AgriNovus Indiana-commissioned study shows tech-enabled food access, connectivity to food networks essential to food-insecure populations
AgriNovus Indiana released new research today identifying the need for new technologies to drive connectivity between food access and populations experiencing food insecurity.
Conducted by the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability at Purdue University, the study entitled Tackling and Solving Food Insecurity with Private Sector Innovations, identified factors contributing to food insecurity, populations most widely affected and recommendations for private sector innovation to help hungry populations.
“Combatting food insecurity requires a portfolio of solutions, and it’s clear that innovation presents tremendous opportunity to unlock new ability to better connect food supply with food demand,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana.
The research shows food insecurity in Indiana rose from 9.4 percent in May 2020 to 13.4 percent in December 2022, all at a time when food prices have increased at their fastest rate in 40 years. The factors contributing to food insecurity are complex and interrelated, including poverty, unemployment, low wages, limited access to healthy and affordable food, broadband connectivity and the high cost of housing, transportation and health care.
The study unveils areas ripe for private sector innovation to eliminate food insecurity, including:
Develop innovative food access solutions for targeted populations: food insecurity is more concentrated among rural, low-income, minority and older populations with 23 percent of rural respondents surveyed reporting being food insecure. There is an opportunity to target and tailor solutions for improving food access via food affordability, distribution, grocery access or transportation.
Empower consumers to make healthy choices: develop technology solutions that can help consumers make sense of the healthfulness and affordability of products, as product labeling may be too confusing for some consumers. Focus on research and development of nutrient-dense and affordable food options, identify behavioral marketing solutions that encourage healthy eating habits and collaborate with healthcare providers to integrate nutrition into medical treatment plans.
Connect consumers to food networks: increase the availability of healthy and affordable food options in low-income communities through food assistance programs like food hubs, farmers markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA). Startups may identify a technology or connectivity solution that can help food-insecure households more easily join food hubs or CSAs or connect consumers with food sources in the local economy that might otherwise go to waste.
Create analytics around food insecurity: use data and research insights to help companies and nonprofit organizations understand food business practices and product offerings and whether specific programs are reliably helping to promote food security and improve health outcomes.
“Food insecurity continues to affect targeted populations in Indiana and beyond,” said Dr. Jayson Lusk, distinguished professor and department head of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. “With its strength in tech and ag, Indiana is well positioned to develop private-sector innovations that continue to chip away at this pervasive issue that deters better health outcomes for all.”
The study coincides with the launch of AgriNovus Indiana’s 2023 HungerTech Challenge that tasks innovators with creating and implementing a tech-enabled business solution that connects food insecure populations to for-profit and not-for-profit food networks. To learn more about HungerTech and register a team for the Challenge, click here.
The full study, Tackling and Solving Food Insecurity with Private Sector Innovations is available at www.AgriNovusIndiana.com.
Last year, the federal government invested nearly $120 billion to combat food insecurity with its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but the challenge still remains. As AgriNovus works to inspire innovation in food security through a new category of agtech we call HungerTech, it’s important to understand the scope of food insecurity in America and how we can improve. Today we are joined by Head of Economics at Purdue University and Distinguished Professor, Dr. Jayson Lusk, to discuss new research from AgriNovus that examines factors driving food insecurity across Indiana and areas ripe for private sector innovation to increase proper access to nutrition.
Today, Intelinair has announced its acquisition of Aker Technologies, Inc., a leading digital agriculture company based in Effingham, Ill. The acquisition of Aker Technologies allows Intelinair to continue to expand in the ag market with additional drone-based digital agronomy tools and complements Intelinair’s portfolio of providing high-resolution imagery and data analytics to manage every field all season long.
“The acquisition of Aker will build on our technology, product offerings, and operational capacity in drones,” said Tim Hassinger, CEO and President of Intelinair. “Specifically, the acquisition brings capabilities that will enhance our AGMRI® offering to existing customers in this growing season and help us expand our footprint going forward.”
In November 2022, Intelinair and Aker Technologies announced a multi-year distribution agreement to deliver enhanced crop health imagery and analytics to farmers and retailers all season long.
