FarmMind Wins $100K in Ag Innovation Challenge

Jan 13, 2026

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.”

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Video: Cheapest States to Buy Farmland in America

The United States has more than 895 million acres of farmland, which includes all rural land tied to farming operations, from highly fertile Midwest cornfields to vast grazing ranges in the West, as well as the undeveloped rural land, which is often sold as ranches, homesteads, or uncultivated lots. Nowadays investing in rural land is very lucrative even billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett have bought up thousands of acres of farmland across America. In contrast to investors, agricultural companies, and business moguls, some buy farmland for their own requisites, like starting a small farmstead, creating a cottage, and becoming self-resilient. In this video we have ranked the top cheapest states to buy farmland according to the per-acre land value, which is accumulated from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s per-acre land values come from an annual survey, which is cross-checked with actual sales data, appraisals, and market trends to ensure accuracy. So here are The top Cheapest States to Buy Farmland.