New data from AgFunder News shows that ag biologics are used by just under half of U.S. farmers. Dr. Alex Cochran, CTO of DPH Biologicals, joins today to share his unique perspective on this growing market.
We discuss:
What are ag biologicals and their role in modern production agriculture.
Biologicals as an important piece for growers as they manage a tough farm economy.
The challenge of change when it comes to farming practices and the criticality of clearly describing ROI for growers.
Movement in the biologicals market from big players like Corteva’s acquisition of Symborg and Stoller.
DPH’s focus on differentiation and value to its growers + a deep dive into the conversations they’re having at the farmgate right now.
The biologicals market has come a long way, but is it still early innings? Alex talks how the technology has evolved what’s on the horizon for DPH Biologicals.
Under the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), AgriNovus Indiana is the State’s food and agriculture initiative focused on advancing Indiana as a nationally recognized leader in the agbiosciences sector – where food, agriculture, science and technology converge. Indiana is in an enviable position to accomplish this through the following areas led by AgriNovus:
Business Growth
Entrepreneurial Acceleration
Thought Leadership (Events + Programming, Field Atlas, Research)
JOB OVERVIEW
AgriNovus Indiana, a non-profit coalition of agbioscience leaders focused on growing the state’s agbioscience economy, is searching for a proven leader to accelerate economic growth through proactive economic development guided by industry-informed applied research. The ideal candidate is driven by a purpose to impact the industry positively and has demonstrated the ability to lead economic development efforts and use commissioned research to create differentiated approaches to organizational and industry advancement. As a member of the organization’s leadership team reporting to the CEO, you will also serve a critical role in building coalitions across industry, academia, capital providers, governments, non-profits and donors to increase awareness of the need for agbioscience innovation and the positive momentum building across the state.
The Senior Director, Growth reports to and supports the President and CEO.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead the organization’s Business Growth service line to create, advance and win economic development projects in collaboration with partners across state and local government, industry, academia and non-profit partners.
Lead and manage all commissioned research projects from inception to publication, ensuring all are rooted in industry needs and applied to shape industry-advancing programs and projects.
Manage and operate high-priority, public-facing research-informed projects that may include coalitions of leaders from across industry, academia, government and philanthropy.
Create and manage Indiana agbioscience economic performance and forecast data, providing the organization insight into relative performance and progress to stated goals.
Identify and prioritize the opportunities for new agbioscience technologies and global industry trends
Collaborate with fellow Central Indiana Corporate Partnership initiatives (Ascend, BioCrossroads, Conexus and TechPoint) to develop cross-industry economic development and research programs.
Work as a member of the AgriNovus team to cultivate and secure financial support from partners across industry, academia, government and charitable interests to fund innovation challenges and operations.
Represent AgriNovus in external stakeholder meetings and make presentations on behalf of the organization as appropriate and needed.
Leverage and engage personal and professional networks to ensure innovators, companies and potential partners are aware of the agbioscience innovation in Indiana.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
BA/BS business degree or a related discipline
Minimum 8+ years of relevant business development and business strategy
Strong preference for additional experience in economic development and applied research
Strategic thinker who combines strong analytical skills and creative problem solving – turning concepts into actionable insights and programs.
Ability to translate vision into requirements and execute go-to-market programs and events.
Excellent time management is with a demonstrated ability to deliver results within condensed timeframes.
Strong project management skills; well-organized, structured approach, ability to achieve tight timelines on complex deliverables.
Demonstrated strong verbal, written and interpersonal skills combined with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
COMPETITIVE BENEFITS:
100% of healthcare and dental premiums are paid for individuals and family.
Pre-tax & Roth 401(k) Retirement Plan with generous match: 5% contributed by the employer regardless of employee contribution and up to an additional 5% employee voluntary contribution eligible to be matched by the employer.
Company-paid group life benefits as well as company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) including 17 holidays.
Office location at 16 Tech Innovation District with hybrid remote flexibility.
EEO Statement:
CICP grants equal opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, age, national origin, military service obligations, veteran status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law. CICP provides equal opportunity in wages, promotions, benefits, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment.
DETAILS
Job Category: Economic Development Manager: President and CEO, AgriNovus Indiana Office Location: Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, 16 Tech, Downtown Indianapolis Travel: Statewide
Union of three companies creates market-leading platform for crop nutrition and grower support to empower U.S. farming communities
BW Fusion, an innovator in agricultural crop and soil nutrition; Biodyne, an environmental microbiology company; and Agronomy 365, a tech-enabled crop analytics and management program; today announced their merging to create an integrated platform under BW Fusion. The combined company will offer growers more effective and sustainable biologicals at every stage of the crop nutrition cycle. The transaction formalized a previous strategic alliance between the three companies and will accelerate product innovations and enhance grower support. Financial support for the transaction was provided by Bain Capital Double Impact, the impact investing arm of Bain Capital.
