In recent years, Purdue University’s Katy Rainey and Keith Cherkauer have worked to predict soybean biomass from drone imagery in Indiana.
“We’re now expanding that capability to all the public soybean breeding programs in the region,” said Rainey, professor of agronomy, who also directs the Purdue Soybean Center. Soon, she and Cherkauer will begin receiving drone imagery collected on a panel of 1,200 soybean varieties that breeders have planted in 11 states across the U.S. north-central region.
“Here at Purdue, we’ll do all the processing and modification of the images to predict biomass,” she said. The effort is part of the SOYGEN3 (Science Optimized Yield Gains across ENvironments) project. Consisting of eight universities, including Purdue, SOYGEN3 has more than $900,000 in funding from the North Central Soybean Research Program.
“The overarching goal in this experiment is to develop methods and models for selecting soybeans that will be high yielding in future extreme environments under climate-change scenarios,” Rainey said. “We know that the future environments we’re going to grow soybean in are different from the ones we have now because climate is changing. We’re getting more extreme weather, as well, from climate change.”
The project exploits software, called Plot Phenix, which rapidly converts aerial crop photographs into useful information for plant breeding, crop modeling and precision agriculture. Rainey and Cherkauer, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and Purdue PhD alumnus Anthony Hearst, CEO of Progeny Drone Inc., patented Plot Phenix in 2022.
“I’m interested in water use, the effects of environments, and the ability to measure and simulate soybean across large areas,” said Cherkauer, who also directs the Indiana Water Resources Research Center. “Having locations that are farther apart increases the likelihood that we will have a range of environmental conditions.”
Minnesota soybean breeders and farmers plant different genetic stock than those in Indiana, for example, which requires more heat-resistant varieties. But even areas that share the same annual average precipitation could experience dramatically different years.
“We could have drought here in Indiana, and eastern Kansas could be having a normal year. Having access to so many locations that could be experiencing average weather conditions and drier conditions allows us to stretch the image analysis and the models we’re building beyond what we do right now,” Cherkauer said.
Eastern Kansas gets about the same precipitation as Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. But western Kansas receives about half as much precipitation. It resembles central-western Nebraska, the Dakotas and western Minnesota in that regard.
“Indiana is almost entirely rain-fed except for seed production and production in the sandy soils. Illinois is going to be similar. As you get into Iowa, they’re starting to see a bit more irrigation,” Cherkauer said.
Cherkauer is a co-founder of GRYFN, a Purdue-affiliated company that has provided a new drone for the project with funding from the departments of Agronomy and Agricultural and Biological Engineering and the College of Agriculture. Calibration flights for the new platform have already begun at Purdue’s Agronomy Center for Research and Education, a 1,600-acre farm facility located seven miles northwest of campus.
The SOYGEN3 collaboration will fly drones that collect imagery in red, green and blue (RGB, or true color, the type captured by regular cameras).
“SOYGEN3 is about starting with relatively inexpensive cameras and hardware systems at a variety of locations,” Cherkauer said. But the Purdue drone also will carry multispectral and thermal cameras, yielding better data sets that could lead to recommendations for their SOYGEN3 partners.
Such data could help the U.S. maintain its position as the world’s leading soybean producer. Revenues in 2022 topped $66 billion. This includes more than $34 billion in exports, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
“It’s a unique crop because it is very important to future protein food security,” said Rainey, who was featured prominently in the latest cover story of Seed World magazine. Yet soybean uses are mostly industrial, meaning that people consume only a small percentage of its production.
“You might occasionally eat a traditional soy food like tofu or edamame. But for the most part, 95% of soybeans globally are fed to chickens and pigs and are the basis of that food chain,” Rainey said.
To maintain soybean’s burgeoning production, researchers will need a more finessed understanding of how weather and climate affect yield in a range of environments involving genetic variation. Breeders would then be able to select soybean varieties more strategically.
