Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp

The countdown is on. 🌱

One week from today, on July 29, we announce our newest class of Challenge Grant awardees, and we want you there to meet them.

Here is why it matters: the Challenge Grant portfolio has now leveraged more than $10 million in outside capital, roughly $12 for every $1 in BADC grant funding. That is real capital reaching real farms, nearly 100 of them, and more than $1.5 million paid directly to Kentucky farmers.

Round 3 adds to that story. 🚜

Save your spot for the July 29 announcement 👉 https://bit.ly/4hpsKk2

Kentucky agriculture is a multibillion dollar economy built by farm families in all 120 counties. Our job is making sure the next generation of ag technology gets built for them, and here.

Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp accelerates startups and early-stage companies that strengthen Kentucky farms.

Building something? Let's connect!

Big day coming up! We will be representing Bluegrass AgTech at the Bluegrass Greensource Green Business Innovation Forum on July 24 at Transylvania University. 🌱

Catch us in the Exhibitor Showcase from 9:30-10:30am, and our Executive Director Jacob Ball will be presenting during the Pecha Kucha session from 12:15-1:00pm, talking about how BADC supports agtech innovation across Kentucky.

The full agenda is packed with great Central Kentucky organizations working on sustainability and green business, from Alltech and J.M. Smucker to Human-I-T and Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center. 💚

📅 July 24, 2026, 9:30am-1:30pm
📍 Transylvania University
Registration is open until noon the day before, and walk-ins are welcome! 🎟️
👉 https://bggreensource.org/what-we-do/green-business-innovation-forum/

Mark your calendars, Kentucky! 📅

On July 29, 2026, we're announcing the winners of Challenge Grant Round 3.

This program has already put $925,000 to work supporting Kentucky agtech entrepreneurs, and those companies have gone on to raise an additional $7.4 million from other funders. That's real momentum for Kentucky agriculture.

Round 3 brings the next group of innovators working on solutions for Kentucky farms, from sustainable food systems to animal protein to our state's traditional agricultural strengths.

Stay tuned. We can't wait to share who's next. 🌱

Register Here: https://share.hsforms.com/1UTHd9CUgS--NzuC9VIKXZgqcdlp

A question we hear a lot: "What does BADC actually do for my farm?"

Fair question. Here is the short answer. We find and fund companies building tools that solve real problems on Kentucky farms, then we help those companies grow here in the Commonwealth. Every business we support has to show its technology can improve profitability, sustainability, or resiliency for Kentucky agriculture. That is the bar.

Better tools, built closer to home, tested on Kentucky ground. That is the goal.

Know a company building something Kentucky farmers need? Send them our way: https://bluegrassagtech.org

Western Kentucky grain and to***co growers: mark July 21 on the calendar.

UK's Corn, Soybean and To***co Field Day returns to the Research and Education Center in Princeton. UK specialists will cover pests, water quality monitoring, soil management, marketing, and farm profitability, plus burley and dark to***co research. CEUs are approved for certified crop advisors and pesticide applicators.

Check-in starts at 7 a.m. CDT at 300 Extension Farm Road, tours roll at 8. Lunch is on Kentucky Corn, the Kentucky Soybean Board, and Altria Client Services, so pre-register to help them plan.

And congratulations to Dr. Dennis Hancock, named executive director of UKREC Princeton last month. Good hands for a center that has served western Kentucky farmers for over 100 years.

More info here: https://news.mgcafe.uky.edu/article/uk-corn-soybean-and-to***co-field-day-july-21 or call 270-365-7541

Photo: UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

One year ago I stepped into the role of Executive Director at Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp. It has been one of the most rewarding years of my career, and I want to take a moment to reflect on what we built together.

This year we conducted more than 260 stakeholder meetings and showed up at nearly 70 public events across Kentucky, from the State Fair to the Legislature's Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture. We disbursed Round 2 Challenge Grant awards, scored and launched Round 3, and are preparing to announce our newest cohort of awardees this summer. We launched and graduated our first Launch Blue UAccel AgTech Cohort. And we are formalizing new partnerships that connect BADC's work directly to Kentucky producers.

None of this happened alone. Thank you to our board for your trust and your willingness to open doors across the state on BADC's behalf. Thank you to our partners at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and Alltech for standing behind this organization from day one. And thank you to every founder, farmer, and funder who gave us a chance to earn your confidence this year.

Year two starts now. Read the full recap in our July newsletter: https://bit.ly/3R95Anc

Want updates like this in your inbox? Sign up here: https://bluegrassagtech.org/contact/

-Jacob Ball, Executive Director

Thank you to Launch Blue for the opportunity to collaborate on this program to support AgTech entrepreneurs across Kentucky. These are the types of initiatives that BADC hopes to continue to support to foster agtech innovation across the Commonwealth!

Congratulations to the Summer 2026 UAccel: AgTech I-Corps graduates!

Over the past six weeks, this outstanding group of researchers, founders and innovators strengthened their commercialization strategies through customer discovery, expert guidance and hands-on entrepreneurial training. Along the way, they challenged assumptions, explored new opportunities and gained valuable insights to help move their innovations toward real-world impact.

We're proud of all this cohort has accomplished and look forward to following their continued success as they advance new technologies, launch ventures and address challenges across agriculture, health care and beyond.

A special thank you to our partner, Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp, and Jacob Ball for their collaboration and dedication throughout this cohort. Their continued commitment to advancing AgTech innovation and supporting emerging entrepreneurs has been instrumental to the program's success.

Congratulations to all of our graduates, and welcome to the growing UAccel alumni community!