FarmMind Wins $100K in Ag Innovation Challenge

The Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge, now in its 12th year, provides opportunities for Farm Bureau members to showcase business innovations being developed for agriculture. Louisiana-based FarmMind is the winner of this year’s competition. The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, announced the winner from among four finalists at the 2026 American Farm Bureau Convention.

FarmMind received a total of $100,000 to grow the business. Colin Raby, a Louisiana Farm Bureau member, is team lead for the company, which brings agricultural workflows together in one place, including field notes, GIS management, regulatory compliance, financial tracking and real-time agronomic insights.

KiposTech was named runner-up in the contest and received a total of $25,000. Hema Ravindran, a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau member, is team lead for the company, which is revolutionizing poultry farming with plasma-based air disinfection and AI-powered monitoring solutions that protect birds from airborne diseases, dust and ammonia.

“Innovation isn’t just an option, it’s the path forward for agriculture in today’s fast-changing world,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “The entrepreneurs we’re celebrating today are driving the future of agriculture by creating innovative solutions to the challenges farmers and ranchers face.”

The final four teams that competed in Anaheim were selected from a field of 10 semi-finalist teams that participated in a virtual pitch round in September with three judges representing various sectors of the agricultural supply chain.

CryoBio from New York and Vivid Machines from Washington also reached the final four round of the competition and received $10,000 each.

The Ag Innovation Challenge winner and runner-up were selected by a three-person judging panel: Mark McHargue, president, Nebraska Farm Bureau; Joe Waddell, director of market innovation, Horizon Farm Credit; and Frank Wong, director of stakeholder relations, Bayer.

Farm Bureau is proud to recognize these innovative businesses, in partnership with sponsors Farm Credit, Bayer, John Deere, Farm Bureau Bank, Farm Bureau Financial Services and T-Mobile. Learn more about the competition at fb.org/challenge.