Welcome Ag Tech Conference Attendees and Participants

Prairie Crest Capital welcomes you to Des Moines, Iowa, for its second Ag Tech Investor Conference.  Des Moines is the Capitol City of the state that is the largest producer of pork, corn, soybeans and eggs in the country, and is fifth in red meat production.  Agriculture is not only the core of Iowa’s economy, it is part of the cultural fabric of the state.

Iowa is also home to Iowa State University, one of the top 10 ranked agriculture schools in the world. Their agricultural and biosystems engineering program was recently recognized as the best in the country by the U.S. News and World Report ranking of universities.  Within a five-hour drive of Des Moines one can not only reach Iowa State University, but other highly recognized agriculture research universities, including University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, University of Wisconsin, University of Missouri, and Illinois University – all within a five-hour drive of Des Moines – while Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue are within a days’ drive.

We are blessed with a location that is in the center of Ag research, development, and innovation.

Despite its accelerating innovation ecosystem, this region in the agricultural heartland has traditionally experienced underinvestment.  The Midwest is home to 20% of the United States’ top research institutions, R&D spending, population, patent issuances, and financial assets.  In a recent Pitchbook study, 20% of the founders of innovative firms funded by venture capital firms received their education at one of the regions universities.  Yet, only 4% of venture capital investments are deployed in the region.

Nationwide, agriculture innovation firms received only 2% of venture capital investments despite being approximately 8% of GDP (including downstream agriculture processing activities).

Prairie Crest Capital was founded to be a catalyst of change in this imbalance.  Our mission is not only to provide emerging Ag Tech firms with sufficient capital to establish their businesses on a globally impactful scale but to also provide management expertise, connections to global markets, and sources to later stage growth capital necessary to compete in today’s constantly changing, rapidly scaling innovation economy.

By bringing together scientists, innovation leaders, visionary founders, and professional investors in ag tech from around the region and country, it is our hope that this conference is one piece of the more comprehensive ecosystem we envision, and wish, for the region.

We hope that you enjoy your stay in Des Moines and the Conference.

Learn More about the Conference here