AgroThrive was founded in 2006 on a simple but powerful belief: organic waste is not waste at all – it’s an untapped resource that, when handled correctly, can be transformed into safe, effective nutrition for the soil.

Our story begins with Dragan Macura, a food scientist with a background in applied microbiology. Throughout his career, he worked extensively with fermentation and digestion processes across a wide range of materials from dairy products to alcoholic beverages, while witnessing firsthand the vast amounts of nutrient-rich food waste being sent to landfills.

That experience sparked a simple but powerful idea: apply those same biological processes to transform food waste into something valuable.

At the same time, Dragan recognized that modern agriculture had steadily depleted soils of organic matter over the past century. To him, the solution was clear – close the loop by converting nutrient-rich waste into a safe, effective resource that restores soil health.

Equally important was his expertise in food safety. Long before it became standard practice, Dragan was developing and implementing HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) programs for the food industry. He recognized something others at the time hadn’t yet considered at the time – fertilizers come into direct contact with the food we eat. That insight led him to apply food-grade safety standards to fertilizer production, setting a foundation that still defines AgroThrive today.

It took years of research, experimentation, and building custom equipment to bring his vision to life. The result was AgroThrive’s Progressive Digestion Process (PDP), a 21-day, controlled microbial and enzymatic process that transforms organic materials into safe, biologically active liquid fertilizers.

When the first batches were ready, Dragan faced a skeptical market. At the time, organic products were often dismissed as “snake oil.” Instead of trying to convince growers with words, he let the results speak. He offered the product on a handshake: “If it works, pay. If it doesn’t, you owe nothing.”
Nearly every grower paid, many before the trial was even finished.

As interest grew, AgroThrive found an early distribution partner in the Salinas Valley who sold everything the company could produce locally for several years. Then in 2011, a major turning point came when Grimmway Farms began trialing the product. After just a few days, one of their managers asked: “What is this greening we’re seeing four days after application?”
Dragan’s answer was simple: it’s the fast-acting nature of the process. That moment helped solidify AgroThrive’s reputation, and the rest was history.

From the beginning, AgroThrive has been a family company. Dragan’s two sons, Marko Macura and Mirko Macura, grew up alongside the business spending weekends, summers, and school breaks working in the field, in production, and wherever help was needed. While Dragan built the scientific foundation, Marko and Mirko pursued business education to help scale and grow the company. Along the way, they’ve been joined by a team of passionate, knowledgeable professionals who share a common belief: the future of agriculture lies in reducing reliance on synthetic inputs while strengthening soil health through biology.

Today, Marko and Mirko lead AgroThrive as CEO and President, expanding operations while staying true to the company’s roots. What began as a small, experimental idea in the Salinas Valley has grown into a trusted input used across both organic and conventional agriculture, now sold throughout the United States and in multiple countries around the world.

AgroThrive is proud to play a role in environmental stewardship. The quality of the food we grow is inseparable from the impact we leave on the land, air, and water around us. From repurposing organic materials into valuable inputs to operating a solar-powered facility in California’s Salinas Valley, we are committed to building a more sustainable agricultural system – one that supports growers today while protecting resources for future generations.

At its core, AgroThrive remains committed to its mission:
To improve the health of our soils, seas, and skies by safely repurposing nutritious organic materials into sustainable bio-fertilizers.

We’re proud of where we started, and even more excited about where we’re going.