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Key Takeaways
- Agri-food tech brings together agriculture and plant science, food security & geospatial technology
- St. Louis’ strengths: a diverse & highly educated talent pipeline, cutting-edge research facilities, proximity to growers & customers, a thriving startup ecosystem, and geospatial expertise
- STLMade innovation “will meet rapidly changing global needs and feed, build, and fuel the future”
ST. LOUIS – What even is “Agri-Food Tech”? Or is it “Agrifoodtech”? Or “Agrifood Tech”?
Across the world, different people call it different things and spell it different ways, but one thing is clear: St. Louis is one of America’s rapidly growing centers for innovation that brings together agriculture and plant science, food security, and geospatial technology to research and develop solutions to some of the country’s and world’s most pressing challenges.
“St. Louis’ agri-food tech ecosystem has all of the critical elements to be America’s center of agriculture-based innovation, innovation that will meet rapidly changing global needs and feed, build, and fuel the future,” said Emily Lohse-Busch, Executive Director, 39 North Innovation District, which was formed to develop, support, and amplify the St. Louis agtech innovation system.
Selling St. Louis’ Strategic Strengths in Agri-Food Tech on the Global Stage
Lohse-Busch will join the Business Attraction team from Greater St. Louis, Inc. and leaders from St. Louis’ agtech and geospatial sectors to represent the region at this year’s World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco. The Summit takes place March 11 and 12.
The STLMade team will showcase the St. Louis region’s strengths in agtech, most notably:
- A thriving startup ecosystem. Venture capital, non-dilutive funding, accelerator programs, innovation districts, and wrap-around support are all available to fuel startup growth and turn dynamic ideas into commercialized solutions.
- A dedicated agtech innovation district & the world’s largest plant science institute. St. Louis is home to more than 1,000+ plant scientists who share a mission to feed the world. The region is also home to a dedicated district for operation and collaboration as well as world’s largest nonprofit plant science institute, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
- Proximity to growers and customers. St. Louis’ centralized location allows us to field-test promising concepts right in our backyard.
- Geospatial expertise. St. Louis’ expertise in location science, smart devices, remote imaging and sensing, AI, and machine learning accelerates innovation in plant sciences and precision farming.
- Research institutions & talent pipeline. A broad network of Midwest research institutions connects St. Louis’ agtech and geospatial sectors – increasing the region’s capacity to create new breakthroughs – while schools and tech programs across the 15-county metro area are filling a pipeline of STEM talent prepared to shape the future.
- America’s “Ag Coast.” This 15-mile stretch along the Mississippi River handles more grain barges than anywhere else along the entire length of the river.
Said Chad Zimmerman, AgriFood Director at BioSTL, “Our strategic location, highly skilled and diverse workforce, world-class research institutions, and collaboration with St. Louis’ geospatial ecosystem truly set our region apart as a leader in agri-food tech, and we’re taking that message directly to the global audience.”
Summit Attendees Will Learn That St. Louis Is Where They Can “Start Up, Scale Up, and Stay”
As part of their work to promote St. Louis as a hub for agri-food tech, St. Louis leaders will host a panel discussion titled “From Seed to Scale: Driving Agri-food Innovation in the Heartland.” The STLMade panel discussion will be moderated by Lohse-Busch, who will be joined by panelists Charlie Bolten, CEO, Solis Agrisciences; Larry Page, Managing Director, Lewis & Clark AgriFood; Nick Reinke, CEO, HabiTerre; and Tania Seger, CEO, Plastomics. The discussion will focus on St. Louis as a leading agri-food innovation hub and will highlight how our ecosystem supports startups and investment, positioning St. Louis as a prime destination for agri-food investment.
“We’ll show the global industry leaders at World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit that St. Louis is one of the world’s leading centers for agtech, and that they need to look at St. Louis as their new home for growth and investment,” said Maggie Kost, GSL’s Chief Business Attraction Officer. “Everyone at the Summit will learn that St. Louis is a place they can start up, scale up, and stay.”
The STLMade delegation representing the region at World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit includes:
- Ecosystem partners. 39 North Innovation District, Arch Grants, BioGenerator Ventures, BioSTL, Cultivation Capital, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Gates Ag One, Greater St. Louis, Inc., Lewis & Clark AgriFood, National Corn Growers Association, Taylor Geospatial Institute, TechAccel, United Soybean Board, and the Yield Lab.
- Major corporations. Bayer Crop Science, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Bunge, Hermann Companies, and Polsinelli.
- Startups. Aferna, Agragrene, AgXelerators, CoverCress, Cquesta, Elemental Enzymes, EpiCrop Technologies, HabiTerre, Hjelle Consulting Group, Impetus Agriculture, Inner Circle AG, INTENT, Minas Espresso, NewLeaf Symbiotics, Pivot Bio, Plastomics, Pluton Biosciences, RNAissance AG, Solis Agrisciences, and VertiGreens.
Media Contact: Tony Wyche | 314-398-9991 | Tony@GreaterSTLInc.com