Farmers Business Network (FBN) has selected the six startups to take place in its first innovation showcase at its Farmer2Farmer conference in Omaha in December.
The startup launched the startup competition to showcase the latest in agriculture innovation to its farmer members, and to give startups the opportunity to get exposure and real-time feedback from their target customers.
“Farmers Business Network is committed to building the future farm economy. This is a big task and we cannot do it alone. We’ve put together a showcase of visionary entrepreneurs that understand where the ag industry is going, and ways that they can provide incredible value to farmers,” said Danny Turkovich, head of product at Farmers Business Network.
“By teaming up with AgFunder, we wanted to provide these companies an opportunity to get their ideas in front of thousands of North America’s most innovative farmers, and accelerate these entrepreneurs ability to find meaningful product-market fit.”
The chosen startups will be given seven minutes to pitch their technologies in front of a judging panel of farmers, investors, and educators, and an audience of an expected 3,000 farmers and industry representatives. They will receive real-time feedback and questions from the judging panel as well as the audience.
The Six Presenting Startups
AgHelp, a farm and agriculture recruitment platform addressing the acute agriculture labor shortage by connecting agricultural employers, farm workers, and worker support agencies more efficiently and cost-effectively than farm employers’ current methods.
AgNext, robotic soil sampling technology to help farmers optimize yields and input costs. The SmartCore leverages advanced GPS to collect and package soil samples.
Augean Robotics, a farm robotics startup whose first robot, the Burro, can follow workers, carry cargo, sensors, or autonomy implements around autonomously. Augean is currently working with fresh fruit farmers.
Centaur Ag, a post-harvest grain storage monitoring startup offering a digital software-as-a-service platform using connected sensors.
FeedX, a digital full stack of feed, FeedX is an agribusiness marketplace selling feed.
Kiwi Technologies, a drone startup providing crop protection application services and a network of drone pilots.
Solving Big Problems
Turkovich said FBN chose these startups because they are solving for the “big problems facing farmers and have ambitious ideas for how the world will work if their innovation succeeds.”
“We look for ideas that are unique in their approach to problems, are not technology fads, and could plausibly have a major impact on farmers in the next 5 years,” he added.
Farmer2Farmer is the premier business-focused farmer conference. Sharpened pencils and powered up calculators are put into action as production, technology, and marketing decisions are held up to the light in preparation for next season.
Farmers who attend Farmer2Farmer are focused on the future of their operation, learning from one another for tips towards incremental gains, and on improving the profitability of their businesses, not just gaining higher yields. They understand disruption and doing things differently is the key to longevity, and embrace the idea that technology needs to be part of the answer to improve.
This December 12-14 in Omaha, Nebraska more than 3,000 farmers will challenge the status quo, change long-standing habits, alter long-standing plans and learn new practices to ‘Take Control’ of the 2019 season and beyond.
Professionals from across the ag industry are welcome to join Farmers Business Network, farmers and leading companies at Farmer2Farmer. Register at Farmer2Farmer.ag.
**This post is sponsored by Farmers Business Network, an AgFunder Network Partner. Find out more about the Network Partners program here.
