Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Seven start-ups have been confirmed as participants in the inaugural AgLaunch Bootcamp that begins next Monday in Knoxville. An eighth could be added by the time the program starts.

The week-long event is a joint effort of AgLaunch, the Memphis-based, statewide agricultural innovation program, and the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC). As described in this recent teknovation.biz article, participants are focused on addressing real problems in agriculture in Tennessee within the crops and livestock sector,” according to Pete Nelson, AgLaunch President.

Programming includes sessions on venture capital led by Ken Woody of Innova Memphis and Matt Bell of Cultivian Ventures; presentations by Jai Templeton, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and Tim Cross, Chancellor of the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture; and a concluding pitch session.

This is the second year that KEC has worked with AgLaunch on a program for local start-ups in the sector. “Our AgWorks accelerator program was a great success last summer, and we are looking forward to working with a new crop of Ag entrepreneurs this year,” Jim Biggs, KEC Executive Director, said.

The confirmed participants are as follows:

• AG Lighting Innovations, LLC – The start-up is focused on better, more uniform light that performs under extreme environments for several agriculture sectors. It provides additional foot candles on the ground with fewer lights (more like natural daylight). The brighter lights get the birds off to a quicker start on food and water.
• GoGreen Organics, LLC – The company has simplified the process of growing food so anyone can do it, even people with little time or expertise in growing crops. The concept involves tabletop, home and commercial units.
• Project Fresh – This is an initiative to inform the public about the story of food from farm to table and back to soil. Being food literate empowers students to make informed, healthy choices. Project Fresh programs provide information and tools that are relevant and integrated into participants’ daily lives inspiring them to adopt healthier habits.
• Eden Concepts, LLC, Pre-Germinated Seed Project – The start-up is developing an approach to commercialize pre-germinated seeds for home gardeners and produce and flower farmers.
• Electro-Active Technologies – The start-up is focused on integrated, modular systems for waste to renewable products such as hydrogen and an additive for better soil health. It can enable farmers to re-capture value from their waste in form of useable products on the farm to meet soil quality needs and energy needs.
• Newton RFID – Its EquipassID is an injectable RFID device to store vital regulatory and health information. The secure RFID service provides regulatory agents, veterinarians association officials, and horse owners immediate access to information directly from the microchip.
• Production Hemp Agriculture Research Management, LLC – The start-up provides services to hemp farmers for testing of cannabinoid and terpene profile. It uses analytical methods and technology, as well as statistically-based sampling programs and techniques, to preserve sample integrity.

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