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Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp Cultivating agricultural innovation in Kentucky

Kentucky is home to a global leader in agriculture, and we got a front-row look at that leadership Monday event.We atten...
10/09/2026

Kentucky is home to a global leader in agriculture, and we got a front-row look at that leadership Monday event.

We attended the Lexington premiere of World Without Cows, the documentary commissioned by Alltech CEO Dr. Mark Lyons, at an event tied to the Alltech Presidents Club. The film follows Michelle Michael and Brandon Whitworth across 22 countries and five continents to explore the role cattle play in food, nutrition, livelihoods and sustainability. It invites hard conversations, and it reflects the global perspective Alltech brings to agriculture.

The Alltech Presidents Club has spent nearly 20 years bringing agri-food leaders from around the world together for peer-to-peer learning. Having that gathering rooted in Kentucky says something about the Commonwealth's place in the global ag conversation.

Alltech is also one of BADC's founding institutional partners. Their input has helped shape how we support Kentucky agtech entrepreneurs, and their investment here, including the biofertilizer production facility they broke ground on in Jessamine County last fall, shows what commitment to Kentucky agriculture looks like.

Thank you to Dr. Lyons and the Alltech team for the invitation, and for the partnership.

✨ From the Executive Director's Desk – September Highlights ✨September put Kentucky agtech in front of farmers, legislat...
10/07/2026

✨ From the Executive Director's Desk – September Highlights ✨

September put Kentucky agtech in front of farmers, legislators, students, and founders across the state. 🌾

🤝 Ecosystem development
Joined county and state leaders, agribusiness groups, and the nonprofit community at 12 public events, building the relationships that move agtech from idea to farm.

🚀 Challenge Grant outreach
Shared the Challenge Grant program with founders, university researchers, and entrepreneurs, and previewed what comes next for applicants.

🎓 Workforce and education
Spoke with students at two universities and served on a career panel to show that agtech and ag advocacy are strong career paths.

🏛️ Policy and public voice
Listened to elected officials and small business owners discuss agriculture priorities and regulatory concerns, then carried those perspectives into BADC's planning.

📋 Strategic planning
Finalized a draft strategic plan to guide BADC's next phase of growth and funding.

📣 Looking ahead
October brings a featured role at a regional tech networking event and continued work to open doors for Kentucky farmers. Thank you to every farmer, founder, and partner who shared time and ideas this month. 🙏

Great work happening at UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and we got to be part of it. 🌾🎓 We...
10/06/2026

Great work happening at UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and we got to be part of it. 🌾

🎓 We joined an employer panel for the Career Readiness for Agricultural Economics course, sharing how careers advance and where agtech is headed.

💡 We attended UK Innovate's annual Patent Palooza, celebrating the commercialization of UK research, including agricultural research. It was great to see recognition for the researchers who took part in the UAccel AgTech I-Corps program, which we partnered with Launch Blue on.

🤝 We exhibited at the MG-CAFE Signature Industries Career Fair, sharing internships and job openings from our Challenge Grant awardees, then closed the day on a panel for the MG-CAFE Student Leadership Academy about preparing for life after graduation.

Congratulations to the MG-CAFE team on the way you invest in students and Kentucky agriculture.

Want to connect with students, staff, faculty or alumni? UK Ag Roundup is this weekend. Details: https://www.mgcafe.uky.edu/alumni-giving/events/roundup?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=uk-campus-oct-2026

One week, three events, one message: Kentucky agriculture needs a strong voice and a strong next generation. 🌾🤝 Fayette ...
10/01/2026

One week, three events, one message: Kentucky agriculture needs a strong voice and a strong next generation. 🌾

🤝 Fayette County (Kentucky) Farm BureauLegislative Dinner (Sept 22)
Local farmers sat on a panel and shared what it takes to farm today, then spent the evening connecting with local officials. Grateful to Fayette County Farm Bureau for making room for these conversations.

