There were well over 125 companies interested in the 2017 AgLaunch Accelerator program, but only three will receive $50,000 and three months of intensive business development support.

This year’s three companies are:

• Microbiometer (Englewood, NJ): Microbiometer is a rapid on-site soil testing tool that measures microbial mass. This means soil health can be assessed quickly and inexpensively, compared to traditional assay methods.
• Persistence Data Mining (San Diego, CA): Using proprietary UAV technology, Persistence Data Mining rapidly develops soil nutrient maps over large tracts of farmland. These maps dramatically improve the efficiency of automated fertilizer applications by providing more detail than traditional soil sampling methods.
• Kilimo (Cordoba, Argentina): Kilimo provides a decision support tool for irrigation management in broadacre agriculture. Using satellite, climate, and on site data, Kilimo feeds their proprietary Big Data engine to make the best possible irrigation prescription for each crop.

“In its second year, AgLaunch continues to expand its farm-centric innovation platform to accelerate the process of bringing new ideas into agriculture,” said Steve Bares, Ph.D., president and executive director, Memphis Bioworks Foundation. “The organization offers a one-stop shop for researchers, farmers, logistic providers, processors, non-profits, investors and corporate partners to help validate and grow new ideas in the agricultural space. Memphis provides the perfect opportunity to connect with all these assets in our unique geographical location allowing for incredibly diverse agriculture opportunities.”