Three teams solving issues for Nebraska’s agriculture industry and local municipalities won this year’s JumpStart pitch competition, held as part of Silicon Prairie Startup Week. Each team will get part of the $6,000 prize to continue developing their ideas.

Winners were announced at the Oct. 7 Tombstones & Milestones SPSW opening party at Don’t Panic Labs.

The competition on Oct. 6, hosted by The Mill at Innovation Campus in Lincoln, saw nine teams present to JumpStart judges. Some had started developing their ideas at the 10 Hour Challenge over a week earlier.

The event featured two solution prompts as part of industry challenges. One, from the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association (INEDA), looked to “rethink how producers discover, evaluate, and adopt new tools — especially in ways that are mobile-friendly, bandwidth-conscious, and grounded in real service needs,” the briefing packet said.

The other, from consulting firm Olsson, sought “bold ideas that help make AI approachable, implementable, safe, secure and valuable for cities across the state and beyond.” A wild-card category also allowed participants to pitch their own ideas.

The winners:

INEDA challenge — Field

Lance Buscher and Wilson Overfield presented an AI-powered platform to better connect farmers with agriculture machinery manufacturers and suppliers. 

Olsson challenge — StreetLayer

Jon Rhoades showcased a platform to let regular people collect data on roads with the sensors in their phones as a way to help municipal authorities keep track of road maintenance and repair needs.

Wild card — FarmKore

Eric Yim, Brian Alvarado and Keyik “Cake” pitched a 24/7 digital expo for agriculture manufacturers and salespeople. The online platform would let farmers check out new equipment and learn about advancements.

Lev Gringauz is a Report for America corps member who writes about corporate innovation and workforce development for Silicon Prairie News.