“We are excited to collaborate with the founders to create a complete solution that fuses leading agronomy, environmental microbiology, and grower-support to accelerate BW Fusion’s impact”
In 1989, Dr. Fred Farley, an esteemed microbiologist and plant physiologist founded Biodyne and began developing beneficial microbes for environmental stewardship and bioremediation. His research was applied to hundreds of plant and vegetation species, proving efficacy to reduce soil contamination and improve overall plant health. In 2012, seeing the promise of Dr. Farley’s work, Gil Farley and Tim Weir formed a new venture to commercialize Biodyne’s products. These efforts later led to a partnership with third-generation grower Grant Wells and the founding of BW Fusion in 2019 with a focus on row crops such as corn, soy and wheat. As BW Fusion expanded, a partnership with Jason Schley and Agronomy 365 was formed.
Going forward, BW Fusion will marry Biodyne’s 30+ years of biologicals research, Agronomy 365’s cutting-edge data and software tools, and BW Fusion’s product development, manufacturing and commercial expertise to support farming communities across the U.S. BW Fusion is poised to benefit from long-term secular tailwinds in agriculture and increasing demand for environmentally sustainable biological crop nutrition solutions.
“Our mission has always been to help growers improve crop productivity and long-term soil health. As farmers ourselves, we understand the importance of providing growers with the right data to make informed decisions. Through our partnership to date, it’s evident that leveraging our combined strengths supports growers with the resources they need at scale to improve farming methods and increase long term profits,” said Jason Schley, BW Fusion’s Chief Agronomist and Product Officer. “BW Fusion’s products are now used on over 1 million acres across the U.S., and we are excited to partner with Bain Capital Double Impact to continue supporting farming communities while simultaneously helping the environment win,” said Grant Wells, a Partner at BW Fusion.
“We are excited to collaborate with the founders to create a complete solution that fuses leading agronomy, environmental microbiology, and grower-support to accelerate BW Fusion’s impact” said Jacob Donnelly, a Partner at Bain Capital Double Impact. “Our investment in the BW Fusion platform reflects our strategy of partnering with mission-driven companies to help them scale and achieve greater climate and sustainability results.”
Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
AgriNovus Indiana, a nonprofit coalition focused on growing Indiana’s agbioscience economy, announced today changes to its board of directors.
The board unanimously approved the addition of Natasha Cox, regional vice president of agricultural lending at Farm Credit Mid-America, and Howard Halderman, president of Halderman Real Estate and Farm Management, to replace outgoing directors.
“We’ve set a bold vision to create the conditions and connections to grow Indiana’s agbioscience economy by $8 billion by the end of the decade,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. “Natasha and Howard provide even more strength to our Board of Directors and will be critical to guiding our work to make our bold ambition a reality.”
Cox is the regional vice president of agricultural lending at Farm Credit Mid-America, leading retail offices across Indiana and has served in various roles for the company throughout her career. She currently serves on the Indiana Corn Marketing Council Board of Directors, the Purdue Center for Commercial Ag Advisory Board, Indiana Certified Livestock Producers Advisory Board, Senator Braun’s Ag Advisory Committee, the Ag Alumni Seeds Board of Directors and Wabash Heartland Innovation Network Board of Directors. Cox received her bachelor of science degree in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University and was named Purdue Agriculture Distinguished Alumni in 2022.
Halderman, who will serve as the board representative of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, is the third-generation leader of one of the largest family-owned professional farm management and real estate organizations in the United States. Halderman Real Estate and Farm Management oversees farmland assets for over 1,100 clients in 19 states. He also serves as the chairman of the Honeywell Foundation Board, director for First Merchants Corporation and member of the Parkview Health Board of Directors. Halderman received his bachelor of science degree in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.
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.
America just elected a new president and many states just elected new chief executives and legislators. What does this time of transition mean for ag, for agbioscience and for entrepreneurs? Sara Wyant, farmer, editor and publisher of Agri-Pulse, joins today to help us understand what’s ahead.
Sarah gets into regulatory topics – from immigration to sustainability – and talks through what the industry might expect from a second Trump administration, its new players as well as Congress. She also talks innovation, removing barriers to market entry and what lawmakers have to get done in order for farmers to plan for their operations.
Sarah founded Agri-Pulse with the idea that someone should be telling the story of how policy affects the hard work of farmers and, ultimately, the food we consume. With eyes on the future, Sarah talks what’s ahead for Agri-Pulse and what issues her team has an eye on headed into a new era of leadership in our country.
