Four start-up companies, including one headquartered in Indiana, will compete for a top prize of $100,000 in the 2025 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. The goal of the contest, which is sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation in partnership with Farm Credit, is to elevate the importance of entrepreneurship in agriculture.

This is the 11^th year of the Ag Innovation Challenge. Farm Bureau is offering $145,000 in start-up funds throughout the course of the competition.

The finalist from Indiana is Gripp ( gripp.ag), which is headquartered in Indianapolis. The company provides farmers a user-friendly platform designed to track assets, communicate across teams and keep everything running smoothly. This solution aims to help farmers stay connected and on top of work, from the office to the field.

The other three finalists are Halio, Utah ( haliosolutions.com); Labby, New York ( labbyinc.com); and RhizeBio, North Carolina ( rhizebio.com).

The four finalists each received $10,000. They will compete at the AFBF convention on Jan. 26 in front of a live audience of Farm Bureau members, investors and industry representatives. Prizes total $100,000 for the challenge winner and $25,000 for the challenge runner-up. Farm Bureau recognizes and supports these businesses with funding provided by sponsors Farm Credit, Bayer, John Deere, Farm Bureau Bank, Farm Bureau Financial Services and T-Mobile.

Entrepreneurs must be Farm Bureau members to qualify as a top 10 semifinalist. The finalists were selected after the semi-finalist teams presented a virtual pitch to three judges representing various sectors of the agricultural supply chain.

Find out more at fb.org/challenge.