“The genetic variation is key because the most obvious way that breeders or breeding organizations in the private sector would use the data that we produce would be in what’s known as genomic prediction,” Rainey explained.
Given enough data over the entire soybean genome, genomic prediction allows breeders to create a statistical model that predicts yield for 10,000 untested lines.
“But the genomic prediction models need to be calibrated to environments and have more information in them than what’s currently in there,” Rainey said. Also needed is a model that includes biomass predictions. Such models are based on drone imagery and genetics.
“In my lab, we work on combining that information. We’re just about the only ones to do that across the public and the private sector in soybean,” she said.
More than 34 million people, including nine million children, in the United States are food insecure. It’s a staggering reality that has become a call to action for innovators seeking new approaches to better connect food supply to food demand. Today’s guest is a pioneer in innovating to improve access. Dr. Shantanu Agrawal, Chief Health Officer of Elevance Health gets into the criticality of better nutrition to drive positive health outcomes and innovative, digital worlds colliding to create an ecosystem where food is medicine (and is accessible to all).
As a country so well resourced, how do we address a growing problem that is food insecurity? Shantanu gets into our HungerTech Innovation Challenge, digital connections creating better access to food and nutrition and it being a part of the Elevance Whole Health toolkit for their users. He also talks about nutritious food as a right in America, kicking the stigma surrounding SNAP and how Elevance Heath views innovation in nutrition security. To learn more about Elevance Health’s investment in food and nutrition security, click here.
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The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is proud to announce Sonny Beck, Dennis Bland, Ben Lytle, Tomas Morales and Melissa Proffitt are being recognized as its 2023 Indiana Living Legends. This year’s class of Living Legends will be honored at the annual gala on Thursday, August 24, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in Indianapolis.
Each year, IHS recognizes extraordinary Hoosiers for their local, statewide and national accomplishments in a variety of areas and disciplines. The gala is IHS’s signature fundraising event and helps IHS fulfill its mission to collect and preserve Indiana’s unique stories by supporting its statewide programs and services.
In addition to the generous corporate sponsorship of OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. and Lake City Bank, IHS welcomes individuals and companies to support IHS by attending the event. Event Benefactor Sponsorships are available for $10,000 and include a table of 10 with priority seating, a listing in the evening program and additional benefits. The entire cost of this level is a tax-deductible gift in support of IHS statewide educational programs.
Individual Benefactor tickets are available for $1,000. Patron Tables (10 seats) are available for $5,000, and individual patron tickets are $500. All but $75 of the purchase price for each seat/ticket at these levels is a tax-deductible gift.
The black-tie gala will begin with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. The program will begin at 7:45 p.m. It will be followed by coffee and desserts, during which time all attendees will have the opportunity to congratulate the honorees. WTHR-TV’s Chuck Lofton will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event.
A selection committee of civic and corporate leaders performs the difficult, but rewarding, task of choosing the recipients. For additional information, or to purchase tickets to the 2023 Indiana Living Legends Gala, please call (317) 233-5658 or visit www.indianahistory.org.
2023 Living Legends
Sonny Beck
Lawrence “Sonny” Beck is CEO of Beck’s Hybrids in Atlanta, Indiana, where his business philosophy emphasizes quality, service, and the importance of agronomic research to the future well-being of the American farmer. Under his leadership, Beck’s Hybrids has become the largest family-owned retail seed company and the third largest seed brand in the United States, serving farmers throughout the Midwest and Mid-South.
Sonny earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy and Plant Breeding and a Master of Arts Degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Purdue University. When he graduated in 1962, he became the first College of Agriculture student to receive Purdue’s G. A. Ross Award, presented annually to the overall outstanding graduating senior man. Sonny was also awarded the Purdue University Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award in 1992, and he received an Honorary Doctorate of Agriculture from Purdue University in 2007.
