Ag Ventures Alliance is a company that offers agriculture business support services.

Ag Ventures Alliance

The Ag Startup Engine  effort was launched two years ago to help address two fundamental gaps that prevent agricultural startups and entrepreneurs from being more successful in Iowa: early seed stage investment and organized mentorship from successful Iowan and Midwestern entrepreneurs.

Ag Startup Engine

Evergreen Climate Innovations, formerly Clean Energy Trust, provides catalytic capital and support to entrepreneurs and startups that bring impactful climate technologies to market. The nonprofit pioneered its 501vc® Investment Fund to align philanthropic and corporate contributions to deliver environmental, economic, and social impact. Evergreen advances and expands access to innovation across the Greater Midwest and cultivates an ecosystem of investors, donors, and collaborators. For over a decade, Evergreen Climate Innovations has invested in startups that have raised $41 for every $1 invested. Learn more at evergreeninno.org

Evergreen Climate Innovations

An Ag-Tech fund for the Midwest, by the Midwest

Grit Road Partners

SVG Ventures|THRIVE is an investment and advisory firm that partners with public and private organizations on strategy, innovation and global expansion. Formed in 2010 and based in Silicon Valley, SVG Ventures|THRIVE invests in early stage technology companies.  The SVG Ventures|THRIVE team consists of accomplished technology leaders from all over the globe. With its vast network, SVG gets deeply involved with portfolio companies to support their success.

SVG Ventures

ISAV is focused on Iowa's key industry sectors with world-class mentors and industry-leading corporate partners.ISAV is a balanced approach to growing Iowa-based companies through multiple phases of their growth.

ISA Ventures

Continuum Ag

Continuum Ag uses soil testing technologies to tailor recommendations for building soil health and regenerative agricultural practices. The company will use the money to continue software development to enhance usability and usefulness, and will expand its soil database through farm consultants in Continuum’s Top Soil network, a nationwide association of soil health focused agronomists.

Continuum Ag is a soil health data intelligence company founded by Mitchell Hora, a seventh-generation Iowa farmer. The company's flagship product is TopSoil, a SaaS platform that helps farmers aggregate and benchmark soil health data to implement regenerative agriculture practices. TopSoil enables users to optimize their farming strategies by providing actionable insights based on soil health data. The platform assists farmers in managing their farms more sustainably while improving profitability. As of October 2021, TopSoil had users from 38 states and 15 countries. Continuum Ag's services extend beyond individual farmers to include enterprise-level partners, helping them implement regenerative agriculture practices throughout their supply chains or portfolios. The company's database has expanded to cover 42 states and 20 countries, making it the largest private soil health database. Continuum Ag also offers a CI Certificate product through TopSoil, which allows farmers to earn premiums for low carbon intensity grain. The company's approach combines data-driven insights with practical farming experience to promote sustainable agricultural practices that can potentially sequester carbon in soil, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.

Using Soil Health Data to Scale Regenerative Agriculture

Mitchell Hora

Continuum Ag: Helping Farmers Sequester Carbon in Soil

Continuum Ag: Revolutionize Farming with TopSoil

Continuum Ag: Meet the team using data to help farmers improve soil health for a more sustainable future

Technology for a regenerative future in agriculture

Regenerative Agriculture Platforms

Continuum ag

[Video] Continuum Ag on LinkedIn: During the 45Z Value Partner Panel at The TopSoil Summit, you will meet…

Continuum Ag is a soil health data intelligence company founded by Mitchell Hora, a seventh-generation Iowa farmer. The company's flagship product is TopSoil, a SaaS platform that helps farmers aggregate and benchmark soil health data to implement regenerative agriculture practices. TopSoil enables users to optimize their farming strategies by providing actionable insights based on soil health data. The platform assists farmers in managing their farms more sustainably while improving profitability. As of October 2021, TopSoil had users from 38 states and 15 countries. Continuum Ag's services extend beyond individual farmers to include enterprise-level partners, helping them implement regenerative agriculture practices throughout their supply chains or portfolios. The company's database has expanded to cover 42 states and 20 countries, making it the largest private soil health database. Continuum Ag also offers a CI Certificate product through TopSoil, which allows farmers to earn premiums for low carbon intensity grain. The company's approach combines data-driven insights with practical farming experience to promote sustainable agricultural practices that can potentially sequester carbon in soil, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.

Croptimal is an Israeli agricultural technology company that provides real-time and accurate testing services for plant tissue, soil, and water directly in the field. The company's innovative solution significantly reduces the time for analysis from the traditional 10 days to just 10-60 minutes, revolutionizing the agricultural testing methodology. Croptimal's technology is based on Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectroscopy, which it adapted for precision agriculture applications. The company offers a comprehensive service that includes sample collection, preparation, analysis, and agronomist-reviewed recommendations, all delivered to farmers within a day. This rapid turnaround enables farmers to make timely decisions on fertilizer application and crop management.
Croptimal's service aims to optimize crop nutrition by analyzing macro and micro elements in plant tissues, soil, and water. The company employs an automated sampling process that follows a strict protocol, ensuring consistency and eliminating human error. The collected samples are tested in either mobile or regular laboratories, with all data sent to a cloud database. This database also incorporates meteorological information from local weather stations. An algorithm then correlates weather and fertilizer data to produce customized protocols adapted to the grower, region, and local conditions.
Key customers and partnerships
Croptimal works directly with farmers, offering seasonal agreements that cover sampling and testing frequency, types of tests, and precise sampling locations. The company has partnered with Netafim, a global leader in irrigation solutions, recognizing the potential benefits for growers worldwide. Croptimal's services are particularly valuable for farmers dealing with unstable weather conditions and rising production costs, as it allows them to calculate optimal fertilizer quantities and timing based on accurate, real-time data.

