Farm Health Guardian Completes Cultivo™ Virtual Academy for Global Startups

Founders and entrepreneurs complete unique six-week immersion program with Iowa business, research, government and entrepreneurial leaders

May 21, 2024 – Des Moines, Iowa – Farm Health Guardian announced today that the company successfully completed the Cultivo™ Virtual Academy designed to speed their entry into the U.S. marketplace. The six-week virtual program is hosted and coordinated by America’s Cultivation Corridor®, providing participants a unique experience featuring mentorship, interaction with Iowa’s agricultural leaders and an online curriculum that included regulatory and financing systems, and customer perspectives. The Iowa Economic Development Authority was the presenting sponsor of the program.

Farm Health Guardian automates biosecurity for farms and food companies to improve animal health and protect against the devastating impact of animal disease. The patented system provides real-time alerts when people or trucks breach biosecurity protocols and controls barn entry using facial recognition technology.

“The Cultivo Virtual Academy attracts some of the most exciting and innovative international scaleups as they move toward bringing their products and technologies to the U.S. agricultural marketplace,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority. “We are excited to help them build valuable connections with Iowa’s research, farming and business leaders as they refine products and business strategies for a launch to U.S. farmers, livestock producers and ag companies.”

Applications for future cohorts of Cultivo Virtual Academy are now being accepted. For more information on the program, or to learn about opportunities to sponsor or participate in a future cohort, visit https://www.cultivationcorridor.org or contact Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor at bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org.

Investors and partners of America’s Cultivation Corridor are working together to accelerate the development of new technologies, strengthen Iowa’s ag bioscience workforce, and attract economic development, all focused on meeting the challenge of feeding a growing world population in a sustainable way.

Stakeholders in America’s Cultivation Corridor include Iowa State University, Corteva Agriscience, Deere & Company, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Economic Development Corporation, Iowa Pork Producers, Kent Corporation, MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa Corn Promotion Board, ISG, Chevron REG, Scoular, and Sukup Manufacturing Co.

Sponsors of Cultivo for 2024 include Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa State University Economic Development and Industry Relations, BioConnect Iowa and Beck’s.

More information is available at CultivationCorridor.org, or by following on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

About Farm Health Guardian
Farm Health Guardian is a biosecurity management technology to help farms and food companies improve animal health and protect against the devastating impact of animal disease. The patented system controls barn entry using facial recognition technology and provides real-time alerts when people or trucks breach biosecurity protocols. Launched in 2020 for the swine and poultry sectors, Farm Health Guardian technology is reducing the risk of disease spread and improving biosecurity compliance which saves time, reduces the cost of production and improves farm sustainability. Farm Health Guardian operates out of Guelph, Ontario and Omaha, Nebraska.

About America’s Cultivation Corridor
Focused on further developing and marketing the world-renowned agricultural and bioscience economy in Iowa, America’s Cultivation Corridor is building on a rich history of innovation to accelerate value-added agriculture business development by attracting companies, talent and capital from across the globe to the state. Representing a diverse public-private coalition of stakeholders including Iowa State University, Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ames Chamber of Commerce, nonprofits and private sector companies from across the region and state, the Cultivation Corridor is one of the nation’s foremost cluster-based economic development organizations. For more information, visit CultivationCorridor.org.

For more information, contact:
Rob Hannam
rhannam@farmhealthguardian.com

Billi Hunt, executive director
bhunt@cultivationcorridor.org
515-294-1127 or 515-480-2394