Sonny has held a variety of leadership positions within the agriculture industry, including president of the American Seed Trade Association; president of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association; a charter member of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture Advisory Board; a charter member of the Purdue Foundation Development Council; a founding member of the Purdue FarmHouse Fraternity Foundation Board; member of the Board of Directors for the Purdue Research Foundation; member of the Board of Governors for the U.S. Grains Council; and a member of the Purdue Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Council.
Since 2013, Sonny has served on Purdue University’s Board of Trustees. He has also been named the Indiana Chamber’s Business Leader of the Year in 2016; NAMA Agribusiness Leader of the Year in 2014; and FarmHouse Master Builder of Men in 2014. Sonny and his wife, Glendia, enjoy spending time with their three children, 13 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Dennis E. Bland, Esq.
Dennis Bland is president of the Center for Leadership Development, an Indianapolis non-profit organization dedicated to empowering African American youth for the highest academic, college and career success. Founded in 1977, CLD offers 15 curriculum-based youth development experiences as well as the unique College Prep Institute, which help prepare over 6,000 youth and parents per year for academic, college and career achievement. Prior to joining CLD, Dennis practiced law for nine years, specializing in medical malpractice litigation and insurance law.
In 2004, Dennis was appointed to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and in 2008 was reappointed to the Commission by Governor Mitch Daniels. In 2014, Dennis was elected as chairman of the Commission and served in that role for several years. In 2007, Dennis was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels to serve on the Indiana Education Roundtable. Dennis also serves on the Citizens Energy Group Board of Trustees and on the executive committee of the Indiana Education Alliance.
Among his distinguished awards, he has received the President’s Medal of Distinction from Ball State, the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from DePauw University, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Broad Ripple High School, where he graduated. In 2014, Dennis was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from Indiana Wesleyan University. In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary degree from Marian University, and in 2020 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Martin University.
In 2016 Dennis was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Mike Pence.
Dennis earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from DePauw University and was awarded a juris doctorate (JD) from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. A native of Indianapolis, he is a member of Christ Temple Apostolic Church where he serves as a deacon, trustee, and eighth-grade Sunday school teacher.
Ben Lytle
Ben Lytle is a self-made serial entrepreneur-CEO known for being ahead of the curve. He launched five successful companies, including two listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The best known is Anthem, today 29th on the Fortune 500 with a market value over $100 billion.
He is a healthcare policy expert who served on state and presidential healthcare commissions, a governance leader with extensive public company experience, a senior athlete, world traveler, father of three children, and grandfather to eight grandchildren.
Ben’s devotion to individual and collective human potential through accelerated wisdom guides his writing, speaking, entrepreneurial energy and investments. He believes that people and organizations today underestimate the extent and speed with which they and the world will change. Time to prepare and adapt is being compressed, opportunities are being missed, and unnecessary suffering will result unless prompt action is taken.
He wrote “The Potential[ist], Your Future Life and Career in a New Reality” as a guide to success through wiser, timely actions and decisions in the opportunity-rich, turbulent times ahead.
Tomas Morales
Following 23 years of success working with landmark companies including Procter & Gamble Company, Union Carbide Corporation, and Donaldson Company, Inc., Tomas (Tom) Morales was inspired by his father to explore his dream of launching a business that would blend his desire to give back to the local Latino community and his pride in his Mexican heritage. With a goal to build a bridge between the Indianapolis business community and the growing Hispanic population, Tom co-founded Morales Group, Inc., a staffing & recruitment agency in 2003. Morales Group was created to build better futures, and over the last 20 years has positively impacted over 150,000 associates throughout the Midwest.
By matching those who are new to the city with job opportunities and employers, Tom has been able to promote, shape and develop the potential of the growing immigrant workforce here in Indiana. He continues to use his business for good and over the last nine years has been able to bless many families in Mexico by building 23 homes with the Morales Group team through Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Homes of Hope.