Anu and ekō Solutions aim to provide sustainable, year-round food production without pesticides, preservatives
Anu™ (Heliponix LLC) has been awarded a $175,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The company is potentially eligible for a $600,000 Phase II SBIR from USDA NIFA.
Purdue University alumni Scott Massey and Ivan Ball co-founded anu, which has received financial support from the Purdue Research Foundation.
The grant will be used to develop and commercialize anu’s Pure Produce® Containers. Anu and commercial manufacturing licensee partner ekō Solutions, a subsidiary of Land Betterment Corp., aim to provide sustainable, year-round food production without pesticides or preservatives.
“The containers utilize anu’s proprietary Rotary Aeroponics® technology,” said Massey, anu’s CEO. “They provide a modular, compact solution for growing fresh produce effortlessly from compostable, Self-Nurturing™ Seed Pods. The pods contain all necessary nutrients for each individual plant.”
Massey said the USDA SBIR grant and support from the Applied Research Institute enable anu and ekō Solutions to develop climate-smart, efficient systems that deliver fresher food closer to consumers, minimizing food waste, water use and nutrient loss while reducing supply-chain emissions.
“We address food supply-chain inefficiencies where some vegetables are overproduced threefold due to distribution losses, leading to significant nutrient and flavor degradation by the time they reach consumers,” he said. “We empower communities to become self-sufficient, growing food locally without relying on distribution networks. Through Harvesting When Hungry™, we maximize freshness, nutrition, food safety and flavor, encouraging healthier diets while reducing waste.
“The food as medicine movement is gaining momentum, with insurers like Elevance (formerly Anthem) Health and Global Atlantic Financial Group supporting us through the AgriNovus HungerTech Challenge and the SBA SCORE Competition, respectively, as produce prescriptions gain rapid adoption.”
Innovative tech for a sustainable future
Massey said anu’s Rotary Aeroponics technology enables production of up to 3,920 plants in a 20-foot shipping container, the greatest yield density of any container farm in the market, offering yield densities more than 20 times greater than conventional agriculture. The technology integrates advanced LED systems and aeroponic misting to maximize efficiency and reduce resource usage, including a 90% reduction in water use compared to traditional methods.
“The USDA grant allows us to refine our modular system and expand our offerings into fruiting plants that have yet to achieve profitability within other modular, hydroponic containers,” he said. “The grant ensures our system remains an effective solution for urban, rural and remote settings, including military bases, schools, health care centers and community gardens.”Peter Rodriguez, president of ekō Solutions, said, “Our research and development focuses on maximizing yield, energy and labor efficiency in container-based farming and enabling profitable crop differentiation with fruiting varieties. Anu’s Rotary Aeroponic system consistently reduces infrastructure and supply-chain demands, making it a highly accessible and efficient solution. Our partnership accelerates this technology’s market entry, bringing high-impact results to modern agriculture.”
Pilot programs and community impact
Anu established the Pure Produce pilot container farm in Evansville to demonstrate the technology’s potential. Massey said it can yield several tons of produce annually.
“The system offers a full return on investment faster than the time needed to construct a traditional, centralized vertical farming facility,” he said. “It allows deployment in hours, with growth beginning within a day and harvesting within weeks. Surplus produce has been donated to local food desert relief groups.”
Workforce development is a topic that tops the list of policymakers and business leaders across the country; but true change in workforce development requires more than policy or curriculum. Field Atlas is an online career exploration platform, coupled with the power of on-campus peer ambassadors, to connect the future workforce to careers across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture. Today we are joined by Ball State University student and Field Atlas Ambassador, Rilynne Puckett, to talk careers, discovering agbioscience and to answer a big question: what are young people looking for in their professional lives?
Rilynne dives into her accidental discovery of agbiosciences via the Field Atlas Company Tours program and how she instantly saw herself applying a chemistry degree to the industry. She’s been connecting with her peers on campus to share the agbioscience story – and talks their reaction to the opportunities in front of them.
What are college students looking for as the enter the workforce? Rilynne gets into striving for purpose, doing something you love and making an impact on our world.
A new survey of agribusiness professionals found that more than 70% spend more than 11 hours a week collecting, collating and analyzing data. It’s a challenge being tackled by Brazilian company, Sensix, and CEO Carlos Ribeiro joins us today to talk data as a huge task on-farm and their role in optimizing decisions for farmers.
Tremendous troves of data exist on the farm and, surprisingly, Carlos says the problems facing farmers in the U.S. are much the same as they are in Brazil. He gets into decision science and stresses the importance of mindset for tech adoption – despite the size of the farm.
