Leadership insights from Billi Hunt, executive director of America's Cultivation Corridor.
Des Moines hosted the fifth
Tech Hub Live event earlier this month, bringing together the largest gathering of ag retailers, distributors, consultants, manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the ag supply chain focused on the next generation of innovations and technologies for agriculture.
The panels and presentations featured leaders from all segments of the industry and farmers who are adopting and testing new technologies every season.
In one session, the farmer panelists emphasized a key point: innovations are critical, but if the product’s developer or representative isn’t close to the customer, the value of that technology or innovation drops significantly. If a farmer can’t get the support they need to efficiently and successfully incorporate into their farm and practices, the innovation doesn’t provide value to their operation and won’t be used again.
Put simply, “if you don’t show up, it doesn’t matter.”
That lesson applies across the ag supply chain. Whether your customer is a farmer, an ag retailer or a global corporation, if you aren’t in proximity to the end-user (especially in the testing and early commercialization phase), it is hard to deliver a successful experience.
That’s what sets Iowa apart. If you are developing a new technology or product that will serve nearly every sector of agriculture, you will be close to your customer from an Iowa location. From plant and animal science to advanced manufacturing, biorenewables and digital agriculture, the next generation of technologies are being developed, tested and commercialized here by businesses of all sizes.
Interested in learning how Iowa shows up? Let’s connect.
Published July 2025