A farm-centric innovation model has been the focus of the AgLaunch and Farm Journal Row Crop Challenge to aid early-stage ag tech startups to solve on-farm problems.
For the 2020 Row Crop Challenge, the following emerging businesses have been vetted and chosen by a panel of farmers and other industry experts. 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.
To learn more about each innovation, attend the Online Top Producer Summit. Each company has a pitch video overviewing their product and its goals. Then you can vote for your favorite. The winner will receive the “Top Producer Summit Top Pick” honor.
You can vote once per entry per day, and voting will conclude on March 5.
Here’s a quick overview of the finalists:
- Global Neighbor’s weed seed destroyer, uses light to make weed seeds collected at harvest non-viable, addressing the problem of escape and herbicide-resistant weeds.
- 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 provides an integrated handheld digital lab and crop management solution for enhanced crop quality and performance.
- 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.
- The Spornado system is an air sampler powered by wind with highly sensitive DNA analysis alerting farmers when crop disease is in the air before it is seen in the field.
This year’s Row Crop Challenge focused on recruiting teams addressing sustainability measures as laid out in the Cotton Trust Protocol. Participants have an opportunity to receive investment from Innova Memphis and AgVentures Alliance.
You can still register for the Online Top Producer Summit, which gives you access to content through March 31. Use the code “ONDEMAND” to take $25 off your registration fee.
Read more coverage of the Top Producer Summit.
