White Paper: Nebraska and the Midwest AgTech Ecosystem: Benchmarking Innovation Investment and Translation Gaps

• Ankit Chandra, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Ishani Lal, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Brennan Costello, Invest Nebraska

Read the full paper HERE:

NE & Midwest Agtech-FINAL.pdf

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Find an abbreviated version of the paper with key insights HERE:

NE & Midwest Agtech Inshort Insight-FINAL.pdf

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Abstract:

Agricultural innovation is central to the sustainable transformation of food systems, yet the capital that finances it is unevenly distributed relative to where food is produced. This paper develops a diagnostic framework for measuring this mismatch and applies it across the U.S. Midwest from 2021 to 2025, with particular emphasis on Nebraska's structural position within this landscape. Drawing on venture capital deal-flow data, 17 stakeholder interviews, and a novel strength-weakness-opportunity-gap (SWOG) ecosystem mapping methodology, we document $736 million in tracked Midwest AgTech funding across eight states (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota). We introduce three complementary normalized metrics: Agricultural Innovation Investment Ratio (AIIR), Innovation Translation Efficiency (ITE), and Innovation Translation Gap (AITG) anchored by an OLS benchmarking regression (R² = 0.568, p = 0.031) that estimates expected investment from agricultural GDP. Nebraska’s AIIR of $9.9M per $1B of agricultural output is the third lowest in the sample; its ITE of 0.63 indicates the state attracts only 63% of the AgTech VC its agricultural scale structurally predicts; and its AITG of −$45.1M quantifies the institutional investment deficit in dollar terms. The SWOG analysis documents Nebraska’s durable strengths in cattle and beef systems, irrigation technology, bio-based resources, and university research capacity, while identifying capital formation gaps, weak startup formation pipelines, and fragmented ecosystem coordination as the primary barriers to commercialization. Comparative analysis reveals that states with smaller agricultural economies notably North Dakota (ITE = 2.45) and Missouri (ITE = 2.17) outperform their structural benchmarks through deliberate institutional investment, demonstrating that Nebraska’s gap is closeable. We conclude with a four-pillar strategic framework for Nebraska to translate agricultural leadership into innovation leadership by 2030.