AgriNovus challenge to focus on farm labor shortage, administrative management
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AgriNovus Indiana is looking for tech-enabled businesses to participate in this year’s Producer-Led Innovation Challenge.
The competition, which awards a $25,000 grand prize, is designed to find innovative solutions to problems farmers face on a daily basis. This year, AgriNovus aims to address ongoing labor shortages on farms, as well as administrative management issues among farmers.
“The challenge that we scope this year will give innovators [the option] to tackle any of those problems individually, or if they want to combine them all into one ultimate solution, that’ll be an option for them as well,” said Geoff Zentz, senior director of innovation for AgriNovus.
Zentz told Inside INdiana Business the number one goal of the challenge is to impact Indiana’s producers in a positive way.
“Commodity prices are at lows. The pinch on the farm is very real, and so in the short term, all of the teams that are going to be participating in this year’s challenges are going to be challenged to be on farm and make an impact year one,” he said. “That’s the most pressing issue that we’ve got on the plate and we want to tackle.”
AgriNovus says the challenge is open to companies, entrepreneurs, students and innovators to develop technology that can reduce labor needs “without facing the strategic decision between investment risk and labor uncertainty.”
“Farmers continue to face critical headwinds when it comes to securing adequate on-farm labor,” AgriNovus CEO Mitch Frazier said in written remarks. “The Producer-Led Innovation Challenge creates an opportunity for tech innovators to develop solutions that reduce administrative burden and drives value on the farm.”
This year’s challenge will focus on digital innovation in at least one of five key areas:
- Data Management – developing a unified solution that consolidates financial, agronomic and credit program data to enable seamless access and management in real time;
- Government Program Compliance – creating tools to streamline government compliance processes for incentive and risk management programs, reducing the farmer’s time on tasks;
- Labor Management – automating and optimizing labor scheduling, tracking time and task assignment based on real time operational needs and worker availability;
- Labor Resource Access – designing a platform that simplifies the navigation of labor programs like H2-A, helping producers connect with available labor resources more efficiently despite bureaucratic hurdles; and
- Robotics and Automation – integrating robotics and automation to supplement human labor, addressing worker shortages while minimizing the financial and logistical burden on producers.
Participants in the challenge can work to develop technology that addresses one or several areas of focus. Zentz said the nine-week program will allow the participants to work with AgriNovus wherever they may be in the development process.
“They may come in with just an idea, and we help them build a business model, understand customer and go-to-market strategy, and then at the end of the program, the final deliverable is a six-minute pitch that is then judged by a panel of growers and farmers that select the ultimate winner,” he said.
Since its inception in 2020, every company that has won the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge has either gone on to receive follow-on funding or has been acquired.
“We also have enabled the creation of net new companies in the agbioscience ecosystem,” Zentz said. “And so there’s a place in this program for everybody, from the student entrepreneur that wants to dip their toe in to existing business that is running really hard at the problems that they’re facing.”
Last year’s winner was Hammond-based FiberX, which sources and converts corn stover into a feedstock for use in the chemical and materials sectors. The company went on to close on an additional round of funding that included investment from Purdue Innovates.
Applications for the 2024 Producer-Led Innovation Challenge are being accepted through Sept. 7. The program will kick off two days later and run through Nov. 8.
The winner will be announced during an event on Dec. 4.