Morales Group has received national accolades and has been named one of Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Companies five times, one of Inc. 5000’s Best Places to Work, and an Indianapolis Business Journal Fastest Growing Company.
In addition to growing his businesses, Tom serves on the boards of YWAM and Project Azul, a nonprofit he created in 2020 where all communities can advance and thrive in employment in Indiana. He has also served on the boards of Elevate Indianapolis, Immigrant Welcome Center, the Boy Scouts of America, the Franciscan Health Foundation and Indiana University Simon Cancer Center Development Board. Tom was also a commissioner of the Metropolitan Development Commission and was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels as a commissioner of the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana.
In 2018 Tom was recognized as a Laureate for the Junior Achievement Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame, and in 2019 was given an Honorary Doctorate in Business from Marian University. His alma mater bestowed upon him the Purdue Old Masters recognition, which is one of the university’s oldest traditions of celebrating the professional success of distinguished graduates and bringing connections with new generations.
In his private life, Morales is dedicated to God, family, and to creating and preserving a sense of community. After earning a degree in civil engineering from Purdue University, Tom married his high school sweetheart, Chris. They have been married for 48 years and are the proud parents of five children — Josh, Seth, Dori, Luke and Callie — and 15 grandchildren.
Melissa Proffitt
Melissa Proffitt is the Partner-in- Charge of Client Relations at the law firm of Ice Miller LLP. She is also the founder and Chair of the Food and Agribusiness Group and the founder of the Energy Group. She was the first female Managing Partner of the Firm, is a former Office Managing Partner and former chair of the Employee Benefits Group for over 20 years. In addition to practicing law, she is responsible for business development initiatives for the Firm. Melissa concentrates her practice in employee benefits and counsels regional and international clients on benefit issues.
Proffitt has received many awards and acknowledgements including being recognized in “Best Lawyers® in America,” 2006-2023, as an Indiana Super Lawyer from 2004-2022, was recognized as one of the IBJ’s Indiana 250 Most Influential Leaders in Indiana and has received the Indiana Lawyer Distinguished Barrister Award, among many other awards. She is an active participant in the Indiana Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s economic trade missions and initiatives, having attended 17 international trade missions to date. Melissa is active in politics at a community and a national level.
Melissa’s current board appointments include Chair of the Indy Chamber of Commerce, member of the Indiana Black Expo, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Star Financial Bank, Indiana University Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, Ivy Tech Foundation, The International Center, AgriNovus Board, NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee, Indiana University Foundation, IUPUI Vision 2024 “Dream Team,” Indiana Sports Corp, and Indianapolis Dean’s Council for the Kelley School of Business, among others.
Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from Indiana University. She received her juris doctor from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, cum laude. Melissa is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honorary fraternities.
Premier ready-to-eat bakery brand Café Valley® today announced it invested more than $5 million in its Marion, Ind. facility by adding high-speed production equipment to accommodate its new 12-count and 24-count Mini Cupcake product line. The investment has resulted in 83 job opportunities for numerous employment levels across first-to-third shifts.
Café Valley will host a hiring event on Monday, June 26 from 9 a.m. to Noon and 2 to 5 p.m. at its Marion facility located at 3701 S. Adams Street. Job opportunities will be offered on-the-spot for select candidates with wages starting at $15 per hour for entry-level first-shift positions and $17 per hour for entry level second-and-third shift positions.
“At Café Valley, we firmly believe in maximizing opportunity for the communities we serve,” said Brian Owens, Chief Executive Officer at Café Valley. “By investing in our facilities, we’re also investing in our local communities by adding jobs with competitive pay and numerous benefits. We are eager to grow our team in Marion because of this manufacturing investment and new product line.”
Café Valley offers a fast-track career pathing program to cultivate ownership and opportunity from day one. The program allows entry level staff to follow a promotional path from production team member to supervisor in training – in some instances – within the course of a year. Throughout the year, staff members could earn several pay increases, with higher wages offered to second-and-third shift workers. A full range of healthcare and wellness benefits, 401K match, and paid time off is also offered.
