Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Members of AgLaunch Farmers LLC, the network of farmers who help the Memphis, TN-based AgLaunch 365 Accelerator ground the start-ups selected for the program in real-world farming practices, have received their first distribution check.

The 44 farmers in seven states received the funds for their contributions of knowledge, farm trials, and data into developing “agtech start-up companies that are making it possible to build a new regenerative food system,” said Pete Nelson, President of AgLaunch.

Nelson said the average check received by the growers who farm in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oregon, and Tennessee was $1,800, and the largest check was $9,500. The payment is from a 5X return transaction involving an early portfolio company focused on irrigation management.

“The five farmers that ran field trials for the start-up in 2017-18 received 20 percent of the return before the remainder of the money was distributed to the supporting organizations and the entire group of farmers,” Nelson added. “Those five farmers, located in Arkansas and Tennessee, provided access to land, center pivot irrigation systems, data, and guidance to the start-up within the scope of the work developed with AgLaunch.”

Although the technology was promising, ultimately, the start-up company decided not to grow in the Midsouth, but to expand to South America, Nelson said. AgLaunch Farmers LLC determined to cash out and deliver a distribution to the member farmers.

AgLaunch Farmers LLC is a joint venture between AgLaunch Holding Inc. and Ag Ventures Alliance, an Iowa-based farmer cooperative that built one of the first ethanol production facilities in Iowa. It has since branched out to investing in innovative new agricultural technology companies. Currently, AgLaunch Farmers LLC has an equity position in more than three dozen start-up companies.

---