Agriculture Innovation Technology Summit

Save the date for March 9, 2022 for #AgTech22!

Thank you for a great 2021 AgTech Innovation Summit. Video recordings of presentations and panels will be posted to the Research Park YouTube channel when available. Stay tuned!

To stay up to date on all things Research Park AgTech, please subscribe to our outreach list.

The next AgTech Innovation Summit will take place on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Join us to explore how technology solutions are addressing some of the most significant challenges facing agriculture today – and learn about what is on the horizon. One of the premier AgTech hubs in the nation, Champaign-Urbana is uniquely positioned to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and industry for learning, networking and advancing this sector.

This interactive conference offers participants the opportunity to learn and share knowledge about the current state of agtech and looking into the future through dynamic panels, inspiring keynote presentations, and networking opportunities.

Questions, please contact Laura Bleill at lwbleill@illinois.edu.

March 9, 2022
University of Illinois Research Park

AgTech Summit Networking Night

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

5:00 PM: Opening remarks

Laura Bleill | Director of external engagement, University of Illinois Research Park

5:05 PM: Fruit Vaccine Presentation

Indu Rupassara | CEO & Director, FruitVaccine

5:10 PM: IBRL Presentation
Beth Conerty |Assistant Director of Business Development, IBRL

5:15 PM: Breakout rooms

FruitVaccine | Indu Rupassara
IBRL | Beth Conerty
Row Crop Boot Camp | Moore & Warner Ag Group
Open Innovation in Ag | Phil Taylor, Bayer
How AgTech Can Reduce Inequality and Increase Sustainability? | Paul Hunter, Kin & Carta
Agtech Entrepreneurship | Jack Marck, Illinois AgTech Accelerator
General Research Park Info

5:30 PM: AirV Labs Presentation

Faisal Yazadi | CEO & Co-Founder, AirV Labs

5:35 PM: OPen innovation in ag

Phil Taylor | Global Open Innovation Lead, Bayer

5:40 PM: Breakout rooms

AirV Labs | Faisal Yazadi
IBRL | Beth Conerty
Row Crop Boot Camp | Moore & Warner Ag Group
Open Innovation in Ag | Phil Taylor, Bayer
How AgTech Can Reduce Inequality and Increase Sustainability? | Paul Hunter, Kin & Carta
Agtech Entrepreneurship | Jack Marck, Illinois AgTech Accelerator
General Research Park Info

6:00 PM: AgriWater Presentation

Biannca Bailey | Founder, AgriWater

6:05 PM: Breakout rooms

IBRL | Beth Conerty
Row Crop Boot Camp | Moore & Warner Ag Group
Open Innovation in Ag | Phil Taylor, Bayer
AgriWater | Biannca Bailey
How AgTech Can Reduce Inequality and Increase Sustainability? | Paul Hunter, Kin & Carta
Agtech Entrepreneurship | Jack Marck, Illinois AgTech Accelerator
General Research Park Info

6:25 PM: Closing remarks

Laura Bleill | Director of external engagement, University of Illinois Research Park

2021 Agenda

Wednesday March 10, 2021

8:00 AM: Webinar Opens

8:15 AM: WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park
Chancellor Robert Jones | Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

8:45 AM: Morning Keynote

Shannon Hauf | Senior Vice President and Head of Seed Production Innovation, Bayer Crop Science

9:10 AM: FIRESIDE CHAT: JIM SPRADLIN, GROWMARK

Moderator: Dean Kim Kidwell | Dean, University of Illinois College of ACES
Jim Spradlin | CEO, GROWMARK

9:45 AM: Agrifood Innovation

Moderator: Vijay Singh | Director, University of Illinois IBRL
Michael Fassnacht | Interim President & CEO, World Business Chicago
Linda Mallers Porzenheim | CEO & President, FarmLogix
Robbert Rietbroek | Senior Vice President and General Manager, Quaker Foods North America
Samir Mayekar | Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development, City of Chicago

10:15 AM: BREAK

10:30 AM: REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Moderator: Adam Davis | Department Head, University of Illinois Dept. of Crop Sciences
Matt Duncan | Manager of Digital Agronomy, Nutrien Ag Solutions
Tom Rabaey | Sr. R&D Manager, General Mills

11:00 AM: FIRESIDE CHAT: Seth Crawford, AGCO

Moderator: Cody Allen | Assistant Professor, UIUC Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Seth Crawford | SVP, Precision Ag and Digital, AGCO

11:20 AM: GLEN “GB” BRANDT PRIZE FOR AG ENTREPRENEURISM

11:35 AM: The AG SECTOR’S ROLE IN CARBON MARKETS

Moderator: Megan Miller | Business Development Manager, Moore & Warner Ag Group
Emma Fuller | Director of Sustainability Science, Granular
Chris Harbourt | Global Head of Carbon, Indigo Ag
Kaiyu Guan | Blue Waters Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

12:05 PM: Fireside Chat: Julian Sanchez, John Deere

Moderator: Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park
Julian Sanchez | Director of Emerging Technology, John Deere