🚜 Kentucky Department of Agriculture Farmer's Appreciation and Awards Day (Sept 24)
We set up our booth in Somerset and talked with farmers and young people about opportunities in agtech and innovation, from tools that fit real operations to careers that did not exist a decade ago.

💙 The day also honored Dobson Farms as Kentucky Farmer of the Year in memory of Dale Dobson, whose grain bin rescue training and Raising Hope work made Kentucky farms safer. Our thoughts are with the Dobson family.

🌱 Kentucky State University Ag Roundup (Sept 25)
We joined Day 2 in Frankfort, where keynote speaker Stephen Ritz of Green Bronx Machinee showed how agtech can grow healthy food in a sustainable way, with a room full of students ready to be part of it.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and shared a conversation. Keep the questions coming!

A big day for Kentucky agriculture! 🎉We were glad to celebrate with UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and En...
09/29/2026

A big day for Kentucky agriculture! 🎉

We were glad to celebrate with UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment as they cut the ribbon on the new Meats and Foods Industry Advancement Center at the C. Oran Little Research Center in Woodford County.

This nearly 30,000-square-foot facility gives Kentucky processors and producers hands-on support to develop new products like hams and sausages, improve food safety and train their workforce. It operates under USDA inspection for cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry, and includes a sensory lab, a classroom connected to the processing floor and an on-site market featuring Kentucky products. 🥩

When our processors grow, our farmers gain more places to sell and more ways to add value to what they raise. That is an investment worth celebrating. 🌾

Congratulations to the entire UK Martin-Gatton team!

Read more: https://news.mgcafe.uky.edu/article/uk-opens-meats-and-foods-industry-advancement-center-strengthen-kentucky-agriculture?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=uk-meats-foods-center

Great event with the The Food Connection First Friday. 🌾What Chefs Want, led by 2026 Bill Best Award winner Anna Haas, i...
09/17/2026

Great event with the The Food Connection First Friday. 🌾

What Chefs Want, led by 2026 Bill Best Award winner Anna Haas, is connecting Kentucky farmers with new market opportunities through institutional procurement partnerships. Schools, hospitals, restaurants, and community organizations are sourcing local foods, and farmers are accessing reliable, sustainable demand.

This is what a thriving food system looks like: farmers, chefs, researchers, and community advocates in one room, sharing a locally-sourced breakfast, and solving real problems together.

If you're interested in supporting Kentucky agriculture, strengthening local food systems, or learning more about farm-to-table opportunities, the First Friday series is worth joining. Monthly through fall and spring at The Food Connection Learning Kitchen.

Great work, Anna and team. 🍃

✨ From the Executive Director's Desk – August Highlights ✨August positioned BADC at the center of Kentucky's agricultura...
09/15/2026

✨ From the Executive Director's Desk – August Highlights ✨

August positioned BADC at the center of Kentucky's agricultural and innovation ecosystem. Here's what happened.

🏆 Challenge Grant visibility amplified. Media coverage in Morning Ag Clips and Agronews established BADC as a credible funding partner for agtech founders statewide.

🤝 State Fair period delivered leadership access. Direct engagement with the Kentucky Agricultural Council, commodity organizations, and elected officials strengthened BADC's platform in the state's agricultural establishment.

💰 Capital infrastructure exploration. Discussions with venture firms, growth equity networks, and innovation hubs positioned our portfolio companies to access funding and mentorship beyond what we can provide as a nonprofit accelerator.

🔗 Tech ecosystem engagement deepened. Startup community participation and featured partnership status at Tech at the Track (October) amplifies BADC visibility to Lexington's innovation community.

📊 Metrics that matter: 16 stakeholder meetings, 2 media mentions, 10 public events, 3,086 social followers (3.6% increase), 9,580 impressions (44.2% increase).

This month reflected strategic positioning. When BADC shows up for agricultural leadership and venture ecosystems simultaneously, we expand what's possible for Kentucky agtech founders.

