The conference where
  • technology
  • and agriculture
collide.

THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE ON
JUNE 12TH, 2025

2026 EVENT INFORMATION COMING SOON

TICKETS ON SALE

ABOUT OUR 2026 EVENT

Roll up your sleeves… Grand Farm’s Cultivate Conference is back on June 11th! If you spend your time in or around AgTech, you will want to be in Fargo during Cultivate and AgTech Week 2026.

Cultivate is Grand Farm’s flagship conference focused on solving problems in agriculture with applied technology, and then bringing the right people together to move those solutions forward. This year’s agenda is shaped by the newest edition of the Regional Agriculture Pain Point Report, which highlights the top challenges identified by growers and commodity groups across the Upper Midwest. Through high-level panels, pain point-driven workshops, startup pitches, and curated networking, Cultivate gives the region’s stakeholders a place to collaborate, validate needs, and accelerate real adoption on Upper Midwest farms.

Conference Goals

  1. Activate Technology and Solutions: Showcase innovations that directly address the most urgent grower challenges across the Upper Midwest.
  2. Strengthen Grower and Tech Collaboration: Create intentional spaces where growers help shape, validate, and influence how new technology develops.
  3. Elevate the Upper Midwest Innovation Ecosystem: Highlight the strengths of the region’s cooperatives, equipment manufacturers, farmers, founders, and research institutions.
  4. Accelerate Adoption: Share practical and ROI-focused examples of tools that are ready for use or close to it, and show how they fit into real farm operations.
  5. Build High-Value Regional Connections: Give attendees opportunities to form connections that lead to pilots, partnerships, field trials, commercialization, and investment.

2026 SPEAKERS

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Shannon Hauf

Senior Vice President and Head of North America, Australia, and New Zealand Product Supply

Bayer

Myriah Johnson
Zach Ducheneaux

Former USDA FSA Administrator and Producer Advocate,

USDA FSA

MAINSTAGE SPEAKERS + PANELISTS

Bob Starke
 
Lanie Bilodeau
 
Chris Wiegert

Chief Sustainability Officer,

Healthy Food Ingredients

PANEL:

Future of Speciality Crops

Scott Sinner

VP of Supply Chain,

SB&B

PANEL:

Future of Speciality Crops

Nate Vanwechel

Director, Commercial – Edible Beans,

ADM

PANEL:

Future of Speciality Crops

Anna Teeter

Novel Oilseeds Program Manager,

Cargill

PANEL:

Future of Speciality Crops

Nikki Zahradka

US Director of Agronomy, Anheuser Busch

PANEL:

Future of Speciality Crops

Matt Weeks

Ag Intel Lead,

Ad Farm

PANEL:

Farm Voice Grower

Nathan Faleide

PANEL:

Farm Voice Grower

William Aderholdt

Executive Director and Co-Founder, 

Grand Farm

PANEL:

Co-op Innovation

Gary Halvorson

EVP,

CHS

PANEL:

Co-op Innovation

Alex Richard

PANEL:

Co-op Innovation

Brent Wiesenburger

Director,

Agtegra

PANEL:

Co-op Innovation

Amy Robak

Environmental Services Manager,

Centra Sota Cooperative

PANEL:

Co-op Innovation

STARTUP PITCHES

Wyatt Arnold

Cofounder and CEO,

Prospect Growth

James Mckinion

CEO/Founder,

Helical Solar

Kyle Anderson

Cofounder and CEO,

Reform Bio

Jackson Stansell

Founder & CEO,

Sentinel Ag

WORKSHOP HOSTS + PANELISTS

Heidi Frost Eriksen
CEO & Co-founder,

WORKSHOP:

Herbicide Resistance Breakout Session

Joe Ikley

Extension Weed Scientist,

NDSU

WORKSHOP:

Herbicide Resistance Breakout Session

Bridgette Readel
Ag Director,

WORKSHOP:

Herbicide Resistance Breakout Session

Brandon Chi

CEO and Co-Founder,

Crop Diagnostix

WORKSHOP:

Pest and Disease Breakout Session

John Mascoe

CEO and Co-Founder,

Leaftech Ag

WORKSHOP:

Pest and Disease Breakout Session

Febina Mathew

Associate Professor,

NDSU

WORKSHOP:

Pest and Disease Breakout Session

Dr. Marisol Berti

Professor,

NDSU

WORKSHOP:

Soil Moisture and Drainage Breakout Session

Zach Kabelac

WORKSHOP:

Soil Moisture and Drainage Breakout Session

Sarah McNaughton

Senior Editor of Dakota Farmer,

Farm Progress

WORKSHOP:

Soil Moisture and Drainage Breakout Session

Zulfikar Ali

Vice President of Technology,

Ellingson Companies

WORKSHOP:

Soil Moisture and Drainage Breakout Session

Andy Luikens

Lead Recruiting Program Manager,

RDO Equipment Co.

WORKSHOP:

Skilled Labor Shortages Breakout Session

Ryan Aasheim

Chief Business Development Officer,

Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC

 

WORKSHOP:

Skilled Labor Shortages Breakout Session

Tom Lehar

Regional Vice President,

CHS

WORKSHOP:

Skilled Labor Shortages Breakout Session

2026 AGENDA

8:00 AM – 9:00AM

Coffee + Registration

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM

RAPPR Launch

Shannon Hauf – Bayer

Future of Speciality Crops Panel

Startup Pitches

TerrainIQ Product Launch

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Zach Ducheneaux – Former USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator

Co-op Innovation Panel

Startup Pitches

Myriah Johnson – Farm Credit Services America

Bob Starke – Innerplant

1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

Farm Voice Panel

2:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Break

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM

RAPPR Breakout Session 1

  • Herbicide Resistance
  • Skilled Labor Shortages
  • Pest and Disease
  • Soil Moisture and Drainage

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM

RAPPR Breakout Session 2

  • Herbicide Resistance
  • Skilled Labor Shortages
  • Pest and Disease
  • Soil Moisture and Drainage

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Happy Hour

WHO SHOULD ATTEND CULTIVATE?

  • Corporations & Industry Leaders: Gain insights into emerging AgTech trends and engage with innovators shaping the future of agriculture.
  • Startups & Entrepreneurs: Understand industry challenges firsthand, connect with investors, and showcase your solutions to potential partners.
  • Researchers & Educators: Explore how academic research translates into industry-ready solutions and find potential collaborators.
  • Investors: Discover promising AgTech startups backed by real market demand.
  • Growers: Gain further knowledge about the technologies being developed to address industry challenges, as well as opportunities to provide direct feedback to innovators.
  • Policymakers & Government Leaders: Learn about policy gaps in AgTech adoption and opportunities for public-private collaboration.

COMPANIES THAT ATTENDED CULTIVATE 2025

THANK YOU TO OUR 2026 SPONSORS