After pitching in last week’s AgLaunch Row Crop Challenge, six startup companies have been chosen to participate in the AgLaunch365 program and to potentially receive investment from Innova Memphis and Ag Ventures Alliance.
These companies will spend early 2021 working on refining their business plans as part of the AgLaunch365 program all with the goal of being in the field in May for on-farm trials.
The AgLaunch Row Crop Challenge winners are addressing pain points identified by farmers like worker safety, traceability, weed management, and more.
The six startups are:
Global Neighbor (Dayton, Ohio)
Global Neighbor’s first product for ag, the weed seed destroyer, uses light to make weed seeds collected at harvest non-viable, thereby addressing the problem of escape and herbicide-resistant weeds in grain crops.
Index Biosystems (Toronto, Ontario)
Index Biosystems designs genetic traceability into food system products, like the genetically barcoded yeast product which can be used as a biological label alongside any food system product.
JLI Robotics (Aurora, Nebraska)
The Grain Weevil powered by JLI Robotics is a mobile robot that scurries across the top of the grain inside of a storage bin performing tasks that no human should ever do.
LeafTech Ag (Greenfield, Indiana)
LeafTech Ag provides an integrated handheld digital lab and crop management solution for enhanced crop quality and performance.
ReEnvision Ag (Nora Springs, Iowa)
The ReEnvision Ag Planter system works to allow farmers to plant in more diverse conditions without the pain of compaction the current industry standard causes.
Spornado (Toronto, Ontario)
The Spornado early alert system for crop disease helps growers optimize their pesticide use. The wind-powered air sampler and highly sensitive DNA analysis allows farmers to know when crop disease is in the air long before it is seen in the field, enabling them to spray precisely; saving time, money, and yields.
Previous coverage
Continuum Ag receives $50,000 investment from Ag Startup Engine and Ag Ventures Alliance -Nov. 12, 2020
Innova Memphis invests in Iowa companies as it expands its focus to agtech -Nov. 14, 2018