“After working closely with Intelinair for over a year, we saw not only great synergies across our teams, but also how our solutions can enable more value for all of our stakeholders,” said Orlando Saez, CEO and Co-Founder of Aker Technologies. “Accelerating the adoption of digital agronomy practices is a big win for the industry as a whole.”
In December 2022, Aker was named winner of the 2022 Producer-Led Innovation Challenge by AgriNovus of Indiana. Presented and defined by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Indiana Soybean Alliance, the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge asked innovators to create a tech solution to improve on-farm data accuracy that could lead to reducing the cost of operating capital and improving net farm income. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
In the US, more than 42 million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and nearly 1/3 of those are children. Today we are joined by HATCH for Hunger Executive Director, Danny Leckie, to talk about the organization’s mission to unite Midwest poultry producers and a distribution network to combat hunger. They talk about how the organization was founded, building a sustainable model for food insecure populations and animal protein as a key to building healthy lives. Danny also gets into COVID, inflation and manning a difficult pricing era for eggs.
So why eggs? Danny gets into that, eggs as a powerful tool to do great things and what’s ahead for HATCH for Hunger. Learn more here.
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A biodegradable, compostable and non-toxic, soy-based foam, called StyroSoy, earned the $20,000 grand prize in the 29th annual Student Soybean Innovation Competition during a program at the Purdue Memorial Union in West Lafayette, Ind., on Wednesday evening.
StyroSoy is an environmentally friendly, plastic-free alternative to polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, which is a product owned by Dow Chemical. StyroSoy is designed to make a variety of density packaging materials, cushions, foams and additional products for protecting valuable merchandise such as electronics, houseware and other consumer items during shipping to customers.
The four-member winning team consists of Louis Edwards Caceres-Martinez, of Bogota, Colombia, a PhD student at the School of Engineering Technology at Purdue University; Alyssa Choi, a Purdue sophomore studying biological engineering from Addison, Ill.; Valeria Tellez Gallego, a PhD student studying industrial and physical pharmacy from Bogota, Colombia; and Amy Tang, a Purdue sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, studying biological engineering and pharmaceutical sciences.
The Student Soybean Innovation Competition is sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and Purdue University. To win this competition, Purdue University students must develop novel applications for soybeans that satisfy a market need. This is among the most popular events each year for Indiana’s soybean checkoff.
“The goal of the competition is to showcase the versatility of soybeans while tackling a need in agriculture or the general public,” said Denise Scarborough, a farmer from LaCrosse, Ind., and the chair of ISA’s Sustainability and Value Creation Committee. “ISA looks forward to working with Purdue students each year and seeing what unique products they create. The results of this event expand opportunities and markets for all Indiana soybean growers. The students who came up with StyroSoy created a safe and necessary product that we think many businesses will use.”
StyroSoy’s creators said their product could significantly reduce polystyrene (Styrofoam) final disposal, which currently encompasses 30 percent of U.S. landfills and does not decompose. The annual estimated cost in landfills due to polystyrene is calculated at $665 million. “Our product is an eco-friendly product that can replace polystyrene for packaging (and insulation) purposes,” said Choi, a StyroSoy co-creator.
“StyroSoy not only offers equivalent commercial performance versatility to polystyrene, but also, economic competitiveness with respect to other petroleum-based and alternative packaging products,” she added. “Replacing petroleum-based products is critical in the packaging industry given the unsustainability and catastrophic impacts on environment and human health associated with the use of polystyrene.”
Polystyrene is associated with the formation of microplastics and nanoplastics, which are harmful to the environment and human health. Microplastics from polystyrene are among the most frequently detected polymers in water sources. These plastics could be found in marine invertebrates that will later be transferred to fish, and finally, in people through seafood consumption. The social cost associated with the polystyrene production is estimated to be between $4.9 billion and $7 billion per year. Specifically, benzene and styrene are associated with the development of leukemia, and the estimated treatment costs reach $108 million per year.
“Our product offers a non-toxic alternative as it replaces materials that include benzene and styrene, carcinogenic compounds that threaten human lives,” Choi explained.
StyroSoy was also the winner of the People’s Choice award. This $500 award is determined by votes of the more than 200 attendees prior to the awards ceremony.
