By Blake Jackson
Clear Grain Co., a Lexington, Kentucky-based startup focused on grain storage, has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 2027 Ag Innovation Challenge.
The national competition, conducted with Farm Credit, highlights emerging businesses creating new technologies and solutions for agriculture and rural communities.
The program will award $145,000 in startup funding, and Clear Grain Co. is the only Kentucky-based semifinalist.
Founded earlier this year by Gene Ligman, Clear Grain Co. is working to tackle grain spoilage, a persistent challenge for farmers who store harvested crops for later sale.
Stored grain can be damaged by insects, fungi and bacteria, reducing its value and potentially resulting in discounts or rejected loads.
The company says farmers lose an estimated 5% to 10% of stored grain annually because of pests and pathogens. Financial losses can also occur when grain buyers impose discounts for pest activity, unusual odors or aflatoxin contamination.
Clear Grain Co. developed a system called V-CO₃, which combines vacuum, carbon dioxide and ozone. Ligman drew on his background in industrial vacuum technology while developing the approach.
Unlike traditional phosphine fumigation, which can require seven to 10 days, the company says its process can be completed in roughly two to three hours.
The technology uses vacuum and pressure cycles intended to move treatment gases throughout the grain, addressing pests and other storage-related problems.
“Our farmers are some of the hardest-working people on the planet, and they’re supporting a huge part of Kentucky’s economy,” Ligman said.
“A bad year in that silo can be the difference between keeping a farm going or not. Being named a semifinalist tells me people are starting to see how big this problem really is. I want Kentucky to be the one leading the way on solving it, not just for our farmers, but for farmers everywhere,” added Ligman.
Clear Grain Co. is working with the USDA and Kansas State University researchers to collect information required for potential USDA certification.
The semifinalists will compete virtually this fall, with four advancing to the final competition in Charlotte, North Carolina, in January 2027. The winner will receive $100,000, while the runner-up will receive $25,000.
Photo Credit: getty-images-chinaface
Categories: Kentucky, Business