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Jan. 22, 2010 Source: Danforth Plant Science Center news release The Ag Innovation Showcase, the leading global conference for agriculture industry leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investors, has announced May 24 and 25 for the second annual program. It will be held at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Mo., the largest independent plant science research institute in the world, located in the heartland of American agriculture. The two-day program will spotlight cutting-edge entrepreneurs from around the world who are driving innovation in agricultural technologies in ag-bio, food and nutrition, biofuels, sustainable materials, clean-tech, information technology and animal health. Leading capital providers, industry partners, and representatives from key public commercialization agencies will also be in attendance at the Showcase. Last year's inaugural event attracted "a who's who in the ag industry," according to participants. Registration information and general details are available at www.agshowcase.com. Selected entrepreneurial companies will have the opportunity to showcase their groundbreaking technologies to an elite group of leading agribusiness and life science companies and institutional investors. Companies interested in highlighting their technologies must submit an application no later than March 26, 2010. The application is available at www.agshowcase.com. "Our goal is to bring knowledge, insight, and perspective to our audience, and last year's event was a great success in doing so. Like that event, the Showcase will promote new ideas, synergies, and collaborations that will be crucial in helping the ag community position itself for long term prosperity," said Sam Fiorello, president of BioResearch & Development Growth Park (BRDG Park -- pronounced "bridge"). Located on the campus of the Danforth Plant Science Center, BRDG Park opened in June 2009 the first of three buildings for growing plant and life science companies from the incubation to post-incubation stage. The annual Ag Innovation Showcase features lively interactive discussion panels, extensive networking opportunities and exciting company exhibits. "This is where the leaders in agriculture and first mile technologies are," said Marc Simony, Director of Marketing for TraceGains, Inc., Longmont, CO, TraceGains, which provides advanced product tracing capabilities for high-tech products, was selected last year to present its technology at the 2009 Ag Showcase. "It's a conference where people can have a conversation about their future and the future of agriculture." The 2010 gathering will continue the tradition established last year of a "premier event highlighting the breadth and creativity of new technologies being brought to bear on the fundamental societal needs of food, feed, fuel and environmental sustainability," as one participant described last year's Showcase. Scott Dockum, program specialist, USDA Small Business Innovation Research Program, Washington, D.C., also attended last year's program. "Our focus is to develop grants for companies to develop innovative technologies that they can commercialize. So it's nice to come to something like this and actually see the final products and how they are going to take investment and use it for something to better the ag industry," said Dockum. According to attendees and program organizers, St. Louis is an ideal location. In addition to being centrally located with direct flights from major metropolitan airports and within easy driving distance of much of the United States, it is home to the world's largest concentration of plant science PhDs and more than 400 plant and medical science enterprises. Although speakers for the 2010 program have not been finalized it is expected they will again represent major agricultural companies such as Dow AgroSciences, LLC, John Deere, Monsanto, BASF and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM); in addition, agriculture investors such as Finistere Ventures, Prolog Ventures, CMEA Capital, StrathKim, the Kauffman Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and others are expected to participate. The Ag Innovation Showcase is a joint enterprise between BRDG Park at the Danforth Plant Science Center, Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise, Missouri Biotechnology Association and Missouri Technology Corporation. It will be produced by Larta Institute, a Los Angeles-based innovation hub that also manages the national commercialization programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health. |
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