Farm Bureau Involved In National Rural Entrepreneur Startup Competition

The American Farm Bureau Federation will begin taking applications for the Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge on June 1 through June 30 for individuals to showcase ideas and business innovations being cultivated in rural regions of the U.S.

The challenge is the first national business competition focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses. Participants will compete for $145,000 in startup funds.

“The inaugural challenge successfully identified rural entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, proving that great business ideas can germinate anywhere,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said. “We’re excited to see the new crop of ideas our members will bring to the table this year.”

Steve Eddington, vice president of public relations for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said the statewide farming advocacy group is helping to get out the word about the national rural startup competition at local bureaus across the state.

“We don’t have a formal campaign, but we are letting the county bureaus know about it, and spreading the word to anyone who is interesting in being a part of the national (challenge),” Eddington said.

New to this year’s competition, participants must have an idea for a business that is related directly or indirectly to food and agriculture. Businesses that are directly related to food and agriculture include farms or ranches, value-added food processing, food hubs, community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), farm-to-table restaurants and farmers’ markets.

Businesses indirectly related to food and agriculture include support services such as crop scouting, agri-tourism, advertising agencies and tech companies that develop agri-related apps.

Also, the national Farm Bureau plans to help connect top scoring teams with resources for crowdfunding loans to help them jumpstart their businesses.

Eddington said the competition was important in Arkansas because it brings more focus to local entrepreneurs in farming communities across the state, citing the economic relationship that rural communities have with agriculture.

“The beauty of something like this is the focus on agri-business. Rural communities in Arkansas depend on jobs, economic development and taxes from agriculture to grow, but agriculture also depends on rural communities to be successful,” he said.

Under the rules, competitors must be based in a rural community as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, which includes primary residences or businesses must be located in a county with less than 50,000 residents or a town with less than 2,500 residents.

All applications, which include a business plan, video pitch and photo, must be submitted by June 30. Judges will review the applications and provide feedback to the participants. Participants have the option of resubmitting portions of their applications; resubmission is optional and participants are not penalized for not resubmitting their applications.

The top 10 teams will be announced on Oct. 15. This includes six teams who will win $10,000 in startup funds and four finalist teams who will win $15,000 in startup funds and compete in a live competition at AFBF’s 97th Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, in January.

Finalists will compete for the grand prize title Farm Bureau Rural Entrepreneur of the Year and $15,000 in additional startup funds to implement their ideas. One of the finalists also will be honored with the People’s Choice Award and $10,000 in additional startup funding.

The competition timeline, detailed eligibility guidelines, a preview of the online application and profiles of the 2015 finalist teams are available at this link.

Farm Bureau staff at the county, state and national level or one of Farm Bureau’s affiliate companies may not serve as judges or enter the competition, officials said.