Vote now for the People's Choice Award winner of the Farm Bureau Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge at http://FBPeoplesChoice.questionpro.com. Two Iowa companies are among the four finalists for the award: AccuGrain of Rose Hill and AgriSync of Dallas Center. The team with the most votes wins $10,000 to implement its business idea.

Vote now or learn more online and make your pick after watching the live competition January 10, starting a 10:00 a.m. Central: http://www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge.

The final four teams were previously awarded $15,000 after being chosen from a field of 165 applicants by 40 judges with expertise in business development, equity investment funding management, agribusiness lending and entrepreneurial coaching. The final four are:

  • AccuGrain (Rose Hill, Iowa), ag tech entry, X-ray technology to inventory flowing grain in real time. Team lead: Ryan Augustine.
  • AgriSync (Dallas Center, Iowa) ag tech entry, mobile customer support platform for crop farmers. Team lead: Casey Niemann.
  • Farm Specific Technology (Boliver, Tennessee), ag tech entry, no-till crimper for cover crop production. Team lead: Shawn Butler.
  • Fedora Malthouse (Village of Shepherd, Michigan), value-added processing entry, malted barley production for use by craft beer brewers. Team lead: Julie Baker.

The People's Choice winner ($10,000 prize) and Entrepreneur of the Year ($15,000 prize) will be announced January 11, at the closing general session of the American Farm Bureau Federation's 97th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show at 10:30 a.m. Central. Watch the live announcement or view a recording at http://www.strongruralamerica.com/challenge/.

AFBF announced the final four national competitors in October. The challenge, now in its second year, provides opportunities for individuals to showcase business innovations being developed in rural regions of the U.S. It is the first national business competition focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs working on food and agriculture businesses.