AgriNovus Indiana, a nonprofit coalition focused on growing Indiana’s agbioscience economy, announced today changes to its executive committee and its board of directors.
The board unanimously approved the addition of Robert King, executive vice president, Crop Protection Business Unit at Corteva Agriscience, and David Pugh, chief financial officer of AgReliant Genetics, to the executive committee. The board also approved the addition of Dr. Brian Lutz, vice president of Agricultural Solutions at Corteva Agriscience, and Micah Beckwith, Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, as successions to replace outgoing directors.
“Indiana’s agbioscience economy continues to grow 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 breadth of expertise to our team as we work to build the agbioscience economy of the future.”
Beckwith is Indiana’s lieutenant governor, overseeing the state’s Department of Agriculture and leading the Office of Community and Rural Affairs. He grew up working in the dairy industry and for more than fifteen years, he has served as a pastor. Beckwith holds a bachelor of science in Business and Economics from Huntington College.
King is executive vice president of the Crop Protection Business Unit at Corteva Agriscience, a role he assumed in 2022. Prior to Corteva, he served as senior vice president and chief integrated supply officer at Nouryon, a specialty chemicals company, where he spearheaded the global and cross-business integration of the company’s supply chain. King has also held leadership roles at PPG, Nutrien, Agrium and Celanese, leading teams in the United States, Canada, China and the United Kingdom. King holds a bachelor of science in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University, a master’s of business administration from Texas Woman’s University and is also a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma.
Lutz is vice president of Agricultural Solutions at Corteva Agriscience, overseeing the development of digital solutions that support the research and development pipeline. Previously, he was chief science officer of The Climate Corporation and held a leadership role on the Bayer Crop Science research and development team. Lutz was raised on a fourth-generation farm in Ohio and remains closely connected to his family’s farming operation. He earned his bachelor of science in Biology from the College of Wooster and his doctorate in Biogeochemistry from Duke University. Lutz also holds certificates from Northwestern University in executive education and business management.
Pugh serves as vice president of finance and chief financial officer of AgReliant Genetics, overseeing the financial direction of the company on key, long-range strategies. Previously, he was treasurer and vice president of finance strategy and risk management for Elanco Animal Health, where he established the treasury and risk management teams upon Elanco’s IPO and spin off from Eli Lilly. Prior to Elanco, Pugh spent 24 years with Eli Lilly & Company where he held several positions in finance and information technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Purdue University and a master of business administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana 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.
Ontario-based Skjodt-Barrett Contract Packaging LLC says it will invest $58 million to double its manufacturing footprint in Boone County. The contract food manufacturer and packaging company, whose U.S. headquarters are in Lebanon, says the 340,000-square-foot expansion will include additional production lines and freezer space.
Skjodt-Barrett is a co-manufacturer of retail ready, pouch products, including baby food, lunchbox fruit snacks, and salad dressing.
“Boone County is quickly becoming a hub for food and ag-related companies considering the central Indiana region,” said Molly Whitehead, Boone County Economic Development Corp. executive director. “We’re thrilled a local company has expanded once again, and we look forward to welcoming similar companies to our community.”
Indiana is set to receive up to $99.1 million in federal funding to expand access to and increase capital for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced Monday the state is one of the first 14 to be approved by the U.S. Department of Treasury for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
The SSBCI, which was established in 2010, was reauthorized and funded through The American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. The IEDC says the funding is expected to leverage $10 in follow-on investment for each $1 of SSBCI.
“As a state, Indiana is strategically focused on creating the economy of the future and investing in the jobs of tomorrow and taking Indiana’s Top 40 Global Entrepreneurship Ecosystem to a Top 5 Ecosystem is an essential goal of that initiative,” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers. “This SSBCI award will inject critical funding and resources into our ecosystem of current and future entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses who are solving global challenges, creating new technologies, and positively impacting Hoosier communities statewide.”
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Ten teams will square off Tuesday in a pitch competition as part of the AgriNovus Indiana HungerTech Challenge. For the past month, teams have been developing technologies to address food access, particularly among users of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Participants in the challenge are developing solutions that will allow SNAP recipients, who order groceries online, to use SNAP benefits to pay for delivery fees, which is currently prohibited.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, AgriNovus Chief Executive Officer Mitch Frazier said technology can help improve food access for people who live in food deserts.
