Best Food and Agriculture Companies in Iowa, United States
The 148 best Food and Agriculture companies in Iowa, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Yesway.
Our analysis of 175 Food and Agriculture companies
$22.9b in tracked funding; 93% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Food and Agriculture companies in Iowa
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yesway Operates retail store of food products | $425M | 40 mo ago | Public | Thomas Trkla Chairman | 2015 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMySQL+30 | — | — |
| 2 | Kemin Manufacturer of ingredients and solutions for animal, food, and human industries 69Innovation top 30%Funding top 32%Patents top 37%Talent top 38% All 11 signals ▾Innovationtop 30% Fundingtop 32% Patentstop 37% Talenttop 38% Moattop 39% Growthtop 40% Newstop 40% Techtop 41% Markettop 47% Globaltop 50% Producttop 50% Innovation: 32 patents (top 30% of patent-holders) Funding: Raised $70.0M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 14 yrs (0.1/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 69/100 | $70M | 6 mo ago | Funding Raised | R Nelson Co-Founder | 1961 | Adobe Experience ManagerSentryApple iCloud Mail+30 | 32 patents Adaptive multi‑carrier wireless communication systems (OFDMA, dynamic subcarrier clustering, interference control). | — |
| 3 | Pure Prairie Poultry Provider of poultry farming services | $37M | 36 mo ago | Funding Raised | Brian Roelofs President and CEO | 2021 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Shell Rock Soy Processing Soybeans processing company | $20M | 60 mo ago | Series B | Mike Kinley CEO | 2020 | GoDaddy Website BuilderGoogle MapsReact+10 | — | — |
| 5 | Heavenly Organics Organic honey sustainably harvested, promoting peace through prosperity in conflict zones | $7M | 73 mo ago | Series A | — | 2005 | Cart FunctionalityShopifySentry+35 | — | — |
| 6 | Stockguard Provider of insurance for livestock farming | $6M | 41 mo ago | Series A | Kierste Miller Co-Founder | 2020 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Oskaloosa Foods Provider of food packaging and services | $5M | 52 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1938 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Muddy Bites Brand of ice cream | $5M | 46 mo ago | Series A | Tyler DeVos Co-Founder | 2018 | ShopifyAnimate.cssBootstrap+29 | 4 patents Manufacturing and processing methods for dessert confectionery products | — |
| 9 | Global ID Group Provider of food safety, quality control and auditing solutions | $3M | 115 mo ago | Acquired | Brad Riemenapp CEO | 1996 | — | — | — |
| 10 | Golden Grain Energy Provider of engaged in the production and sale of energy services | $3M | 206 mo ago | Seed | Chad Kuhlers Co-CEO | 2004 | GoDaddy Website BuilderGoogle MapsReact+10 | — | — |
| 11 | Continuum Ag Offers soil health consulting services | $2M | 16 mo ago | Seed | Mitchell Hora Founder & CEO | 2016 | WordPressMySQLPHP+29 | 13 patents Patents concentrated in health & consumer products | — |
| 12 | Upper Iowa Beef Retailer of meat products | $550K | 168 mo ago | Seed | — | 2012 | WordPress Block EditorSiteOrigin Page BuilderWordPress+31 | — | 5 internships |
Top 12 Food and Agriculture companies in Iowa
#1
Funding Raised · Des Moines, Iowa · founded 1961 · 201 employees$70Mraised▾
Manufacturer of ingredients and solutions for animal, food, and human industries. The company provides products for animal nutrition and health, aquaculture, and crop technologies. It also offers ingredients for food technologies, human nutrition and health, and pet food. Additionally, the company provides solutions for textile auxiliaries and biofuels.