The more than $5 million investment comes one month after Café Valley announced the launch of its highly anticipated mini cupcake product line. Available in a variety of flavors, Café Valley’s new Everyday Mini Cupcakes and Seasonal Mini Cupcakes will be sold at select grocers nationwide beginning this summer.
“Mini iced cupcakes are a core offering in many retailers across the country and drive significant excitement to the in-store bakery category,” said Matt Goldthwaite, Senior Vice President of Sales at Café Valley. “We’ve received tremendous feedback on our new mini iced cupcakes and are excited to get them in consumers’ hands.”
Café Valley currently employs 560 team members at its Marion facility.
For more information on Café Valley’s job opportunities, visit: cafevalleyjobs.com. For more information on Café Valley’s product offerings, visit: cafevalley.com.
Hawk’s service runs on Althea, a platform designed to remove friction from legacy telecom networks enabling private and broadband networks in even the most challenging environments
RuralUrban Labs, a “HardTech” research and development organization headquartered in the historic Camden Opera House, which has placed special emphasis on the societal implications of uniting rural and urban entrepreneurs, is partnering with Hawk Networks to build a 5G Smart Farm and “HardTech” hub. Hawk Networks will use its Althea platform and KeyLTE™ to provide next generation farm-wide connectivity to power the test and development for the next generation of automated farm equipment and machinery that will be deployed across the farms surrounding Camden.
Hawk Networks developed KeyLTE™ as a unique approach to building private LTE and 5G networks. KeyLTE™ uses an edge EPC (evolved packet core) embedded into the home router. This empowers farmers in Indiana to build connectivity solutions at a fraction of the cost of legacy cellular networks. Deploying a KeyLTE™ network is simple and similar in nature to setting up a wi-fi network.
This partnership includes a joint investment by Hawk and RuralUrban to bring high speed broadband internet to the residents of Camden. Hawk Networks will function as a Virtual Network Operator and support the deployment of a high speed broadband network utilizing fiber optic, fixed wireless, and CBRS LTE technologies. Hawk Networks has been an industry leader in the deployment of virtual network services which are powered by the “Althea” software platform. Althea offers an innovative system for routing network traffic and billing, which enables building and operating networks in communities that currently lack fast, affordable internet and mobile options.
“Althea’s technology allows us to deliver robust connectivity in a community driven and sustainable way. Instead of treating mobile and private 5G networks as separate from broadband, communities like Camden can build holistic networks with Althea,” said Deborah Simpier, Founder and CEO of Hawk Networks. “We are excited to work together with RuralUrban Labs to provide broadband access and support the AgTech innovation at Camden’s 500 Acre 5G Farm.”
By supporting the area with connectivity, RuralUrban Labs is now able to increase the footprint of innovative Agtech, autonomous and artificial intelligence solutions which are being tested and deployed in Camden, including connecting 20 acres of the RuralUrban Labs “5G Farm – Carbon Sequestration Testbed.” This will also contribute towards RuralUrban’s mission of enhancing the educational opportunities of local high school students through 21st century internship opportunities and other socially focused engagements.
“On these 500 acres of land, we are developing, testing and commercializing cutting edge revolutionary Agtech, covered by numerous patents that will work to improve a farmers livelihoods. Partnering with Hawk Networks and using KeyLTE™ provides the connectivity needed to further test and refine these technologies will allow us to focus on the tech commercialization in a much more robust way,” said Neil Mylet, founder of RuralUrban Labs.
Forty chances – that’s the number of times a farmer has in his or her lifetime to optimize growing a crop. It’s also a title of a great book by Howard G. Buffet who describes the realities, challenges, maximization of profit and preservation of legacy that go into the decisions farmers make each season. Critical to optimizing those calculations and managing the complexity, is ag retail or co-ops. And joining us today is the leader of one of the largest coops in the Midwest is Jeff Troike, CEO of Ceres Solutions.
