The Yield Lab Institute Announces Manure Challenge Sponsors and Industry Advisors

The Yield Lab Institute is pleased to announce the addition of a number of diverse advisors to the Manure Challenge, as well as a successful application cycle.

The Manure Challenge—organized by Yield Lab Institute with guidance from World Wildlife Fund, Newtrient, and the Dairy Farmers of America—brings together the expertise of many eminent public, for profit, and non-for-profit leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds to support interest and investment in manure management solutions. We are very pleased to announce the addition of the following organizations as sponsors to our efforts: Cargill, The Maschhoffs, and WeWork Food Labs.

Further, we’re pleased to have the support of our advisory and mentorship network, which includes: Joseph Ziobro with the U.S. E.P.A., Rod Larkins with AURI (Agricultural Utilization Research Institute), Kraig Westerbeek with Smithfield, Jonathan Hua with Thrive Accelerator, Aaron Ratner with Ultra Capital LLC, Evan Fraser with the Arrell Food Institute, Ben Gaddy with Clean Energy Trust, and Fidan Karimova with the Water Research Foundation.

“We are excited to team up with The Yield Lab Institute on the Manure Challenge to help drive innovation and spur investment to address this critical challenge.” Heather Tansey, sustainability lead for Cargill’s global animal nutrition and protein groups. “Together we can deliver meaningful solutions that improve productivity and profitability while minimizing our environmental footprint.”

“Innovative financing mechanisms and technologies are bringing industrial-scale solutions to commercial livestock manure management. These circular economy strategies, which efficiently upcycle otherwise wasted energy and potentially environmentally harmful nutrients, will support an industry-wide transition to a more sustainable and profitable business model.” Explained Aaron Ratner, Managing Director for Ultra Capital LLC.

A total of 63 applications were collected in May 2019; those applications are now in review by a committee of advisors drawn from stakeholders, experts, and partners to evaluate the potential impact and scope of each applicant’s offering. In late August 2019, 6-10 companies will be selected to advance and participate in the Challenge.

The Challenge will support selected companies in commercializing their products through mentorship, commercial strategy guidance, and network access over the course of six months. Upon conclusion the programming phase, the selected companies will compete in a pitch competition for a cash prize and exposure to industry leaders.

Programming for the selected companies will kick off in early September 2019 in Manhattan, Kansas, adjacent to the annual meeting of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock.

One advisor and the Director of Dairy at the World Wildlife Fund, Sandra Vijn, outlines the importance of the manure challenge, “WWF's goal is to drive sustainable food systems to conserve nature and feed humanity. Closing nutrient loops on farms can help reduce environmental impacts. More innovation, research, development and investment is needed to advance manure management solutions.”

A full and up-to-date list of partners, sponsors, advisors, and mentors is visible here. If you or your organization would like to be involved, reach out to Connie Bowen.

The Yield Lab Institute is a think tank that is focused on driving more effective innovation to the market. We support innovation in agricultural and food systems by connecting and educating stakeholders (entrepreneurs, producers, distribution channel partners, agribusiness experts, investors, researchers, and eaters), globally. www.theyieldlabinstitute.org

The Manure Challenge is a startup competition for innovative manure-management technologies and products. The Challenge focuses on increasing collaboration among established industry companies and experts and the selected startup companies. Selected companies will compete for a cash prize, and an open-sourced model quantifying the correlation between investment and environmental impact for manure management technologies will be produced. www.manurechallenge.com