News Release
Contact:
Billi Hunt, executive director
bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org
515-294-1127 or 515-480-2394
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 26, 2025
NINE SCALEUP COMPANIES FROM UNITED KINGDOM COMPLETE CULTIVO® VIRTUAL ACADEMY PROGRAM
Founders and entrepreneurs complete unique six-week immersion program
with Iowa business, research, government and entrepreneurial leaders
DES MOINES, IOWA – Nine scaleup companies from the United Kingdom have successfully completed the fifth cohort of the Cultivo® Virtual Academy, speeding their planning for U.S. market entry. The six-week virtual program is hosted and coordinated by America’s Cultivation Corridor®, providing participants a unique experience featuring mentorship, interaction with Iowa’s agricultural leaders and an online curriculum that included regulatory and financing systems, and customer perspectives. The Iowa Economic Development Authority was the presenting sponsor of the program.
America’s Cultivation Corridor hosted and coordinated the Cultivo Virtual Academy in partnership with its investors and supporting organizations. The tuition of participating companies was underwritten by the United Kingdom Department for Business and Trade, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Iowa Economic Development Authority is the presenting sponsor of the program.
“Cultivo Virtual Academy attracts some of the most innovative international scaleups as they work toward introducing their products and technologies to the U.S. agricultural market,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority. “It is inspiring to see the diverse advancements benefiting farmers, as well as livestock and poultry producers, while also fostering valuable connections with Iowa’s research, farming and business communities.”
Participating companies include:
- AgriSynth generates synthetic imagery of crops with pixel-perfect annotation data to train robust AI models for AI-based vision systems in many aspects of agriculture.
- AgSenze provides technology solutions to automate cow health and productivity monitoring including their award-winning Herdvision system.
- DairyLight Ltd manufactures and distributes LED light products with specific light spectrums to improve visibility, welfare, productivity and fertility for indoor housed herds.
- Earth Rover uses innovative technologies, AI and robotics to improve farmer’s efficiency and productivity, including the development of CLAWS robot for weeding, scouting and data analysis.
- FA Bio is harnessing the power of fungi to discover microbial active ingredients with disease control, plant growth promotion and fertilizer activities to increase productivity with fewer inputs.
- FLOX is bringing enterprise-grade computer vision and machine learning to help poultry farms make data-driven decisions across animal welfare, health and performance.
- Gardin has developed a cloud-based crop intelligence system for controlled environment agriculture, featuring high-tech optical sensors to generate performance alerts and growth insights.
- LettUs Grow designs and builds aeroponic technology and farm management software for indoor and vertical farms.
- SugaROx Ltd is developing a game-changing platform technology for crop stimulation with active ingredients to mimic natural plant molecules that stimulate carbon use and allocation.
“The Cultivo Virtual Academy is the best investment a scaleup company can make as they develop a path to entering the U.S. market,” said Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor. “Entering the U.S. marketplace can be overwhelming, but Cultivo’s focused curriculum, networking and connections with Iowa’s researchers, business leaders and farmers provide the knowledge and introductions to successfully navigate market entry.”
Cultivo cohort members interacted more than 30 speakers and industry leaders in the six sessions that were facilitated by Entrepreneurs in Residence Liz Keehner, principal of Next Level Ventures, and Doug Moore, principal of Highland Group LLC.
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 Ames Regional Economic Alliance, Chevron Renewable Energy Group, Corteva Agriscience, Deere & Company, Greater Des Moines Partnership, ISG, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Iowa Pork Producers, Iowa State University, Kent Corporation, MidAmerican Energy Company and Sukup Manufacturing Co.
Sponsors of the 2025 Cultivo cohort include Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa State University Economic Development and Industry Relations, BioConnect Iowa and Beck’s Hybrids
More information is available at CultivationCorridor.org, or by following on X, 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.