NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
Billi Hunt, executive director
bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org
515-294-1127 or 515-480-2394
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 10, 2023
AMERICA’S CULTIVATION CORRIDOR™ LAUNCHES
ISRAELI COHORT OF CULTIVO VIRTUAL ACADEMY
Seven companies are participating in program designed to build connections,
speed U.S. market entry
DES MOINES, IOWA – A new cohort of Cultivo™ Virtual Academy hosted by America’s Cultivation Corridor™ launched on July 6. Seven companies from Israel are participating in the virtual program that provides participants with mentorship, interaction with Iowa’s agricultural leaders and an online curriculum focused on U.S. market entry, regulatory and financing systems, and customer perspectives.
The program’s virtual sessions will be facilitated by Iowa business and university leaders. America’s Cultivation Corridor will host and coordinate the Cultivo Virtual Academy in partnership with its investors and supporting organizations. The Iowa Economic Development Authority is the presenting sponsor of the program.
“We are excited to welcome a new cohort of companies into the Cultivo program. They bring a diverse range of technologies and innovations to address the challenges we are facing in agriculture and food production today,” said Cory Reed, President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division, Production & Precision Ag, John Deere, and Chair of America’s Cultivation Corridor Board of Directors.
The seven participating companies include:
- Agrematch is a data-science product discovery and development company that works with industries that require novel bioactive compounds for their products.
- BugEra is building an insect genetics platform to develop novel strains of the black soldier fly (BSF) to enhance biomanufacturing and produce higher quantities of high quality oil for biofuels.
- DriftSense is developing an evidence-based prediction tool to help growers know when to apply pesticides for optimal precision, efficiency and sustainability.
- Fermata Tech is a data science company developing computer vision solutions for outdoor and controlled environment agriculture.
- PlantArcBio is an ag-biotech company engaged in research and development in the field of gene discovery and biological components for improving plant traits and controlling pests.
- ProJini is using a new pesticide-discovery engine to discover and develop new pesticides acting in a new mode of action and interfere with protein-protein interactions.
- Seed-X is an AI-driven agtech software company that is working to optimize seed and food supply chains by addressing quality attributes at the single seed level.
“We look forward to connecting these innovators with Iowa’s business leaders, researchers and forward-thinking farmers and livestock producers throughout the six-week Cultivo Virtual Academy program,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority. “The insights they gain and relationships they form will provide a solid foundation as they look to advance their market penetration in the United States.”
The Cultivo Global Ag Innovation program was launched in 2021 and features the six-week Virtual Academy as well as consultations, tours and other programs for international entrepreneurs to learn from Iowa’s agricultural leaders and prepare for a U.S. market entry.
“The strong group of Israel-based startups will benefit from Iowa’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and our agriculture and bioscience leadership,” said Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor. “The world-class speakers, networking opportunities and connections they will make through this program will help them more successfully navigate their entry into the U.S. marketplace.”
Applications for the next multi-nation cohort of Cultivo Virtual Academy are now being accepted, with plans to begin the program in October 2023.
For more information on the program, or to learn about opportunities to sponsor or participate in a future cohort, visit www.cultivationcorridor.org or contact Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor at bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org.
Investors and partners of America’s Cultivation Corridor are working together to accelerate the development of new technologies, strengthen Iowa’s ag bioscience workforce, and attract economic development, all focused on meeting the challenge of feeding a growing world population in a sustainable way.
Stakeholders in America’s Cultivation Corridor include Iowa State University, Corteva Agriscience, Deere & Company, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Economic Development Corporation Iowa Pork Producers, Kent Corporation, MidAmerican Energy Company, HyVee, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Iowa Farm Bureau, ISG, Kemin Industries, Chevron REG, Scoular, and Sukup Manufacturing Co.
More information is available at CultivationCorridor.org, or by following on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
About America’s Cultivation Corridor
Focused on further developing and marketing the world-renowned agricultural and bioscience economy in Iowa, America’s Cultivation Corridor is building on a rich history of innovation to accelerate value-added agriculture business development by attracting companies, talent and capital from across the globe to the state. Representing a diverse public-private coalition of stakeholders including Iowa State University, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Chamber of Commerce, nonprofits and private sector companies from across the region and state, the Cultivation Corridor is one of the nation’s foremost cluster-based economic development organizations. For more information, visit CultivationCorridor.org.