This year, 12 teams composed of 34 Purdue University students and 24 faculty advisors, finished the competition. These students represent a variety of majors including agronomy, biological engineering, animal science, pharmacy and environmental and natural resource engineering. Each team works with two faculty advisors who provide technical and market research support.
This year’s judges included four ISA board members: Dylan Christopher of Brookston, Ind.; Jason Misiniec of Bicknell, Ind.; Brian Warpup of Warren, Ind.; and Anngie Steinbarger of Edinburgh, Ind. Also three industry experts served as judges including Andy Shafer with Shafer Consulting, Brit Walker with ADM and Mitch Frazier, CEO of Agrinovus Indiana.
The contest introduces Purdue students to the multi-faceted uses and vast potential of soybeans while drawing on students’ creativity to develop products that utilize soy. Following the contest, ISA works to develop the products, evaluate their long-term feasibility and commercial viability.
“Indiana soybean checkoff funds are used to find new uses and new markets for our soybeans, which creates more demand and helps our farms to be more profitable and sustainable,” said ISA Chair Mike Koehne, a farmer from Greensburg, Ind. “This event allows ISA to create relationships with bright and innovative students and their mentors at Purdue. Some of the products from this contest will help us move more soybeans into the market.”
Previous contest winners include last year’s Team Smulch, which produced a soybean-based mulch and playground surface. In 2021, Team Biostimulant made a liquid biostimulant, designed to promote growth in crops grown in vertical farms. HerbiSoy, a non-toxic, soy-based herbicide, was the winner from 2020. And in 2019, drinking straws made from soybean plastic, called Stroy, won. The ever-popular soybean crayons and soy candles are past winners, as well.
Earning second place this year, and a $10,000 prize, were the creators of SoySafe, a soy-based replacement for construction-quality drywall that is fire resistant and more environmentally friendly than gypsum-based drywall. SoySafe drywall is also cheaper and easier to produce than commonly used drywall products.
Team SoySafe consists of three Purdue sophomores including Sarah Juffer, an animal science major from Fishers, Ind.; Charles Sebright, an agricultural and biological engineering major from East Berlin, Penn.; and Josh Stephenson, a biochemistry major from Muncie, Ind. All three were members who finished second in last year’s competition with a soy-based ink for markers that can be used on dry-erase boards called Brilliant Bean.
Finishing third, and earning a $5,000 prize, were the creators of SOYscara, which is a mascara that is composed of mainly soy materials. SOYscara is made from 99 percent natural, organic ingredients. The soy-based formula is a better option for personal wellness, and it is also more sustainably sourced than the materials that make up most of the affordable products on the shelf. Team SOYscara consists of three Purdue students including freshman engineering major Jason Li of Oklahoma City, Okla.; sophomore biological engineering major Alison Dunbar of New Lenox, Ill. And sophomore biological engineering major Conway Zheng of Bethany, Okla.
Indiana soybean farmers’ investment in finding new soybean innovations is not limited to the competition. The state soybean checkoff also funds the Soybean Utilization Endowed Chair at Purdue’s College of Agriculture, Dr. Nathan Mosier, to lead research into new uses for soybeans. At present, ISA is working with companies in the concrete industry to market an innovative soy-based concrete durability enhancer developed through checkoff-funded research at Purdue University. This soy-based product, called PoreShield, is ideal for concrete roadway infrastructure where protecting the environment is a key requirement or consideration.
Grant will prepare NutraMaize Orange Corn rich in antioxidant carotenoids for use in commercial poultry feed
NutraMaize, an agriculture company whose nutritionally enhanced orange corn is currently marketed through a line of premium milled products under the brand Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn, has received a two-year, $650,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the health and pigmentation benefits of feeding orange corn to poultry on a commercial scale.
NutraMaize CEO Evan Rocheford said a previous Phase I SBIR grant from the USDA funded proof-of-concept studies that showed NutraMaize Orange Corn improves outcomes in poultry health and egg yolk pigmentation. The results were published in the May 2021 issue and July 2021 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Poultry Science.
“Our previous research shows that when used in poultry feed, NutraMaize Orange Corn has the potential to improve animal welfare, consumer well-being and producer profitability,” Rocheford said. “We’ve shown that it can reduce the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis, a common health problem for poultry, and significantly enhance the depth of color and health-benefiting antioxidant carotenoid content in egg yolks.”
