What Grand Farm does

Grand Farm is a nonprofit agricultural innovation platform operating under parent organization Emerging Prairie, a 501(c)(3) based in Fargo, North Dakota. Founded in 2017, the organization operates a 590-acre Innovation Campus near Casselton, ND and runs a global ecosystem of more than 3,300 organizations spanning AgTech startups, agricultural corporations, growers, researchers, and investors. Its core product is a real-world agricultural technology validation platform: startups, corporations, and researchers test IoT sensors, autonomous equipment, nanofertilizers, and other innovations on actual farmland, leveraging a Sensor Sandbox that supports 4G/5G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and LoRaWAN connectivity and measures soil, weather, and crop health variables. Field trials to date number 80+, with documented outcomes including a 1.2 bushel-per-acre yield improvement demonstrated in a Prospect Growth nanofertilizer trial in 2025.

The organization's commercial model is a hybrid of government grants, corporate partner memberships, and event sponsorships rather than product sales. Material funding includes a $10 million matching grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce (2022), a $2 million USDA Agricultural Research Service allocation (2026), a $1.5 million Microsoft investment (2019), and an $80,000 Anheuser-Busch grant (2025), with 91 annual partners and 50+ events per year underwriting operations. Core offerings include Field Trials and Projects, a Global Innovation Ecosystem for facilitated introductions, Conferences and Events (Cultivate, Elevate AI in Agriculture Summit, Autonomous Nation, Field Day), and Innovation Consulting. Grand Farm explicitly does not take ownership or IP interest in partner technologies, positioning itself as a neutral convener.

In April 2026, Grand Farm was appointed National Program Manager for the USDA's new National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech (NPG-Ag), making it the federal government's first designated agricultural proving ground. The organization expanded geographically in 2025 with the launch of UGA Grand Farm in Perry, Georgia, extending the model into the Southeast US, and is led by Co-Founder and Executive Director Dr. William Aderholdt, with Co-Founder Brian Carroll (COO of Emerging Prairie) and Board Chair Greg Tehven overseeing strategic direction.

Name

Grand Farm

Legal name

Grand Farm

Website

https://grandfarm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Grand Farm is a nonprofit agricultural innovation platform operating a 590-acre Innovation Campus in North Dakota, connecting 3,300+ organizations across AgTech startups, corporations, growers, and researchers to validate agricultural technologies through real-world field trials, events, and ecosystem facilitation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Innovation Ecosystem Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interoperability & Data Connectivity Services (API/ETL, ISOXML/AgGateway, Equipment Data Sync) (AFACACAL), Precision Crop Protection Services (Spot Spraying, Weed/Stress Detection, Prescription Sprays) (AFACACAH), Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) & Digital Recordkeeping (AFABAMAD), Remote Sensing & Crop Scouting Services (Satellite, Drone Imagery, In‑Field Sensing) (AFACACAA)

Keywords

• Agricultural innovation ecosystem
• Agtech field trials
• Precision agriculture validation
• Autonomous farming testing
• Agtech startup incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Fargo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Grand Farm receives government grants including $10 million matching grant from North Dakota Department of Commerce (2022) for building innovation facility and autonomous agriculture technology development.
2. Partner Memberships: Annual partnerships with 91 organizations providing ecosystem membership and engagement benefits.
3. Event Sponsorships: Revenue from sponsorships of flagship conferences including Cultivate, Elevate, Autonomous Nation, and Field Day events.
4. Third-party Grants: Grants from organizations like Anheuser-Busch ($80,000) supporting agriculture innovation for American farmers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grand Farm operates an agricultural innovation campus and ecosystem that provides field-trial proving grounds, IoT and autonomous-technology testbeds (Sensor Sandbox, BenchBot), startup programming (Innovation Shop, Startup Plot Program), and a calendar of conferences and demonstrations that convene growers, agtech startups, corporations, researchers, and investors. Its offerings are structured as validation, commercialization, and community-building services delivered through partnerships, sponsorships, grants, and program participation rather than as a single off-the-shelf product.