12:30 PM: Edwin MOORE Family Agriculture INNOVATION PRIZE

12:45 PM: Past MOORE INNOVATION PRIZE Winners

Moderator: Jack Marck | Managing Director, Illinois AgTech Accelerator
Angela Green-Miller | Co-Founder and President, TellTail
Chinmay Soman | Co-founder and CEO, EarthSense
Daphne Preuss | CEO, Aspiring Universe
Kaustubh Bhalerao | CEO, Soil Diagnostics

1:15 pm Fireside Chat: Kroger

Moderator: Brendan McGinty | Director of Industry, National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Dan Whitacre, Senior Director of Kroger Labs, Kroger

1:30 PM: FIRESIDE CHAT: Sam Eathington, Corteva

Moderator: Dean Kim Kidwell | Dean, University of Illinois College of ACES
Sam Eathington | Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Corteva Agriscience

2:00 PM: BREAK

2:15 PM: Emerging Disruption in Agriculture

What technology or business model will be the next big disruption or game-changing paradigm in agriculture? For this session with Genective President & CEO Linda Jing, we will gather ideas in advance and select contributors to share their vision live during the program. During the AgTech Summit we will use the Zoom polling feature to ask participants to vote on ideas that they think will be most impactful the industry. Submit your idea.

If you submit an idea, you will receive the collective input from all contributed ideas in this call for submissions. The results will be aggregated and not attributed to individual names or companies. We will also share polling results from the event and notes from the overall AgTech Summit.

Moderator: Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park
Linda Jing | President & CEO, Genective

2:40 PM: AI FARMS

Moderator: Germán Bollero | Associate Dean of Research, University of Illinois College of ACES
Vikram Adve | Co-Director, Center for Digital Ag
Matt Hudson | Co-Director, Center for Digital Ag

3:00 PM: BUILDING THE FUTURE AGTECH WORKFORCE

Moderator: Laura Bleill | Director, Communications and External Engagement, University of Illinois Research Park
Misha Shah | Site Manager, AGCO
April Hoffart | Modeling Capability Manager, ADM
Blake Giles | Head of Innovation Center, Bayer

3:30 PM: iNVESTMENT IN aGTECH

Moderator: Nancy Sullivan | CEO & Managing Director, Illinois Ventures
Darren Streiler | Managing Director – ADM Ventures , ADM
Dennis Beard | Managing Partner, Serra Ventures
Michael Lavin | Founder & Managing Partner, Germnin8 Ventures

4:00 PM: gROWERS & pRODUCERS

Moderator: Jim Hedges | VP Seed & Services Marketing, Winfield United
Mike Haag | Former President, Illinois Pork Producers Association
Brady Holst | At Large Director, Illinois Soybean Association
John Williams | Farm Manager, Sola Gratia Farm

4:25 PM: CLOSING REMARKS

4:30 – 5:30 PM: AGTECH Student Career EVENT

Registered Companies: Bayer, John Deere, Illinois AgTech Accelerator, and EnterpriseWorks
*This event is exclusive to companies located in the Research Park

5:00 – 6:30 PM: Bayer Agconnect Networking EVENT

Open Innovation: Phil Taylor | Global Open Innovation Lead, Bayer
Carbon Credits: Cintia Ribeiro | Carbon Field Program Lead, Bayer
Smallholder farming: Stella Salvo | Head of Breeding Partnerships for Smallholder Farmer, Bayer
What’s in a Label? (Organic, GMO, etc.): Cami Ryan | Social and Behavioral Sciences Lead, Bayer
“Ask us Anything”: Industry Careers: Blake Giles | Head of Innovation Center, Bayer
Sustainability Commitments: Pamela Bachman | Digital Ag & Sustainability Manager, The Climate Corporation

Join the Bayer AgConnect Networking event Here

AgTech Awards

Edwin Moore Family Agriculture agriculture award

The Edwin Moore Family Agriculture agriculture award was established in 2016 with a generous gift to EnterpriseWorks. The goal of this award is to help startup companies engaged in the development of new innovative technologies that may lead to increased productivity and/or efficiency in farming or to create new agricultural opportunities, including new processes, new crops, and new food production systems.

The award honors the legacy of Edwin E. Moore (1924), who graduated from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture and began farming in Will County. Throughout his agricultural career, he and his wife, Iva, used innovative farming practices for both crop production and livestock management. Two of their four children also became farmers, Edwin and Thomas (1953, College of Agriculture), and continued use of innovative farm practices. Subsequent generations of Edwin Moore’s family have continued to pursue farming and ag-related careers capturing the same innovative spirit.

The previous winners include:

Epivara(2021)

AspiringUniverse(2020)

TellTail(2019)

EarthSense(2018)

Soil Diagnostics(2017)

Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism Award

The Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism was established in 2021 in honor of Glen “GB” Brandt, a legendary figure in the field of Illinois agriculture, who passed away in late 2020. The BRANDT Foundation partnered with the University of Illinois to provide the winner a $10,000 prize.

The BRANDT Foundation was established in 2012 as a philanthropic extension of BRANDT, Inc. The Brandt family has always stood with their communities and as their company grew, so did the opportunities to give back. The BRANDT Foundation offers donations, grants, and support to the charities, organizations, and communities that reside in the same area of the company; geographically and industry-related.