Jeff talks about the consolidation of co-ops and the evolution of meeting the needs of farmers to fuel growth. He also gets into innovations driving profitable growth, being a source of decision-making for farmers and areas ripe for new opportunities when it comes to development and innovation. So many changes have come in the last ten years – what comes in the next five? Jeff gets into automation, efficiency and systems of accuracy to make sure that the one percent focused on growing and producing food can make that happen for 100% of the population.
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Following their participation in AgriNovus’ HungerTech Innovation Challenge in 2022, KLaunch and BlueSky Commerce, announce the launch of FoodBridge, an e-commerce and AI-powered engine built to revolutionize a pathway to economic sustainability for food banks. The turnkey solution was introduced via an informative webinar available for viewing here.
FoodBridge is designed with food banks’ specific needs in mind and harnesses the power of KLaunch’s KBot Lightning, an AI platform that provides the opportunity to easily build conversational flows for operational and marketing purposes. The end-to-end platform delivers one-to-one engagement via messaging streams coupled with an apples, shoppable digital storefront and powers all messaging communication and support from the time of enrollment to delivery. Once deployed, citizens can shop a food bank’s digital storefront via their mobile device and select free food items as well as purchase food using SNAP benefits at checkout, allowing monetary funds to fuel reallocation and extension of services within food banks. Once the order is processed and packed, FoodBridge orders are delivered free of charge to shoppers’ doorsteps through qualified delivery programs with Amazon and others.
“We know the challenges in this space as food banks remain on a treadmill life cycle of funding to sustain and improve operational efficiencies and scale to meet demands,” said Josh Ross, KLaunch Co-Founder and CEO. “An extremely small percentage of food banks are enrolled to accept SNAP benefits, but they work diligently to help citizens gain access to them, only to witness those EBT benefits be spent at corporate retailers that do not provide the same quality of food or value to neighbors. Our solutions move beyond talk and provide world-class conversational AI and e-commerce solutions at no upfront costs to food banks.”
FoodBridge is now available to support food banks and can be implemented in three to six months with the help of the FoodBridge expert team. FoodBridge investment will provide food bank partners reliable, economic stability, separate from donations, and ensure SNAP benefits are used toward healthy selections and have more impact.
“FoodBridge’s digital ecosystem lends today’s most powerful technologies to organizations that need them most and, often can least afford to implement them,” said Kevin Lyons, BlueSky Chief Strategy Officer. “We are lucky to have worked alongside KLaunch to help engineer an e-commerce and AI-powered engine that presents such potential for direct and immediate community impact.”
The power of technology to transform how America serves its hungry is the focus of the HungerTech Innovation Challenge. Presented by Elevance Health and supported byShipt, TechPoint and AT&T, this year’s winners join us today to share how they are harnessing the power of innovation and technology to connect food supply with food demand.
GreenBasket developed CropSpots, a click-and-collect model that delivers farmer’s market goods to areas of frequent community engagement instead of homes. With delivery costs not being covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), participants can opt-in for group deliveries that allow that cost to be divided and much more manageable. GreenBasket’s team is comprised of IUPUI students Shreyas Patel, Drishti Dinesh Jogadia, Nisarg Hiteshkumar Rajpura and Aditya Suresh Nair.
South Bend, Ind.-based Cultivate Food Rescue received a runner-up prize of $5,000 co-sponsored by AT&T and TechPoint. Their platform, ShelfLife, is a customer-facing software solution intended to connect the upstream food supplier and donor in the value chain with a Food Hub central organizer that can easily connect to downstream distribution centers (food pantries) and ultimately the pantry end-user. The company’s model is already in use and has helped to expand the amount of food rescued and distributed to over 2 million pounds per month. Cultivate Food Rescue’s team includes Jim Conklin and Maxxamillion Hamm.
