Undergraduates
AgEI's Spring Ag Entrepreneurs Roundtable Event
The spring Ag Entrepreneurs Roundtable Event is set for April 2nd.
Limited seating available, register TODAY! Learn more
Top Teams Selected in 4th Annual Ag Innovation & Value Creation Cometition
On February 28th, 12 teams of undergraduate students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences converged on campus to take part in the 4th annual Agricultural Innovation and Value Creation Competition, sponsored by the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative.
The event, modeled after a competition developed at Stanford University, challenged student teams to address a need or opportunity in the agricultural sector by creating value from an ordinary object. This year’s challenge was to create value in the agriculture industry through the use of smartphone/tablet application technology. Teams had one week to complete the challenge and then presented their final results to a panel of judges comprised of successful entrepreneurs, faculty, and industry representatives.
Each team brought a different twist to the competition taking into account each of their different agricultural backgrounds. Teams selected from a variety of prizes depending on their places in the event. The top three teams are as follows:
1st Place
Team: Entrepreneurial Entourage
Allyson Ladd, Michael Dolch, Ryan Augustine
Challenge Solution: GoPlant-created to help make planting more efficient for farmers
2nd Place
Team: Bazinga Bros & Penny
Darrin Rahn, Shane Beck, Nathan Carroll, Kaci Demott
Challenge Solution: YardMaster-created to help take the guess work out of landscaping for homeowners
3rd Place
Team: Molly’s Team
Molly Heintz, Spencer Klocke, Jared Dolch
Challenge Solution: PartLinx-created as a solution for organizing machinery manuals
AgEI Awards Spring Scholarships
Five College of Agriculture and Life Science students received scholarships awarded through the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative at Iowa State University. Three separate scholarships were awarded:
The Bob Jolly Entrepreneurship Scholarship is an endowed scholarship by Roger and Connie Underwood of Ames, IA. The scholarship reflects the Underwood’s belief in introducing entrepreneurship and its opportunities to undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The 2012 recipients are:
Adrianna Dubbelde- a soph. majoring in Agricultural Business from Larchwood, IA.
Holden Nyhus - a junior majoring in Agricultural Education from Forest City, IA.
The Ryan Pellett Family Scholarship has been endowed by Ryan and Susan Pellett of Omaha, NE. The scholarship reflects the Pellet’s belief in introducing entrepreneurship and business development concepts to undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The recipient of the Ryan Pellet Family Scholarship is: Stuart McCulloh- a junior majoring in Agricultural Communications from DeWitt, IA.
The Charles R. and Margo S. Woods Agricultural Entrepreneurship Scholarship, reflects the Wood’s desire to provide support to undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as they work to increase their knowledge or experience in the creation or development of a new business in Iowa.The 2012 recipients are:
Colin Hurd - a junior majoring in Agricultural Studies from Ames, IA.
Jonathan Schuhwerckis- a senior majoring in agricultural systems technology from Farmington, MN.

