On April 25, at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, regional leaders announced that seven institutions from the public/private sector came together to establish 39 North AgTech Innovation District as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and to serve as anchor institutions. The new organization will be responsible for elevating the innovation district to the next level of successful growth and economic impact.
Anchor institutions include the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, Greater St. Louis, Inc., City of Creve Coeur, the Danforth Plant Science Center, CoverCress Inc., Benson Hill and Bayer Crop Science.
“Today’s announcement represents a very important step in continuing the growth of ag technology and innovation in the St. Louis community,” said Nikki Davis, global operations vice president of Climate LLC and Digital Farming at Bayer Crop Science. “Creating an environment for our brightest minds and new organizations benefits global food security and a sustainable future for all. Bayer is thrilled to be on the ground floor.”
39 North anchors will commit resources, seed funding and in-kind support to the district. They will lend influence and credibility, as well as assistance with marketing and events.
“With so much momentum, our anchor institutions understand it is time to seize the opportunity to build on the early successes of the district to tap unmet potential, fill gaps and take 39 North and the region to the next level of economic growth and impact,” said Mike DeCamp, CEO of CoverCress Inc. and chair of the new 39 North board.
The founding board has moved rapidly to establish its bylaws and hire Emily Lohse-Busch as the nonprofit’s first executive director. Lohse-Busch has spent much of her career studying and advising the philanthropic and social sectors, most recently as a consultant focused on projects to advance economic development in St. Louis. From 2017-2022 she served as the executive director of Arch Grants, an organization that has attracted and retained more than 200 startups to St. Louis since 2011.
“The vision for 39 North is bold – but as we continue to show what’s possible and build our reputation globally, I am confident that agtech leaders throughout the world will know our name – and will know that they can’t afford to sleep on what St. Louis has going on,” said Lohse-Busch.
“We are thrilled that we were able to hire Emily, who has such strong experience developing sustainable organizations that are making an impact in our region and has a clear vision for the path forward for 39 North,” said Stephanie Regagnon, executive director of innovation partnerships at the Danforth Center.
39 North has key ingredients to support innovation: the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and BRDG Park on its campus; affordable incubation space and BioGenerator labs at the Helix Center, access to critical infrastructure including greenhouses, bioimaging and key technologies, a growing talent pipeline from lab technicians to more than 1,000 plant science Ph.D.s; capital ranging from seed funding to late-stage investors; entrepreneurs and startups, industry leaders like Bayer Crop Science and successful exits like Benson Hill and CoverCress Inc.
Most importantly, 39 North has access to customers, as roughly half of all U.S. agriculture is produced within a 500-mile radius of St. Louis, including 80% of corn and soybeans, according to the St. Louis Agribusiness Club’s 2020 economic study.
The National Corn Growers, American Soybean Association, the United Soybean Board and other farmer-facing organizations are headquartered in the region and are committed to the district’s future success.
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