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Prairie Portraits: Jessica Korinek
The Prairie Portraits series features founders, funders and community builders from Nebraska’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
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Five Things: AgTech Connect
These are a few of the major takeaways from the 2023 AgTech Connect conference. TL;DR agtech is full of opportunity and Nebraska investors are paying attention.
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This AgTech startup invented a robot to eliminate one deadly hazard from farming
Grain Weevil was recently named the 2022 NBDC Innovation Business of the Year in recognition of their efforts to eliminate grain bin deaths through the invention of an autonomous robot. The Grain Weevil robot is currently undergoing trials in grain bins in four states as part of its safety certification.
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The Combine Receives SBA Award
In September 2019, Invest Nebraska announced its new incubator program, called the Combine. This program is a statewide initiative to support high growth companies in food and agriculture. The program provides support to help companies commercialize nascent technologies that are being developed in the state – including those at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.…
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Accelerated Ag Technologies, aka PowerPollen, Receives Additional Funding
On the 21st of August, Accelerated Ag Technologies, the parent to PowerPollen, filed paperwork with the SEC that it had received debt financing of more than $600k. As you may recall, SPN profiled PowerPollen in early 2018, (https://spnewsnjt.wpengine.com/2018/01/powerpollen-boosts-yields-cuts-costs-growers/). The company has created a new mechanism to harvest pollen and improve the creation of new seed. …
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Rantizo reducing farmers need for chemicals with targeted drone spraying
Spraying chemicals to control weeds and insects can be a time consuming part of agricultural work, as well as an expensive one. The Iowa City startup Rantizo, which is currently going through the Iowa Startup Accelerator, hopes to streamline the process using drones and electrostatic sprays for application of chemicals. How Rantizo works After working…
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FarrPro seeks to warm pigs with safe Haven
Mother pigs and their piglets prefer two very different temperatures. Piglets like it to be in the 90s, while sows are happier with a room temperature in the 70s. This makes it difficult to regulate temperatures for the two, and can even lead to piglet deaths when they’re crushed under their mom trying to stay…
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Lessons from Silicon Kiwi: How Silicon Prairie can encourage women leadership in agtech
By Lindy Nelson, founder and executive director of the Agri Women’s Development Trust For the first time in its 118 year history, a woman became the national president of industry group Federated Farmers of New Zealand. For New Zealand, this reflected the growing diversity of the country’s agricultural industry leaders. However, as pointed out by…
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Iowa AgriTech Accelerator seeks applicants for 2017 cohort
The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator is seeking early-stage companies with an idea, intellectual property or prototype for agricultural innovation to participate in their inaugural cohort beginning on July 10 in Des Moines, Iowa. “We’re excited about the interest we’ve received throughout the AgTech community,” says Tej Dhawan, interim director of the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator. “We’ve received…
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CattleXpert prepares for launch of overhauled agTech software
CattleXpert has been building software for the cattle industry since the 1990s, but the company’s flagship software recently underwent a complete overhaul and is now set for a summer re-release. CattleXpert, located just west of Omaha in Elkhorn, Nebraska, is a modestly sized software company that provides optimum technology, support and service for managing feed…