Ag Ventures Alliance

Ag Ventures Alliance (AgVA) is a farmer-owned venture capital firm founded in 1998 and headquartered in Clear Lake, Iowa. Originally formed as a cooperative by farmers in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota to build one of the first farmer-owned ethanol plants in the Midwest, AgVA evolved into a venture capital organization focused on early-stage AgTech startups. The firm champions pre-seed and seed-stage investments across ag biotech, robotics and equipment, farm management software, animal health, bioenergy, and agribusiness marketplaces, with follow-on funding available. AgVA's model is farmer-driven: its 300+ farmer members serve as an outsourced R&D network, providing on-farm field trials and first-customer validation for portfolio companies. The firm also operates Countryside Angels, a farmer-led angel investor group that provides curated deal flow and market-acceptance signals to startups. AgVA partners with AgLaunch (Memphis, TN) for structured farm trial programs. Founders can apply for direct investment via the website; the firm also offers a founder platform connecting over 50 portfolio founders.