio and growing biologicals presence — directly comparable to Nufarm's formulation-driven model and emerging markets exposure.
• Sumitomo Chemical: Japanese chemical company with crop protection and biorational solutions — overlaps Nufarm in crop chemistry (and has a prior co-development partnership with Nufarm), competing in similar global distribution channels.
• Albaugh: US-based global crop protection company focused on off-patent active ingredients and proprietary formulations — closely comparable to Nufarm's formulation-driven model with strong Americas and European presence.

Broad incumbents

• Syngenta: Global agribusiness giant offering crop protection, seeds, and digital agriculture as part of a broader integrated platform — broader portfolio than Nufarm and significantly larger R&D budget, but overlapping product categories.
• Bayer Crop Science: Division of Bayer offering crop protection, seeds, and digital farming tools — much larger and integrated, but directly competes with Nufarm in herbicides (especially glyphosate-based) and other chemistries.
• BASF Agricultural Solutions: BASF's agriculture division offering fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and seed treatment — broad incumbent with overlapping product categories, particularly in European markets where both companies have strong presence.

Emerging players

• Marrone Bio Innovations (now part of Bioceres Crop Solutions): Biological crop protection and plant health company with partial overlap to Nufarm's NuBio biologicals line (Marrone previously partnered with Nufarm on Grandevo Bioinsecticides) — comparable in biologicals segment, narrower in scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nufarmus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nufarm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments5 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nufarm