- Nov 2025Conventional Debt$50M
- Jan 2025Conventional Debt$20M
#2
Seed · Washington, Iowa · founded 2016 · 26 employees$2Mraised▾
Offers soil health consulting services
- Feb 2025Seed$223.8K
- Sep 2023Seed$1.8M
- Oct 2021Seed$200K
- Mar 2021Conventional Debt$125K
#3
Public · West Des Moines, Iowa · founded 2015 · 5350 employees$425Mraised▾
Operates retail store of food products
- Jan 2023Series D$190M
- Apr 2021Conventional Debt—
- Oct 2020Series D$235M
#4
Funding Raised · Charles City, Iowa · founded 2021 · 27 employees$36.7Mraised▾
Provider of poultry farming services
- Jun 2023Conventional Debt$36.7M
#5
Series A · Ames, Iowa · founded 2020 · 17 employees$6.5Mraised▾
Provider of risk management and epidemiological expertise intended to protect livestock producers from unexpected financial losses. The company's insurance services protect against unpredictable livestock production risk to help focus on business with first-of-its-kind production yield insurance and coverage against foreign animal diseases, enabling producers to decrease their production risk with comprehensive and affordable coverage.
- Dec 2022Series A$6.5M
- Mar 2020Seed$1.3M
#6
Funding Raised · Des Moines, Iowa · founded 2002$41.1Kraised▾
Provider of milk, cream, and flavored drinks for retail distribution. The company utilizes milk pasteurizing and plant sanitation technology in its processing. It offers a variety of flavored beverages for distribution. The company focuses on product development through technological innovation.
- Jan 2025Grant (prize money)$41.1K
#7
Series B · Shell Rock, Iowa · founded 2020 · 21 employees$20Mraised▾
Soybeans processing company
- May 2021Series B—
- Jan 2021Series B$20M
#8
Series A · Ames, Iowa · founded 2018 · 16 employees$4.8Mraised▾
Brand of ice cream
- Jul 2022Series A$4.8M
#9
Funding Raised · Oskaloosa, Iowa · founded 1938 · 31 employees$5Mraised▾
Provider of food packaging and services
- Jan 2022Conventional Debt$5M
#10
Series A · Iowa City, Iowa · founded 2005 · 4 employees$6.6Mraised▾
Organic honey sustainably harvested, promoting peace through prosperity in conflict zones. They offer raw and infused honey products, including chocolate honey and whole cane sugar. Their commitment extends beyond providing pure, organic honey; they focus on sustainable, bee-friendly harvesting methods. They aim to create a positive social impact by generating sustainable jobs in conflict zones, fostering peace through economic opportunity. Their product line includes a variety of honey types, catering to health-conscious consumers. They also share recipes featuring their honey, promoting its versatility. They are Glyphosate Residue Free Certified, ensuring product purity. They engage with customers through social media and offer resources like a store locator and newsletter subscription. They are focused on ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility.
- May 2020Series A$1.8M
- Oct 2017Series A$4.1M
- 2017Series A—
- Aug 2014Seed$750K
#11
Acquired · Fairfield, Iowa · founded 1996$3Mraised▾
Provider of food safety, quality control and auditing solutions
- Nov 2016Conventional Debt—
- Apr 2008Series A$3M
#12
Seed · Mason City, Iowa · founded 2004 · 32 employees$2.7Mraised▾
Golden Grain Energy, LLC is an energy company based in Mason City, Iowa, United States. They specialize in the production and sale of grain-based energy products. Their website is ggecorn.com.
- Apr 2009Seed$2.7M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Food and Agriculture coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Agritech is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Agritech — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 652 United States-affiliated papers.
- International Food Policy Research Institute25
- University of California, Davis22
- Cornell University22
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign17
- Agricultural & Applied Economics Association17
- Robot1→19
- Agriculture24→127
- Robot4→21
- Climate change2→17
- Agroforestry3→15
- Productivity2→13
- Agriculture35→83
- Food security7→25
- Productivity2→10
- Agricultural economics2→10
- Internet of Things1→8
Where agritech is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing agritech patents in the United States
United States agritech patent filing is accelerating — 24 filings from 35 assignees (2016–2025), led by Microsoft, Vision Robotics, Koselka Harvey; annual filings 1→5.
- Microsoft7
- Vision Robotics5
- Koselka Harvey5
- Wallach BRET5
- IBM4
- X DEV3
- Gerrish Steven R3
- CROP One Holdings2
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.