The goal of the Phase II project, titled “Nutritionally Enhanced Orange Corn: A Natural Domestic Source of Antioxidant Carotenoids for Improved Poultry and Consumer Well-Being,” is to demonstrate that the corn can deliver the health benefits of carotenoids to poultry and consumers on a commercial scale. Carotenoids are natural antioxidant pigments that give many fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, their orange color and health-benefiting reputations.
“In addition to improving poultry health, the carotenoids found in NutraMaize Orange Corn have a number of well-documented health benefits for humans, such as significantly reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans,” Rocheford said. “This means that orange corn has the potential to improve animal welfare and reduce disease-related losses for producers while simultaneously improving consumer well-being by enhancing the nutritional quality of one of America’s most important protein sources – eggs.”
Rocheford said the project has three primary objectives that aim to demonstrate NutraMaize Orange Corn can provide value to the poultry industry at scale:
That it can produce a number of economically relevant health benefits for both broilers and egg layers throughout their production cycles.
That it can enhance the nutritional, visual and functional properties of both poultry meat and eggs.
That it can meet the needs of the poultry industry by being produced efficiently and affordably.
“We are particularly interested in working with organic egg producers since they have limited options for disease management and typically spend significantly more on expensive carotenoid supplements to ensure their yolks reach the dark color expected by their customers,” Rocheford said. “For organic producers especially, NutraMaize Orange Corn has the opportunity to reduce feed costs, reduce losses associated with disease and deliver a darkly colored egg yolk with enhanced levels of health-benefiting carotenoids. It’s really a win-win-win for the producer, animal and consumer.”
Rocheford said the company is looking for more producers to partner with to conduct commercial trials over the coming years.
“Our mission is to help improve the well-being of as many people and animals as possible,” Rocheford said. “So, we want to talk to every poultry producer, feed mill, grain handler, farmer and seed company who sees the potential value NutraMaize Orange Corn can provide at scale.”
To learn more about NutraMaize or to reach out to the company, visit NutraMaize.com.
NutraMaize was co-founded by Evan and his father, Torbert Rocheford, the Patterson Endowed Chair and a professor of agronomy in Purdue’s College of Agriculture. More than 20 years ago, Torbert Rocheford started naturally selecting varieties of orange corn to help alleviate malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa as part of an international humanitarian effort called HarvestPlus.
Orange corn is licensed to NutraMaize through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization. NutraMaize also received guidance from the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Both are managed by the Purdue Research Foundation.
AgriNovus Indiana announced today its 2023 executive committee along with additions to its board of directors.
Led by AgriNovus board of directors Chair and Ag Alumni Seed CEO, Jay Hulbert, and Vice-Chair and Executive Vice President of Research at Purdue University, Karen Plaut, the following are members of the executive committee:
Latoya Botteron – president and chief financial officer, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
Sherilyn Emberton – president, Huntington University
Mitch Frazier – president and chief executive officer, AgriNovus Indiana
Trent Torrance – chief operating officer, United Animal Health
Jim Wispinski – vice president of global portfolios, Corteva Agriscience
The board unanimously approved the addition of Phil Brewer, chief strategy officer at Co-Alliance, to the board and approved the following seat changes to replace outgoing directors:
Melina Kennedy – chief executive officer, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
Don Lamb – director, Indiana State Department of Agriculture
David Rosenberg – chief operating officer and chief of staff, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
Senay Simsek – head of the Department of Food Science, Purdue University
“Indiana’s agbioscience economy continues to record growth and strength thanks to the direction and support of the AgriNovus board of directors,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. “The addition of these experts to our Board brings even more leadership and industry context to our team as we work together to build the agbioscience economy of the future.”
Brewer is the chief strategy officer for Co-Alliance, creating out-of-box business strategies that continually support the organization’s diversification efforts. He previously served as Co-Alliance’s vice president of Agronomy for 22 years.
