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Powering Ag Innovation
Powering Ag Innovation
Ag Startup Engine Helps Midwestern Entrepreneurs Create the Future, from Food to Fuel
By Darcy Maulsby
Healthier soils that nourish healthier plants, livestock and people. Cleaner diesel engines that run efficiently — without petroleum-based fuel. Even Midwest-fresh shrimp.
Thanks to innovative thinking and dedicated entrepreneurs here in the Midwest, it's all becoming a reality. A growing number of these ag entrepreneurs are getting a significant boost to propel their startup companies to the next level, thanks to the Ames-based Ag Startup Engine.
“I appreciate the unique mindset required to be an innovator,” says Kevin Kimle, Director, Start Something - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences program at Iowa State University (ISU). “The Ag Startup Engine team supports ag entrepreneurs and investors as they create solutions to solve real-world problems.”
In 1996, Kimle founded E-Markets, one of the first e-commerce platforms to focus on business-to-business commerce in ag. By late 2000, he created Decision Commodities to provide risk management for buyers and sellers of ag commodities.
“It’s like a hedge fund for pricing your grain,” says Kimle, who sold Decision Commodities in 2008 to GROWMARK, a regional agricultural supply cooperative.
Today, Kimle and the Ag Startup Engine team connect entrepreneurs with a network of successful entrepreneurs, business professionals and investors and early seed round investment ($25,000–$100,000) to help companies scale their operations.
“This is risk capital that doesn’t go that far, although it can help fill in some gaps,” notes Kimle, who grew up on a farm in Nebraska. “If we invest $50,000 or $100,000, this can encourage other investors to get involved, too.”
Growing a Healthier Environment from the Ground Up
The Ag Startup Engine team works with various innovators specializing in precision ag, animal health, ag tech, robotics and other ag-focused enterprises, including Continuum Ag. Based in Washington, Iowa, Continuum Ag is on a mission to help a million farmers improve their profitability through improved soil health.
“The Ag Startup Engine’s network and deep ag experience have been extremely useful,” says Mitchell Hora, CEO of Continuum Ag. “Financial support is great, but as a young entrepreneur, I really enjoy learning from others. The fellow entrepreneurs and mentors within the Ag Startup Engine have been the real value to me.”
Continuum Ag helps farmers find ways to measure and improve soil health, a vital, living ecosystem that’s the foundation of productive, sustainable agriculture. While still in college, Hora founded Continuum Ag in 2015 as an agricultural consulting company. This taught him the power of partnerships and mentors.
“I got involved in the Agricultural Entrepreneurial Initiative — now called Start Something — while I was a student at ISU,” says Hora, who serves farmers across Iowa and beyond. “Through this network of aspiring entrepreneurs and university resources, I launched Continuum Ag with early success.”
After graduating from ISU, Hora kept in touch with his Ames network, including the Ag Startup Engine team. “When Continuum Ag started to look for some venture financing, I reached out to the Ag Startup Engine for a pitch. After honing in my business model and building the relationship over time, the Ag Startup Engine invested in Continuum. This has been a phenomenal group to have in my corner.”
Hora adds that this support helps grow a prosperous Midwestern economy. “Iowa should be the leader in ag tech. Capital, networks, mentors and go-to-market support are critical to make this happen. I love the leadership from the Ag Startup Engine and fully believe that Iowa is on a good trajectory to enable more ag innovation to flourish.”
The Ag Startup Engine’s team includes a wide range of talent serving as innovators. Mikayla Mooney, venture partner, began her journey as an entrepreneur at age 19 when she started the ag tech company KinoSol.
“We built solar-powered food dehydrators for farmers in developing regions,” Mooney says. “During the next six years as CEO, I led the company in launching our product in more than 50 countries.”
Mooney appreciates the opportunity to work with investors and entrepreneurs who are passionate about agriculture and food production. “Our investors and mentors through the Ag Startup Engine range from farmers and other individuals to leaders of various small- and mid-sized companies. They all want to pay it forward and help the next generation of ag innovators.”
Raising Midwest-Fresh Seafood
Kimle’s son, Jackson, is one of the innovators. After earning his ag business degree from ISU in 2016, Jackson Kimle founded Midland Co., a land-based seafood technology company dedicated to raising sustainable, ethically produced, flavorful seafood.
“I heard about someone experimenting with growing shrimp in Iowa years ago,” says Jackson. “At the time, I was selling locally raised lamb to restaurants in central Iowa.
Talking with these chefs and visiting the seafood farm ignited my imagination. On top of that, the Iowa-grown shrimp was the best-tasting seafood I had ever had.”
Jackson and his business partner, Matt Ellis, worked with a farmer near Hampton in north-central Iowa to establish their seafood farm. Midland Co. shrimp are raised without hormones, antibiotics or chemicals. This seafood goes from tank-to-table within 24 hours.
Iowa-grown soybeans can play a vital role in the success of Midland Co., added Jackson, who is interested in sourcing soy ingredients from Iowa growers. “Shrimp diets currently include significant quantities of soy. New, innovative soy products can enhance inclusion rates and the profitability of shrimp farming here in Iowa.”
This is good news for Iowa soybean growers. “Our shrimp production technology is built to enable soybean farmers to diversify their operations,” Jackson notes. “This will add additional revenue streams for our state's farmers and increase demand for the products they already produce.”
More Efficient Engines Mean Cleaner Air
The Ag Startup Engine is also helping propel the growth of another Midwest-based company, ClearFlame Engine Technologies. This firm is working to clean the air, one engine at a time.
“Engines are critical to today’s quality of life, from producing crops to moving the goods we use daily,” says BJ Johnson, founder of ClearFlame Engine Technologies.
“To curb pollution, the solution isn’t to get rid of engines in semi-trucks, tractors and other equipment, but make these engines more efficient.”
Johnson’s company is helping trucking companies cut costs and engine emissions by converting diesel engines to 100% ethanol. After founding ClearFlame Engine Technologies on the West Coast in 2016, Johnson relocated to Chicago. The Ag Startup Engine, with partners like Iowa Corn, has helped Johnson with funding.
“Traditionally, venture capital comes from California or Boston,” says Johnson, a Seattle, Washington, native. “The Ag Startup Engine was also critical in helping me build my Midwest network.”
The opportunity to grow ClearFlame Engine Technologies is tremendous, especially in the trucking industry. “In America, 60 billion gallons of diesel fuel are used each year, with 45 billion of those gallons in over-the-road trucking,” says Johnson, who earned his mechanical engineering degree from Stanford University. “While we’re focusing on trucking companies, our technology can fit anywhere you use diesel engines, including agriculture.”
It’s exciting to help support solutions like this that drive innovation in the Midwest ag sector, Kevin Kimle says. “It’s great to work with aspiring entrepreneurs and watch them go out into the world and make a positive difference.”
