AgriNovus Indiana announces winners of Producer-Led Innovation Challenge, awards over $30K to advance agtech

Working with industry partners to like AgriNovus to drive innovation with the goal of improving farm profitability are strategic goals of both Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council. That is why ISA and ICMC are proud to support this challenge. Below is the press release from AgriNovus Indiana.

---

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 12, 2023) — AgriNovus Indiana, a non-profit focused on growing Indiana’s agbioscience economy, announced today that FiberX of Hammond, Ind. has won the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge, awarding them $25,000 to advance commercialization of their solution.

In partnership with the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance, the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge tasked companies, entrepreneurs, students and innovators with creating new revenue streams from current on-farm processes to increase efficiency and return on investment for producers’ operations. 

“Agriculture is the only economy in the world that touches every person on the planet, because it centers on food,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus. “This challenge sought to identify new innovations that enable farmers to generate additional revenue streams while simultaneously meeting the growing global demand for a sustainable food system.”

FiberX works with corn growers to source and convert corn stover into a feedstock for the chemical and materials sectors. The company’s product portfolio includes natural fiber-reinforced plastic polymer pellets and fiber for the plastic injection molding industry. These biocomposite plastics offer superior strength and cost-effectiveness, potentially replacing up to 50% of petroleum-based plastic polymers. FiberX is focused on customers producing durable products for long-term use such as outdoor furniture. Their team, comprised of Dave Skibinski, Wade Lange and Tom Santelli, has already received a Manufacturing Readiness Grant from Conexus Indiana and an Innovation Voucher for Elevate Ventures.

“Producers are always looking for better ways to make our farms more efficient,” said Indiana Soybean Alliance Board Director Denise Scarborough, a farmer from Lacrosse, Ind. and a challenge judge. “New technology is a key way to achieve those goals. ISA is excited to continue supporting this contest. There were many interesting and diverse projects; it was very difficult to select one, clear winner.”

“New technologies allow farmers to consider changes that could help their farms,”  said Indiana Corn Marketing Council Board Director, Warren, Ind. farmer and challenge judge Janis Highley. “Farmers are usually early adopters of new technology because it can add to their success of family-owned farms. Like our winner, many successful innovations begin with the idea of solving a problem.”

In addition to the $25,000 grand prize, Purdue DIAL Ventures presented prize money to the top two student teams from Purdue University. EcoTrack, founded by Purdue student Corey Tuinstra, was awarded $4,000 for its digitally enabled audit management system. YieldSmart was awarded $2,000 for their precision agriculture solution focused on data-backed decision making. Their team is comprised of Purdue students Anton Josifovski and Isha Shamim.

The Producer-Led Innovation Challenge has enabled entrepreneurial companies to thrive. Most recently, the 2022 winner was acquired by Indiana-based agtech company Intelinair. In the announcement of the acquisition, Intelinair cited Aker Technologies’ victory in the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge. Since its launch in 2020, every company that has won the Challenge has either received follow-on funding or been acquired. 

FiberX will be featured on a Wednesday morning special release of AgriNovus’ Agbioscience podcast. Subscribe here to listen.

---

About AgriNovus Indiana

AgriNovus Indiana is a non-profit organization focused on advancing the agbiosciences sector by connecting and convening stakeholders to deliver innovative ways to inspire and attract agbiosciences talent, companies and innovation to the state. AgriNovus Indiana is an initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), an effort dedicated to the region’s continued prosperity and growth. Learn more at www.AgriNovusIndiana.com. 

About Indiana Soybean Alliance

The Indiana Soybean Alliance works to enhance the viability of Indiana soybean farmers through the effective and efficient investment of soybean checkoff funds that protect and promote the interest of Indiana soybean farmers. The ISA works to assist soybean farmers through its strategic initiatives of market development; environmental, social and economic sustainability; value creation and producer engagement. ISA is led by an elected, farmer board that directs investments of the soybean checkoff funds on behalf of more than 20,000 Indiana soybean farmers.

About Indiana Corn Marketing Council

The Indiana Corn Marketing Council was established by the Indiana General Assembly to promote the interests of corn growers in the state and to manage corn checkoff funds. The Council is composed of 17 voting directors who guide investments of corn checkoff funds on behalf of more than 20,000 Indiana corn farmers. The ICMC works to assist corn farmers through its strategic initiatives of market development; environmental, social and economic sustainability; value creation and producer engagement.

About DIAL Ventures DIAL Ventures, the innovation arm of the Purdue Applied Research Institute, tackles big problems facing the U.S. and the world such as food safety, supply chain shortages, sustainability, and environmental impact. DIAL Ventures creates new companies that drive innovation in the agri-food industry which, in turn, makes a positive impact on our lives and lifestyles for years to come. Learn more at www.DialVentures.com