About Us
Agriculture: Transformed
The Mid-South Delta Agriculture Regional Innovation Cluster (RIC) is based in Memphis, Tennessee and managed by AgLaunch Engine, LLC. a for-profit small business supporting regionally tailored economic development approaches that leverage farmer-led agricultural innovation. The Cluster comprises 102 counties across Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee guided by a steering committee of representatives from across the region.
AgLaunch Engine, LLC, a subsidiary of the non-profit AgLaunch Initiative, utilizes its extensive network of farm incubators, entrepreneurial farmers, aligned capital partners, research consortia, and top-tier accelerator programming to challenge conventional norms and create meaningful value for farmers and their communities. The overarching vision of AgLaunch is to revolutionize regional agriculture and food economies, prioritizing farmers, innovation, and prosperity.
AgLaunch operates in five regions, encompassing the Southern Appalachia, Pacific Northwest, Mid-West, Southern Plains, and the Mid-South Delta, with three regions benefiting from Small Business Administration (SBA) support as Regional Innovation Clusters (RICs). Each cluster customizes its offerings to cater to the specific needs of its region while leveraging the established AgLaunch infrastructure to maximize impact.
This infrastructure encompasses AgLaunch’s renowned AgLaunch365 Accelerator program and farm-centric innovation model. It also provides access to funding and technical assistance for supply chain, value-added, and innovation projects. Ongoing developments include the creation of the Data Commons, a shared database benefiting network farmers and entrepreneurs, and the Open Market Consortium, an online platform facilitating smart contract connections for specialty crops to enhance price and attribute transparency.
Our focus areas lay in specialty crops including new grains for beverage and food markets, regenerative and organic agriculture and carbon markets, new uses for forestry products, pasture raised cattle, local value-added products, farm-to-market with novel technologies, bioenergy, controlled environment agriculture, data & traceability, and climate resiliency.
The AgLaunch vision is a transformed regional agriculture and food economy centered around farmers, innovation, and prosperity
Our Region
Mid-South Delta
We support farmers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the Mid-South Delta region, including 102 counties in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
The Mid-South Delta region’s agricultural landscape is distinct within the national scope. Characterized by expansive, flat terrain, agriculture in the Mid-South Delta predominantly features larger farms, given the vast, open fields available for cultivation. The primary focus is on row crop production including staple commodities like corn, soybeans, rice and other grains and cotton, as well as poultry, beef cattle, swine, and other livestock production.
The Mid-South Delta’s agricultural scene benefits from the scale of its operations. However, this advantage comes with its own set of challenges, particularly regarding the reliance on conventional commodity production. Farmers here encounter pressures from international trade dynamics and fluctuating global commodity prices, which can impact the economic viability of larger-scale operations.
Despite these challenges, the Mid-South Delta region possesses unique strengths that can be harnessed for sustainable agricultural development. The vast expanses of farmland provide an opportunity for the region to be a key player in the production of not only staple crops and livestock but also an array of new and specialty crops and products. The region’s entrepreneurs and farmers can explore avenues beyond traditional commodity production by capitalizing on their strengths in larger-scale agriculture.
The Mid-South Delta has the potential to reimagine its agricultural industry. Unlike areas conducive to becoming top producers of a single commodity, the Mid-South Delta can excel in building a robust and diverse supply chain. This shift toward a local and regional food system aligns with the unique geography of the region, enabling it to focus on a broader spectrum of agricultural products and services. AgLaunch is part of a coalition working on strategies to help transition acreage in the Mid-South Delta to more new and specialty crops to diversify agricultural production and build a stronger tiered system of food, fiber and fuel production and processing. By leveraging its strengths, the Mid-South Delta can position itself as a leader in fostering a resilient and sustainable agricultural future.
Team Aglaunch
Who We Are
Management Team
Pete Nelson
President,
AgLaunch Initiative
Margaret Oldham
Vice President of Innovation,
AgLaunch Initiative
Sarah Varble, Ph.D.
Director of Entrepreneurship,
AgLaunch Initiative
Daryl Leven
President/Administrative Lead,
AgLaunch Engine, LLC
Tom Womack
Senior Advisor, Regional Innovation Cluster Network,
AgLaunch Engine, LLC
Steering Committee
Loston Rowe, Ph.D.
Interim Executive Director
National Black Growers Council
Andrea Allen
Executive Director
A-State Delta Center for Economic Development
Melinda Goode
Executive Director
Northwest Tennessee Development District and Human Resource Agency
Matthew Campbell
Strategic Partnerships Program Manager
Delta Regional Authority
Jose Shibu, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food & National Resources
Tony Brannon, Ph.D.
Dean Emeritus, Murray State University College of Agriculture & Ag Consultant
WAVE Ag Initiative
Zachary Fayette
North Market President, First State Bank and Trust
Sikeston Regional Chamber AgriPark Committee
Team Aglaunch
The AgLaunch Farm-Centric Open Innovation Model
AgLaunch is transforming the way that innovations in agriculture and food are brought to market by bridging the present and future to grow a more diverse and sustainable farm economy and provide healthy food for all. AgLaunch leverages its distributed network of farm incubators, entrepreneurial farmers, aligned capital partners, research consortia, technical consulting, and best-in-class accelerator programming to effectively challenge the status quo and thoughtfully create value for farmers and the communities they serve. The AgLaunch vision is a transformed regional agriculture and food economy centered around farmers, innovation, and prosperity.
