Bluegrass AgTech awards grants to seven ag-tech innovators

[LEXINGTON, Kentucky] — Seven businesses are winners of the first Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp incentive grants that are designed to encourage ag-tech and food-based businesses to locate in Kentucky.

Bluegrass AgTech, which is cultivating an innovation ecosystem for entrepreneurs and startups in the agricultural sector, is a partnership among City of Lexington, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and Alltech.

“We want to become the international address of ag-tech businesses, and this is an exciting step forward,” said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton.

Bluegrass AgTech announced its challenge grants program last November. Applications were received from more than 80 companies and seven were awarded this week.

Through the challenge grant program, Bluegrass AgTech is connecting agricultural innovators with both public and private funding sources and incentives, attracting new agri-food and agri-business companies to Kentucky, boosting the economy, and unlocking a more affordable, nutritious and environmentally sustainable food future for Kentucky and beyond.

“Agriculture plays a fundamental role in not only producing food, but also preserving the planet. Funding innovative ag-tech entrepreneurs is critical to achieving this mission – and to helping transform Kentucky into the agricultural technology capital of the United States, just as my father, Dr. Pearse Lyons, envisioned years ago,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, chair of the Bluegrass AgTech board of directors and president and CEO of Alltech, a global company focused on improving the health and performance of people, animals and plants through nutrition and scientific innovation. “These first seven challenge grant winners will help Bluegrass AgTech foster an innovation ecosystem in Kentucky, paving the way for the development of technologies that will be highly relevant to both our traditional agriculture sectors and those that will emerge in the future.”

Bob Helton, executive director of Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp, said the challenge grants provide incentive funding, valuable resources and promotional opportunities. Selected grant recipients will also be offered resource support, such as mentorship, referrals to professional services, connections to local growers and research teams, and other business development assistance.

Each applicant was able to apply for up to $100,000 of grant funding in this first year of the program. The seven grant recipients were awarded a combined total of $625,000. 

Applicants were required to provide a 100% match. The program was open to registered, for-profit businesses currently located in or willing to establish a presence in Lexington or Kentucky, with an emphasis on startups and early-stage businesses.

Lexington contributed $1 million to establish the grants and get the partnership started. The state also provided $1 million through the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.

The winners include:

• HempWood, which utilizes biomimicry to transform hemp fibers and protein-based bonding agents into a viable substitute for solid oak.

• Iristrac, which provides horse owners with a painless, noninvasive method of identification and a web platform and database to store and access their horse’s IDs and other records.  The primary product of Iristrac is a patented equine iris scanner.
• Lepidext Inc., a company that discovers, develops and commercializes safe and effective bioinsecticides to control lepidopteran pests in food and fiber crops, leading to improvements in sustainable food production and a positive impact on environmental health parameters.
• Parasight System Inc., a company that has developed the world’s only push-button fecal egg count system for veterinary clinics.
• RedLeaf Biologics, a biotechnology that combines proprietary plant genetics and extraction processes to develop a range of phytochemical extracts with applications in health, cosmetics, wellness and nutrition.
• Spirited Biomaterials, which creates polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a scientifically proven fully biodegradable plastic substitute that can be used as a direct replacement for the look and feel of traditional petroleum-based plastics.
• Sunflower Fuels, which provides bio-based feedstocks to the power and refining industries. Its mission is to harness the untapped potential of people and land in rural areas to grow energy crops that will extract carbon from the air and power the U.S. economy.