Jan 27, 2025, 14:31 by Colleen Settle, INFB Marketing Team
Contact:
Colleen Settle
317-692-7822 (office)
317-242-8907 (cell)
csettle@infb.org
(SAN ANTONIO) – Jan. 27, 2025 – Winners of the American Farm Bureau Federation Ag Innovation Challenge competition were announced today at AFBF’s Convention closing general session in San Antonio, Texas. Indianapolis-based company, Gripp, is the winner of this year’s competition. The Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge provides opportunities for Farm Bureau members to showcase business innovations being developed for agriculture.
Gripp, which offers farmers an operator-centric way to keep records of assets in combination with communication tools to keep everyone connected, receives a total of $100,000 for winning the challenge, courtesy of AFBF in partnership with Farm Credit. Gripp is led by Co-Founder and CEO Tracey Wiedmeyer, Indiana Farm Bureau member from Marion County, and Jenkin Lee, co-founder and chief product officer.
“Winning the Ag Innovation Challenge represents continued validation to not only the challenges facing farmers today but also the way we’ve decided to solve them,” said Wiedmeyer. “Farmers need cost-effective, no-nonsense tools that work for them.”
Gripp is grateful for the support and guidance of Farm Bureau and Farm Credit, and for the access they’ve provided to farmers and experts across the agriculture industry. We’ve met so many great people who’ve been invested in our success.”
Gripp was one of four finalist teams that received $10,000 and competed at AFBF National Convention in front of a live audience of Farm Bureau members, investors and industry representatives for the top prize. Prior to that, ten semi-finalist teams participated in a virtual pitch round in October 2024 with three judges representing various sectors of the agricultural supply chain.
“Indiana Farm Bureau is so proud of what Gripp has accomplished on the national stage at AFBF convention,” said Randy Kron, INFB president. “Indiana is a tech hub here in the Midwest, and this win spotlights how entrepreneurs in the ag innovation space can efficiently support farmers in their mission to feed the world.”
The other final four teams that participated in the challenge were Labby from New York, who was named runner-up in the contest, Halio from Utah and RhizeBio from North Carolina.
This is the 11th year of the Ag Innovation Challenge, which was the first national business competition focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs launching agriculture- and food-related businesses.
AFBF recognized these innovative businesses, in partnership with sponsors Farm Credit, Bayer Crop Science, John Deere, Farm Bureau Bank, Farm Bureau Financial Services and T-Mobile.
Learn more about the competition at fb.org/challenge, and find out more about Gripp at www.gripp.ag.
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About Indiana Farm Bureau: For more than 100 years, Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) has protected and enhanced the future of agriculture and our communities. As the state’s largest general farm organization, INFB works diligently to cultivate a thriving agricultural ecosystem to strengthen the viability of Indiana agriculture. Learn more at INFB.org.