Product overview

Grand Farm is a collaborative innovation platform that connects growers, startups, corporations, researchers, and investors to solve agricultural challenges through technology. The core offering combines a 590-acre physical Innovation Campus for field trials and technology validation with a global ecosystem network of over 3,300 organizations. Key products and programs include Field Trials and Projects for real-world AgTech validation, the Global Innovation Ecosystem for partnership facilitation, the National Proving Grounds Network (NPG-Ag) with USDA ARS for technology evaluation, the Sensor Sandbox for IoT testing, and the Startup Plot Program for early-stage validation. The portfolio also includes flagship conferences (Cultivate, Elevate: AI in Agriculture Summit, Autonomous Nation, AgTech Week) and the Upper Midwest Regional Agriculture Pain Point Report (RAPPR). Grand Farm operates Innovation Consulting services and maintains the Innovation Shop facility for collaboration. The organization also extends its model nationally through UGA Grand Farm in Georgia and manages education initiatives including workforce development programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation Campus Field Trials On-farm field-trial program on the Grand Farm Innovation Campus that lets agtech startups and corporate partners test agricultural technologies in real growing conditions, as a paid/program-based offering for agtech developers, corporate R&D, and research partners.
• Sensor Sandbox Specialized sensor and IoT testing program at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus that allows agtech developers and corporate partners to evaluate sensor technologies under real farm conditions, offered as part of Grand Farm's program portfolio.
• BenchBot Autonomous agriculture benchmarking and evaluation program at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus that provides a standardized environment for testing and benchmarking autonomous farming technologies, targeted at agtech developers and corporate research teams.
• Innovation Shop Startup support offering from Grand Farm that helps agtech ventures prototype, iterate, and commercialize agricultural technologies, providing programs and resources tied to the broader Grand Farm ecosystem.
• Startup Plot Program Program within the Grand Farm Innovation Campus that allocates field plots and supporting resources to agtech startups for in-field testing, validation, and demonstration of their technologies.
• National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech Network participation and corresponding services by which Grand Farm, under its USDA National Proving Grounds designation, connects partners to federally aligned agtech validation and demonstration activities through the Innovation Campus.
• Cultivate Conference Annual convening event hosted by Grand Farm that brings together growers, startups, corporations, researchers, and investors in the agtech ecosystem.
• Elevate: AI in Agriculture Summit Summit event hosted by Grand Farm focused on artificial intelligence applications in agriculture, convening AI-focused agtech startups, researchers, and corporate partners.
• Autonomous Nation Event hosted by Grand Farm dedicated to autonomous agriculture technologies, showcasing autonomous systems and bringing together startups, growers, and corporate partners.
• Field Day On-farm demonstration event held at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus where agtech startups and partners can showcase technologies in real field conditions to invited growers, investors, and partners.
• Grand Farm Annual Partnership Program Annual partner program that gives corporations and organizations structured access to the Grand Farm ecosystem, including participation in field trials, events, and program offerings.
• Global AgTech Innovation Ecosystem Access Network access service associated with Grand Farm's role as a global agtech ecosystem hub, connecting participating startups, corporations, researchers, growers, and investors through programming, partnerships, and events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ field trials conducted to date
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026USDA ARS leads the National Proving Grounds Network for AgTech (NPG-Ag) with Grand Farm serving as National Program Manager alongside land-grant universities as research partners. The initiative aims to provide farmers with trusted data on technology performance and economic return.
• North Dakota Department of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2022Provided $10 million matching grant to Grand Farm Education and Research Initiative for autonomous agriculture technology development, supporting research, commercialization, and workforce development in farming automation.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly partner supporting Grand Farm since 2019; provided technology expertise and support for the initiative.
• North Dakota State University (NDSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLand-grant university partner providing research expertise and academic collaboration for agricultural technology initiatives.
• CHS Inc.majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAgricultural cooperative and partner supporting Grand Farm events and initiatives.
• Doosan BobcatmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEquipment manufacturer partner providing technology and equipment for autonomous demonstrations and field trials.
• PTI North Dakota (AGCO Precision Technology Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnchor tenant at the Innovation Shop facility, part of AGCO's Precision Technology Institute focusing on precision agriculture technology.
• Emerging PrairiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization powering Grand Farm; provides organizational leadership and ecosystem development expertise.
• University of Georgia (UGA) Grand FarmmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpansion location in Perry, Georgia launched in 2025 extending collaborative research and testing into the Southeast.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Bushel: Digital grain platform building an ecosystem of growers, agribusinesses, and tech partners — comparable in that it operates as an AgTech ecosystem/connectivity layer, but focuses on grain commerce software rather than field-trial validation.
• Cornell AgriTech: Cornell University's Geneva, NY-based agricultural research institute that runs field trials, industry partnerships, and startup collaborations — comparable as a research and validation hub serving growers and AgTech companies, though anchored in specialty crop / Northeast contexts.

Broad incumbents

• Indigo Ag: Large AgTech company operating a microbial and digital agronomy platform; relevant comparable as a major agritech innovation player that partners with growers and corporates, but is a commercial product company rather than a neutral testbed.
• Bayer Crop Science Open Innovation / Grants4Ag: Bayer's startup-engagement and grant programs connect AgTech innovators with the company's R&D, field-trials, and capital — an analogous ecosystem-building function at the major-corporate level, though vertically integrated.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Large Silicon Valley innovation platform with an AgTech vertical running accelerator batches, corporate partnerships, and demo days — comparable in ecosystem-convening role, but much broader and more global in scope than Grand Farm.
• AGCO / PTI (Precision Technology Institute): AGCO's precision-ag proving-ground and training site that doubles as a startup/test partner and is itself a Grand Farm anchor tenant — a comparable operator of physical AgTech field validation infrastructure, but owned by a single OEM rather than a neutral convener.

Direct peers

• The Yield Lab: St. Louis-headquartered global AgTech accelerator and venture fund that combines investment with field validation and ecosystem support; competes for the same startup and corporate partner relationships as Grand Farm.
• AgLaunch: Memphis-based agricultural innovation platform that runs field trials and an accelerator program for AgTech startups — directly comparable to Grand Farm's startup-plot, field-trial, and ecosystem model, with a similar regional-proving-ground structure.
• Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology: Salinas, CA-based ag-tech innovation center that provides startups with field-trial access, mentorship, and grower connections — a direct functional peer to Grand Farm, but focused on the specialty crop / fresh produce segment.

Regional players

• Iowa State University Digital Ag Innovation Lab: Midwest-based university digital agriculture program that conducts field validation and partners with startups and corporates — comparable as a regional proving-ground/research partner, but academic-led and not an independent nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheGrandFarm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCdEwD7VK7pGf4gTCPqifVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/thegrandfarm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grand-farm
• Instagraminstagram.com/thegrandfarm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grand Farm