“I think when we look at those who are served by SNAP, those who are food insecure, it is really critical that we do everything we can as a people, and as an economy, to help them out,” said Frazier. “And if you think about those who are food insecure, they also may be transportation insecure.”
Two Indiana manufacturers are preparing to invest millions of dollars to grow operations in Whitestown. The town says Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing and Indianapolis-based iwis drive systems LLC will make a combined investment of $40 million in the Boone County community.
Weaver Popcorn says it will invest $25 million in technology at their Whitestown plant to accelerate growth and double production of its snack food.
“Investing in its people, products, and technology has been at the forefront of this 94-year-old companies’ heritage.” said Tim Ingle, chief operating officer of Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing.
The popcorn plant in Whitestown currently employs more than 500 people. The company also has facilities in Grant County.
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has unveiled a three-year strategic plan it says outlines how the 11-county region will “continue to build an economically resilient region by increasing the region’s competitiveness to attract new investment.” The partnership says the development of the plan found that the region must pivot to compete for higher value-added economic activities instead of solely focusing on cost or incentives.
Partnership President and CEO Stephane Frijia tells Inside INdiana Business while the region will welcome businesses of all types, they are focusing on more high-value targets.
“When you look at those high-technology, high-wage paying type of operators, typically it’s a higher-level function; they require a higher level of skill. Obviously, there’s automation. There’s higher cap-ex,” said Frijia. “So, how we position ourselves to go after those types of operations that typically pay better wages, offer better benefits…that really becomes the driving force.”
An Evansville-based startup is making waves for its zero-carb pizza crust and has plans for growth. ZeroCarb LYFE produces a high-protein crust that includes chicken among its ingredients and is available for purchase in more than 150 restaurants and select supermarkets. The company recently closed on an oversubscribed $1.5 million seed round of funding, and already has plans for a seed-plus round later this year.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Chief Executive Officer Omar Atia says he was surprised by the amount of money the company was able to raise.
“You know, it was founder money that kept [the company] going for the first year and few months and, of course, the revenue we were making because it took off so well,” Atia said. “Our goal was $1 million and we oversubscribed it and actually had to turn some investors away.”
Indiana pig farmer Heather Hill was elected this week to serve as the president of the National Pork Board for the next year. Heather, her husband Marc, and his parents have a 600-sow farrow-to-finish operation in Greenfield, just east of Indianapolis, where they also grow corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Hill says she initially got involved in leadership roles because of what she’s most passionate about her family.
“When I first became involved at the state level through Indiana Pork and served as the president there and then became involved with National Pork Board and joined the officer rotation, it was very much I feel like we need to be willing to stand up and be the voice for our industry today if we want there to be an industry for our children in the future.”
From a humble soybean, a team of Boilermakers has sprouted the idea for “Smulch.” Comprised of Indiana soybeans, the rubber-like material could be used to make gardening mulch or soft playground surfacing, eliminating potentially toxic materials used in the traditional versions of both products, says Team Smulch. The student trio captured the $20,000 top prize at the annual Student Soybean Innovation Competition, where students harvest new ideas to drive consumption of the crop.
Many conventional mulch products—both for landscaping and gardening—contain chopped pieces of rubber from recycled tires. The soft, buoyant surfacing used on playgrounds also contains “crumb rubber” made from grinding recycled tires, which is causing alarm.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently assessing the risk to children from playground surfaces containing tire crumb, as they may get the surfacing in their mouth or on their hands. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Environmental Protection Agency are studying the chemical characteristics of recycled tire materials related to exposures on artificial turf athletic fields.
“[Tires] are made from really bad plastic and can eventually cause a carcinogen effect,” says Zuhal Cakir, a Purdue University chemical engineering PhD student on Team Smulch. “It’s really bad, especially for kids playing on the playground, or even garden settings where [the toxins] can transfer [from mulch] to the vegetables and eventually affect our health. We need healthier and non-cancer related products on the market that we can use in these settings.”
A Purdue University engineering professor who developed a solar-powered tool to help subsistence farmers preserve food in Africa has been named Indiana and Great Lakes Region Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Dr. Klein Ileleji, co-founder and chief executive officer of JUA Technologies International, devised a dehydrating system that dries fresh foods. The Dehytray helps small farmers reduce food waste in countries where refrigeration and storage are limited, but solar power is plentiful.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Ileleji explained exports are a great opportunity for small business owners.
“Sometimes when we think of small businesses, we think of a small business just doing things here, just doing business within the states. But quite a few of us actually export our products overseas,” Ileleji said.
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