Two funding announcements from the past few weeks are worth reading together.On August 21, the Kentucky Agricultural Dev...
09/11/2026

Two funding announcements from the past few weeks are worth reading together.

On August 21, the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board approved $2,583,685 for agricultural diversification and rural development projects across the Commonwealth. Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell framed the awards around diversification as a source of strength for farming communities.

In late August, the University of Kentucky's agricultural research facility secured an additional $26.7 million in federal funding, directed toward a USDA Agricultural Research Service building focused on forage and animal production.

Read separately, these are two line items. Read together, they describe a strategy.

State dollars are moving toward diversification at the operation level, helping individual farms add enterprises and reduce their exposure to any single commodity cycle. Federal dollars are building the research capacity that determines what those new enterprises can be five and ten years out. Forage and animal production research matters enormously in a state where livestock now drives the majority of agricultural cash receipts.

What neither stream funds well is the commercialization gap. A research finding does not become a farm tool on its own, and a diversification grant does not build the company that supplies the technology. That is where private and philanthropic capital has to show up, and it is the specific gap Bluegrass AgTech was built to close.

To our board, funders, and partners: the public investment environment in Kentucky is favorable right now. The question in front of us is whether we build the translation capacity to match it.

Read More:
https://www.kyagr.com/Ky-agriculture/PressRelease/2026/KADB-approves-more-than-2.5-million-for-projects-across-the-Commonwealth
https://www.lanereport.com/189084/2026/08/uk-agricultural-research-facility-26-million-federal-funding/

We're grateful for the invitation from Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council to attend their Council Agriculture Day to...
09/09/2026

We're grateful for the invitation from Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council to attend their Council Agriculture Day to support Kentucky agriculture with local officials. 🌾

The LFUCG Council toured three incredible operations showcasing what's possible when agriculture meets innovation:

🥬 FoodChain : Using aquaponics and community partnerships to address food insecurity
🐄 Clark Family Farm: Innovating in grass-fed beef production to stay competitive
🐎 Kentucky Horse Park: Celebrating the equine industry that's central to Kentucky's economy

Our Board President Mayor Linda Gorton welcomed the council and underscored why these partnerships matter. When local leadership understands agriculture beyond tradition—as active innovation creating jobs and opportunity—it changes what's possible.

Thanks to our hosts FoodChain Lex, Clark Family Farms, and Kentucky Horse Park for opening your doors. Thanks to LFUCG for the invitation. And thanks to Central Kentucky Ag Credit for sponsoring lunch.

The UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment announced The Bill Gatton Foundation 2026 Grand Challe...
09/03/2026

The UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment announced The Bill Gatton Foundation 2026 Grand Challenges last Friday. The number that matters: $5.6 million invested across five interdisciplinary projects.

Look at what got funded. Three of the five projects put artificial intelligence directly to work on Kentucky agriculture:

An AI-enabled self-driving laboratory for chemical discovery in Kentucky's agriculture and food systems, led by Michael Montross in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering with the Pigman College of Engineering.

A Cross-Campus Center on Epigenetic Biomarkers, led by Carlos Rodríguez López, combining epigenetics and AI to build diagnostic and decision-support tools for crop productivity and livestock health.

KY-WAP, an AI-powered woodland analysis platform led by Jian Yang, translating LiDAR, satellite imagery, and forest inventories into parcel-level information for Kentucky landowners.

This is the research pipeline that agtech companies commercialize five and ten years out. Kentucky is not waiting for that capability to arrive from somewhere else. We are building it here, at a land-grant institution that is also one of BADC's founding partners.

The Grand Challenges get introduced at The Bill Gatton Foundation Annual Symposium at UK on September 2.

For our partners and funders: the research base is strengthening.

Link: https://news.mgcafe.uky.edu/article/bill-gatton-foundation-2026-grand-challenges-announced-advance-kentucky

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824 Bull Lea Run, Suite 219
Lexington, KY
40511

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