Croptimal

Regen Farmer specializes in developing regenerative agroforestry systems. The company engages in various projects aimed at implementing sustainable agricultural practices that combine trees and shrubs with crops or livestock. This approach to farming seeks to enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, and create more resilient ecosystems. Regen Farmer collaborates with a diverse range of clients to design and implement these agroforestry systems, tailoring their solutions to meet specific needs and environmental conditions. The company's work contributes to the growing field of regenerative agriculture, which focuses on restoring and improving the natural resources used in farming while maintaining productive agricultural systems.

Regen Farmer

SmartCloudFarming is a company that provides advanced soil intelligence services to agricultural businesses worldwide. The company utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to create detailed 3D soil maps, offering insights up to 30 cm deep. These maps include comprehensive information on minerals, soil organic carbon, and texture. SmartCloudFarming's technology allows for accurate carbon stock measurement at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional soil lab alternatives, reportedly at just 0.1% of the price per hectare. The company offers two main solutions: LAIM for local analysis and GEAIM for global analysis, both capable of providing soil perspectives within 24 hours, depending on the location and area fragmentation. In addition to soil mapping, SmartCloudFarming's services include retrospective organic soil carbon analysis and site-specific analytics. The company's technology enables farms to optimize pesticide application, adjust crop distribution, and create customized fertilizer plans. SmartCloudFarming was founded in early 2019 by plant biotechnologist Michele Bandecchi, with the aim of revolutionizing sustainable farming and soil intelligence. The company has since developed and patented deep-learning models that form the core of its services. Looking ahead, SmartCloudFarming plans to expand its product offerings to include crop yield forecasting and soil biodiversity analysis, with the broader goal of enhancing agricultural supply and ensuring food security.

SmartCloudFarming

Teralytic offers a technology platform for farmers to obtain detailed soil quality data through a single probe. The company's device is equipped with 26 sensors that provide information on soil moisture, salinity, and NPK (nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium) levels at three different depths. Additionally, the probe measures aeration, respiration, air temperature, light, and humidity. As of January 2022, the company aimed to consolidate its offerings into a single device capable of adapting to changing requirements.

Teralytic

Agrology is a Predictive Agriculture technology company that offers a comprehensive platform to help farmers monitor and manage various aspects of their agricultural operations. The company's flagship product, the Agrology Platform, utilizes machine learning to provide real-time data and insights on soil carbon, smoke taint, drought, irrigation optimization, nanoclimate threats from extreme weather, and pest and disease outbreaks. In March 2023, Agrology launched the Arbiter Carbon Monitoring System, which continuously monitors and quantifies soil carbon flux for farmers. This system allows growers to track soil carbon sequestration, soil composition changes, and receive alerts for significant soil or atmospheric events that impact carbon levels. The Agrology platform also covers other critical areas such as heat waves, soil health, regenerative practices, and greenhouse gas monitoring. The company emphasizes ease of use, with sensor nodes that can be installed in under 10 minutes and data accessible via a mobile app. Agrology operates on a subscription-based model, which includes installation and warranty replacement of sensors, real-time monitoring, and secure data access. As of March 2023, the Arbiter Carbon Monitoring System subscription started at around USD 600 per month. Agrology is structured as a Public Benefit Corporation, with a mission to advance equality in agriculture, reduce environmental impact, and secure the global food supply in the face of climate change.
Key customers and partnerships
Agrology's customer base includes several prominent names in the agriculture and wine industry. Braga Fresh, a leading organic grower, announced in March 2023 that they were using the Agrology Arbiter System to track and quantify soil carbon in real time, having installed it in July 2022 as part of a regenerative trial program. Additionally, Silver Oak and Emeritus Vineyards were reported to be trialing the Arbiter system at that time.

Agrology

Platforms using IoT devices and machine-learning algorithms to measure and analyze soil carbon levels

Platforms using IoT devices and machine-learning algorithms to measure and analyze other key soil parameters, such as fertility, moisture content, temperature, and nutrient concentrations

Platforms providing farm planning, landscape designing, and consultation services to create awareness of the transition to regenerative agriculture

Platforms using AI and machine learning to monitor regenerative practices such as cover cropping, crop rotation, and no-till operations. Certain platforms also support farmers financially via carbon credits to adopt regenerative practices

Platforms supporting the process of promoting soil health through soil carbon removal (soil carbon sequestration) via photosynthesis or by employing live microalgae

Platforms connecting farmers, investors, resource providers, and other stakeholders related to regenerative agriculture

Regenerative agriculture platforms use AI and ML for soil analytics

IoT-enabled sensors are used in for soil analysis

Uses data analytics and sensors and related technologies to provide soil insights

Provides solutions to maximize efficiency in regenerative agriculture value chain

Continuum ag

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