Learn more about AgriNovus Indiana’s HungerTech Innovation Challenge here.
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IUPUI student team GreenBasket selected from 18 teams aiming to connect food supply with food demand using technology
AgriNovus Indiana, an initiative to grow the state’s agbioscience economy, today announced Indianapolis-based GreenBasket has won the HungerTech Innovation Challenge, securing the company $25,000 to help advance its tech-enabled food security product.
Presented by Elevance Health, the HungerTech Innovation Challenge is a four-week accelerator supporting entrepreneurs to create tech-enabled businesses that connect food-insecure populations to for-profit and not-for-profit food networks.
“HungerTech is a powerful experience for innovators that unites entrepreneurship and business to inspire the creation of technologies to serve those in need,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. “We look forward to working with the GreenBasket team to realize their vision of using technology to connect food supply with those that need it most.”
GreenBasket developed CropSpots, a click-and-collect model that delivers farmer’s market goods to areas of frequent community engagement instead of homes. With delivery costs not being covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), participants can opt-in for group deliveries that allow that cost to be divided and much more manageable. GreenBasket’s team is comprised of IUPUI students Shreyas Patel, Drishti Dinesh Jogadia, Nisarg Hiteshkumar Rajpura and Aditya Suresh Nair.
“Food insecurity is one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Drishti Dinesh from Team GreenBasket. “Working on the HungerTech Innovation Challenge to create a technology that can create positive change in this space is rewarding, and we look forward to working with AgriNovus to continue accelerating our solution.”
South Bend, Ind.-based Cultivate Food Rescue received a runner-up prize of $5,000 co-sponsored by AT&T and TechPoint. Their platform, ShelfLife, is a customer-facing software solution intended to connect the upstream food supplier and donor in the value chain with a Food Hub central organizer that can easily connect to downstream distribution centers (food pantries) and ultimately the pantry end-user. The company’s model is already in use and has helped to expand the amount of food rescued and distributed to over 2 million pounds per month. Cultivate Food Rescue’s team includes Jim Conklin and Maxxamillion Hamm.
Food Box, a student-led team from IUPUI, received an honorable mention for their solution. Comprised of students Sreemayi Reddy Rapolu, Ritu Harish Salian, Kshitij Patil and Ikshitha Reddy, the Food Box team developed a smart dispenser with healthy meals and snacks placed in food deserts to provide access to food and better nutrition. Items can be ordered on-site or pre-ordered via mobile app and picked up at any Food Box location.
In addition to Elevance Health, leaders from AT&T, Gleaners, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation, Shipt and TechPoint supported the challenge.
The HungerTech Innovation Challenge was informed by an AgriNovus study commissioned by the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability at Purdue University. Tackling and Solving Food Insecurity with Private Sector Innovations identified the need for new technologies to drive connectivity between food access and populations experiencing food insecurity. Learn more about AgriNovus Indiana’s work on combatting food insecurity here.
Sustainability investments have gained headlines and attracted support and ire of many across the country and around the world. However, one of the leading global animal health companies is proving that innovation is making it possible for sustainability and profitability to coexist. Today we are joined by Katie Cook, Vice President of Farm Animal Global Innovation and Marketing at Elanco. From growing up on a Michigan farm to launching her Elanco career out of college, she talks leading farm animal innovation strategy, what the company is doing today and looking ahead to the future of animal health. Katie talks about Elanco’s growth into pet health, the opportunity for innovation in farm animal to create a positive sustainable impact and the industry’s shift from treating farm animals to preventing disease.
The conversation also dives into sustainability and profitability going hand-in-hand, especially during a time of high input prices for the farmer and examining the “must-haves” versus the “would be nice to haves” when it comes to innovation and remaining profitable. What’s on the horizon for animal health? Katie gets into Elanco’s investment into sustainability across species, providing farmers and ranchers the data tools to make more informed decisions and changing the conversation around food animal production and environmental impact.