Kennedy serves as the CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), which brings together the chief executives of the region’s prominent corporations, foundations and universities in a strategic and collaborative effort dedicated to Indiana’s continued prosperity and growth. CICP also sponsors five key talent and industry sector initiatives including AgriNovus Indiana.. She previously served in roles at Cummins and has more than 25 years of experience in law, government and business.
Rosenberg is the chief operating officer and chief of staff of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), overseeing strategic initiatives, advancing economic priorities and accelerating entrepreneurship. He previously worked at Market Street Group and for former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.
Lamb is the director for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and director of Agribusiness Development for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. He is a second-generation farmer for Lamb Farms in Boone County and owner of AgRecycle, a composting business, and Lamb Farms Agronomy, which provides neighboring farmers with agronomy products and services.
Simsek is the head of the department of food science and is Dean’s Chair in Food Science at Purdue University. Upon receiving her doctorate from Purdue University, she began her career at North Dakota State University where she received numerous awards for research and teaching and published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles.
The AgriNovus Indiana board of directors is comprised of leaders from industry, academia and government. All members are listed online at www.AgriNovusIndiana.com/Board.
Purdue University’s College of Agriculture has been recognized as the No. 3 college of agriculture in North America and No. 5 in the world in the 2023 QS World University Rankings.
Inaugurated in 2004, QS World Rankings are one of the world’s most frequented and respected sources of comparative data about universities. In 2022, Purdue Agriculture was identified as No. 4 in North America, and No. 8 in the world.
The QS 2023 rankings are based on the analysis of over 15,700 individual academic programs at 1,594 universities in 93 countries and territories using five criteria: academic reputation; employer reputation; research citations per academic paper; the H-index, measuring cumulative productivity and impact of authors’ scholarly work; and international research network of sustainable partnerships with other higher education institutions.
Karen Plaut, former dean of the College of Agriculture and Purdue’s current executive vice president of research, paid tribute to the college’s accomplishment.
“The rise in this year’s rankings is a reflection of the continued excellence of the College of Agriculture’s faculty, students and staff,” Plaut said. “Our research community stretches the frontiers of science to address complex challenges in food, life and natural resources, positively impacting our students, communities and the world.”
Purdue Agriculture’s recent research success includes bringing in over $85 million in extramural funding during the last fiscal year. Earlier in 2023, the college received two of seven available USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems grants, totaling $20 million, to conduct research in the areas of digital forestry and aquaponics.
“The college continues to set the right example for Purdue as it draws top-flight researchers here from across the globe and works to maximize their scholarly successes,” said Patrick Wolfe, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity.
Bernie Engel, senior associate dean of research and graduate education for agriculture, spoke to the direct impact of rankings like QS. “Our reputation is not only a point of pride for stakeholders, it’s often critical to their decision to attend our college, hire our graduates, engage with county Extension educators and partner with researchers,” he said.
Ken Foster, interim dean and professor of agricultural economics, expressed gratitude for what the achievement represents. “Purdue’s College of Agriculture received this recognition because of the hard work and intellectual capabilities of our faculty, staff and students as well as the leadership of our former dean Karen Plaut and her leadership team,” he said.
The agbiosciences offer one of the most approachable areas of modern innovation. From new foods to sustainability advances and new tech, agbioscience touches every human being on the planet. Today we are joined by Elevate Ventures CEO, Toph Day, to talk about a new global event where agbiosciences will link arms with other modern focuses of our economy: RALLY Innovation Conference, which is coming to Indianapolis on August 29-31, 2023. They dig into what attendees can expect for the world’s largest cross-sector innovation conference (including a $5M pitch competition), why Indianapolis and RALLY as a launch pad for big ideas and authentic connections.
From high school and university talent to venture, entrepreneurship, industry and beyond, RALLY is Indiana’s time to put their game face on and seize an opportunity.
Pork’s place on the plates of people around the globe continues to grow with a global pork market expected to reach more than $418 billion by 2028. Indiana hog producer and National Pork Board President, Heather Hill, joins this week to talk a growing demand for the protein paving the way for new innovation. She dives into her work at the National Pork Board, emerging trends in pork consumption and a continued dedication to sustainability (and also what that actually looks like on a farm). Heather also gets into the criticality of public education, emerging innovations she sees on the horizon and the one thing she wants others to know about raising pork.
