A John Deere tractor fitted with Smart Ag’s AutoCart driverless technology trucks through a demonstration field during the 2018 Farm Progress Show. Photo by Kate Hayden Driverless cars may take over most of the national headlines these days, but an Iowa software company is betting that autonomous vehicles can make a much larger impact off […]

Ag Startup Engine has announced a second investment of $25,000 in FarmlandFinder, a search software that allows clients to buy, search for and sell agricultural land and property information, reports Clay & Milk. FarmlandFinder, formerly known as Terva, serves land owners and buyers in Iowa but will expand into 12 states by this winter, founder and […]

Inside the Varied Industries Building this week at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, visitors will find hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest in pork production – including FarrPro founder and CEO Amos Petersen. FarrPro is preparing to manufacture 300 units of its piglet-saving farrowing technology and enter the commercial market in a year. “I think we’ll […]

By the end of May, the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator welcomes six new startups fresh on the agriculture field to Des Moines. Each of those startups selected to participate receives $40,000 in seed funding, subsidized housing throughout the 94 days, and time to build mentorships, partnerships and a broader agritech network in Iowa, Executive Director Megan […]

Co-founder and CEO Arsalan Lodhi likes to compare agtech startup Wisran to public utilities metering. Without water or gas meters, Lodhi said, communities would have no way to track the waste of resources incurred by residents, and costs would look much different. “The same concept and principles we are bringing to farming operations,” Lodhi said, […]

Highway Equipment company of Cedar Rapids has become the first Platinum Harvester Sponsor for the Ag Startup Engine at Iowa State University. The Ag Startup Engine effort was launched two years ago to help with seed-stage investment and organized mentorship.  “Now more than ever, we need entrepreneurs and innovators in the agricultural industry,” said Rocki […]

The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator announced five agtech startups selected for the program’s 2018 cohort. “We received a number of great applicants from around the country and the world,” said Megan Vollstedt, executive director for the accelerator. The five startups are: U.S. Design Consultants, Osceola, Iowa, which has developed an innovative method of broadcast dispensing granular […]

While other emerging companies traveled from California, Kentucky or Missouri, PowerPollen just made a quick trip across town to join the two-day Partnering for Growth biotechnology showcase, hosted by IowaBio. Through three years of research, PowerPollen had already outgrown two locations in Des Moines and Urbandale before setting down roots in Ankeny in April 2017. […]