On June 7th, the Georgia Center of Innovation hosted the second annual Georgia AgTech Summit at the Robert F. Hatcher Sr. Conference Center on the campus of Middle Georgia State University. Similar to the first Georgia AgTech Summit held in 2022, this goal of this year’s Summit’s was to bring together industry, academia, and government partners who are players in the Georgia AgTech ecosystem to collaborate and share ideas.

Presenters ranged from Fortune 500 companies such as AGCO to Georgia-based small businesses such as PermaTherm and nonprofits such as the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and the Conservation Fund. Partners from the University of Georgia, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and the Georgia Institute of Technology also shared their current and future research in the AgTech fields. 

The day kicked off with a brief presentation from Chris Chammoun, Director of AgTech at the Center of Innovation. Chammoun was followed by Dominic Lariccia, Director of Field Services for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, who delivered a message to the attendees on behalf of Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper. The keynote panel discussion was led by Jamal Lewis, Economic Opportunity Manager for the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation. Three exciting breakout sessions covering the areas of integrated precision agriculture, controlled environment agriculture, and food processing technology helped the attendees gain technical knowledge in these areas. 

After lunch, the Center of Innovation hosted the first-ever Georgia AgTech Startup Pitch Competition. Companies participating were X-Cot, PoultryE, MycoMelanin, MycoLogic, and Scapify. All of these companies were clients and have been assisted by either the Georgia Center of Innovation or the Georgia Research Alliance. Each company was given 10 minutes to make their pitch and the audience voted for the winners using a live poll. First place went to MycoLogic, a startup out of Kennesaw State University that makes controlled environment agricultural systems for mushroom production. Second place went to X-Cot, a startup formed by Dr. Andrew Patterson, Regents Professor at the University of Georgia, that focuses on cotton breeding and genetics.

The current state of AgTech in Georgia is bright, and through the summit industry and academic participants formed new connections that will lead to fruitful partnerships. 

To learn more about the Georgia Center of Innovation’s AgTech program visit georgia.org/AgTech.