March 4, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Company-building platform and early stage investor in ag and food technologies, Radicle Growth, has a history of forging partnerships and launching platforms that create challenges designed to identify and grow startups advancing technologies that drive the evolution of our food systems. Its latest announcement is for the launch of The Radicle Corn Value Chain Challenge sponsored by U.S. Corn Farmers.

Corn is grown on nearly 100 million acres in the U.S. alone, and accounts for more than $80 billion of the country’s annual revenue. Of this production, approximately 48 percent of the corn grown is used for animal feed, 30 percent for biofuel production, and 22 percent is for exports and other uses.

It is the farmers across the U.S. Midwest that produce the bulk of the corn that drives this economic engine that is also impacted by agricultural and downstream market trends.

With a minimum of $1.5 million to award to global startups, the Challenge is looking to identify technologies or business models that create new uses for corn and long-term, sustainable demand for corn production. 

“Feeding and providing plant-based materials for our growing population is paramount,” said Kirk Haney, managing partner, Radicle Growth.

“We recognize that to transform our agriculture system and advance solutions in the food and industrial value chains sustainably, we need to find new technologies working to create new uses for corn. We are excited about the opportunity to benefit U.S. corn farmers by finding and funding the best entrepreneurs worldwide who solve these issues.”

Ideal companies would be those that are developing new uses for corn that result in replacements for fossil fuel-derived materials with plant-derived materials. These include sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), drop-in chemicals and plastics, compostable materials, or as-yet unidentified products or product categories that are potentially new areas for corn-derived products to be used. 

In addition to demand for new uses, more sustainable production systems will enhance the demand for any new bio-product in a highly competitive market, explained Radicle and U.S. Corn Farmers. As biotechnology, AI, and new business models continue to evolve throughout the corn value chain, the companies stated they anticipate identifying companies able to modify the corn crop, or those that are making advances in the biological and thermochemical processing of corn, high-value health applications of the crop, or the production of sustainable biofuels or bioproducts. 

“As the corn industry continues to expand in Iowa and around the country, the surplus of corn carryout is forecasted to increase,”  said Stan Nelson, president, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, and farmer from Middletown, Iowa.

“Through the Radicle Corn Value Chain Challenge, we will be able to explore innovative uses for this surplus and have the potential to unlock new revenue streams for corn farmers. By embracing innovation and demand growth, we can ensure the long-term profitability of all U.S. corn growers and contribute to the economic growth of the country.”

“Driving new demand for U.S. corn is a top priority for NCGA and its state partners,” added Harold Wolle, president, National Corn Growers Association.

“We’re proud to partner with supporting states on this innovative challenge as another way NCGA is working to find new uses for corn and provide sustainable product solutions for consumers.”

Investment decisions will be made during a Pitch Day happening in the Fall of 2024. At that time, a judging panel of industry experts will hear from four finalists chosen from the pool of global applicants.

In addition to the funding, the winners will receive advice from both corn industry experts and Radicle senior executives who will help accelerate the startup’s business and technology. Interested parties can apply to The Radicle Corn Value Chain Challenge here.

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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