So how is Sensix uniquely solving this problem? A tech guy at heart, Carlos says he realized the amount of data needed to adequately manage farms. He tells the Sensix story, consolidating software and creating one interface for the farmer.
In a time of tight farm margins, tech adoption is a tough sell. Carlos dives into their mission for a clear return on investment and putting money in farmers’ pockets in the short and long-term. On his recent visit to Indiana, he marvels at farmers’ data logs, appetite for decisions and looks ahead to what’s next for Sensix.
Liberation Labs has raised an additional $3.39 million in funding.
Precision fermentation start-up Liberation Labs was formed to provide the industry with the infrastructure to commercialise novel protein manufacturing at the scale and cost structure required by the market.
$2 million of the funding came from Agronomics and was made via a Secured Promissory Note, which accrues 10% interest annually and matures on 10 October 2027. With this new contribution, Agronomics’ total investment in Liberation Labs has reached $19.6 million, resulting in a 37.5% ownership stake on a fully diluted basis.
The $2 million investment from Agronomics will support the ongoing construction of Liberation Labs’ Launch Facility in Richmond, Indiana, US. The remaining $1.39 million will fund a feasibility study (including engineering and market analysis) to explore the construction of a commercial-scale, flexible-use, 4-million-litre biomanufacturing facility adjacent to the Launch Facility.
Agronomics’ executive chair, Jim Mellon, commented: “The recent commitment to invest across fabrication, firepower, fitness, food and fuel, demonstrates the potential of a biomanufacturing ecosystem in which the benefits of more secure and reliable supply chains are delivered across industries. In line with this, Liberation Labs has made significant steps towards securing binding offtake agreements for its Launch Facility.”
Mellon continued: “The company now has signed letters of intent with potential customers representing well over 200% of the available capacity for the first few years of operations, demonstrating strong demand for ‘fit for purpose’ biomanufacturing facilities across food, fuel, materials and pharmaceuticals.”
Earlier this year, Agronomics invested $10 million in Liberation Labs as part of a wider $12.5 million funding round, and, in January, it partnered with Ivy Tech Community College in Richmond, Indiana, US, to develop a new biomanufacturing workforce training programme.
Last year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded Ameris Bank a $25 million ‘business and industry’ loan guarantee for Liberation Labs’ biomanufacturing facility in Richmond, Indiana, US, and, months prior, the start-up secured $30 million to advance the development of its biomanufacturing facility in Richmond.
Company founded by Purdue University researcher expected to commercialize wound management product in Q2 2025
GeniPhys, a preclinical-stage company developing regenerative collagen polymeric biomaterials for soft tissue restoration, has been awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase IIB supplemental funding grant to support regulatory and commercial readiness of its flagship product, Collymer Self-Assembling Scaffold (SAS). The Phase IIB grant supplements a nearly $1 million NSF SBIR Phase II grant awarded to GeniPhys in 2022 and will support completion of manufacturing scalability and necessary testing to achieve 510(k) clearance of Collymer SAS for the wound care market.
“Hard-to-heal soft tissue defects and voids due to injury, disease, congenital birth defects or tumor removal are a major burden to both patients and the health care system,” said Andy Eibling, GeniPhys CEO. “GeniPhys is answering a longtime need for novel options for rapid and effective soft tissue restoration. This grant helps bring us into the homestretch of offering patients the potential of a more cost-effective treatment with more predictable outcomes and shorter healing times.”
Collymer SAS is a novel flowable collagen biomaterial based on a validated and proprietary technology platform that immediately restores tissue continuity via a rapid-forming, self-assembling collagen scaffold. Unlike traditional implantable materials, this collagen scaffold promotes regenerative remodeling — facilitating integration, cellularization and restoration of tissue characteristics without causing an inflammatory response. Its structural and signaling characteristics replicate those of natural collagen for faster healing and restoration of tissue defects and voids affecting soft tissues such as skin, breast, skeletal muscle and adipose.
While Collymer SAS has a wide range of applications across various surgical specialties, GeniPhys will initially enter the advanced wound care market, where more than 10 million patients are affected with nonhealing, chronic wounds. Simultaneously, GeniPhys will pursue additional indications, including breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) where preclinical study results have shown Collymer SAS excels as a first-in-kind regenerative breast tissue filler with potential to improve both oncologic and cosmetic outcomes.
Collymer SAS was developed by GeniPhys founder and chief technology officer Sherry Harbin, professor of biomedical engineering and courtesy professor of basic medical sciences at Purdue University. The patented technology is licensed to GeniPhys by the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization and is the cornerstone of the company’s broad intellectual property portfolio. Harbin also is part of Purdue’s collaborative One Health initiative.
