The Ag Innovation Challenge, spearheaded by the American Farm Bureau Federation in partnership with Farm Credit, is the only national business competition exclusive to American startups developing solutions for agriculture and rural communities.
Designed as a “Shark Tank-style” pitch competition, the program has awarded more than $1.8 million in startup funds since its launch in 2015.
The top four finalists of the 2026 Ag Innovation Challenge traveled to Farm Bureau’s annual convention January 9-14 to pitch their innovative agriculture startups to a panel of judges and compete for a top prize of $100,000.
Farm Credit congratulates FarmMind, the winners of the 2026 Ag Innovation Challenge. Developed by co-founders Colin Raby, Grant Muslow, Cole Lacombe and Aaron Beatty, the Louisiana-based startup provides an “agricultural intelligence” digital platform that consolidates and automates agricultural workflows; such as back-office paperwork; virtually mapped irrigation flow; yield metrics tracking and more.
2026 Ag Innovation Challenge winner FarmMind
Pennsylvania-based ag tech company KiposTech received the runner-up award of $25,000 to advance its plasma-based technology that removes airborne pathogens, dust and ammonia without filters or chemicals. Farm Credit congratulates Kipostech’s co-founders, Hema Ravindran and Raj Singh.
2026 Ag Innovation Challenge runners-up Kipostech
The Ag Innovation Challenge winner and runner-up were selected by a three-person panel which included Joe Waddell, director of market innovation at Horizon Farm Credit.
Also in attendance at the Farm Bureau convention was 2025 Ag Innovation Challenge winner Gripp, a QR code-based farm management digital platform founded by Tracey Wiedmeyer and Jenkin Lee. Wiedmeyer provided an update to attendees, sharing that Gripp has tripled revenue since winning the competition and developed key partnerships.
2025 Ag Innovation Challenge winner Gripp
Farm Credit is proud to support innovative solutions and rural entrepreneurs working to ensure a strong future for agriculture. Applications for the 2027 Ag Innovation Challenge will open in late spring.
