If you live around Vincennes, chances are you’ve heard of The Pantheon—a nonprofit working to grow the local economy. The organization supports both startups and established companies by drawing entrepreneurs and agtech innovators to Knox County.
“The thing I think about is, how do we connect farmers who have challenges in their operation with creative innovators, entrepreneurs, and those who can solve problems. I think The Pantheon creates space for us to do those types of things,” said Drew Garretson, Vice President of Member Engagement with Keystone Cooperative. He also serves as a member of The Pantheon’s board of directors.
During the recent AgriNovus Indiana Quadrant event, he told Hoosier Ag Today that southwestern Indiana is well-known for its watermelon and pumpkin production—and The Pantheon is working to support that sector.
“That’s actually the spot where we have really leaned into the most, so far. What are some of the challenges around labor, logistics, or processing that we can help solve for our farmers so they can remain vibrant and relevant because they’re a really important part of the economics of our community,” he says.
For example, one new agtech company in Vincennes is TerraForce, which is using a combination of robots and AI technology to harvest watermelons and pumpkins with very little human oversight.
“We talk about local economic development as truly being a ‘team sport’, and the pantheon exists to help the mission around entrepreneurship,” says Garretson. “So, how do we actually create those ideas right here that help our local community. At the same time, we have this talent and business attraction project and processes within our county that allow us to do both at the same time. That’s a really unique and important part of what we do.”
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