Leadership insights from Kevin Rasmussen, Chair of America's Cultivation Corridor and member of Iowa Pork Producers Association
For the past few months, we’ve been celebrating the 10
th anniversary of America’s Cultivation Corridor by highlighting 10 ways that Iowa Innovation makes the world better through videos, articles and social media content. We hosted the final event of the 10-year anniversary celebration with a reception at the World Food Prize this week. It was a great opportunity to recognize the people and organizations who have contributed to the success of the Corridor, but most importantly to highlight the innovation that is not only happening, but accelerating across the state.
As a pork producer, serving on America’s Cultivation Corridor board is an opportunity to bring the perspective of our state’s forward-thinking crop and livestock producers to this network of industry leaders. I’ve seen firsthand the power of strong board leadership. Great things happen when visionary individuals and leading organizations are committed to the same goal of increasing agricultural productivity in a sustainable way.
The founders of America’s Cultivation Corridor were a group of business, university and community leaders that saw the need to work together to cultivate Iowa’s unique resources and partnerships to drive innovation and growth in the agriculture, bioscience, food, ag tech and bioproducts industries.
The founding goal was to build that momentum across the entire industry by elevating innovation and connecting businesses to the leading research, capital and talent assets in Iowa. We’ve delivered on that promise in several key ways:
- We are introducing innovators from around the world to Iowa through individual connections, national and global outreach and events. Whether it is for the World Food Prize, World Pork Expo, Farm Progress Show, dozens of trade shows and events, or for meetings with some of the global leaders in agriculture and research, the world really does come to Iowa to learn, connect and grow.
- We are connecting scaleups to Iowa’s innovation ecosystem. This ecosystem is growing quickly, with resources, mentoring, support and venture funding available to entrepreneurs and founders with the next generation of ideas. In fact, agriculture and bioscience venture capital deals grew 200% between 2015 and 2021, outpacing the U.S. average.
- We are telling the stories of Iowa’s leaders and industry success stories – from startups to world-renowned researchers and forward-thinking farmers to global industry leaders. Not only are the brightest minds in the industry coming to Iowa, they are staying for quality of life in our cities and rural communities.
I couldn’t be more excited about the future of innovation across the Corridor. Learn more about the 10 ways that Iowa innovation makes the world better at www.CultivationCorridor.org/10-years or follow America’s Cultivation Corridor on Facebook, X, LinkedIn or Instagram.
Published October 2024.