“ULM hosts Pelican Cup Final: FarmSmarter.AI wins top prize”

Context

FarmSmarter.AI took the top prizes at the fourth annual Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup, Louisiana's largest collegiate pitch competition, at the University of Louisiana Monroe on April 10, 2025: the $50,000 grand prize and the $2,000 elevator-pitch prize.

Thirty-six teams from eight universities entered; six reached the final, where each gave a 20-minute pitch followed by 30 minutes of questions from the judges. Nearly 200 people attended, KNOE reported. Raby, the company's CEO, delivered the winning elevator pitch.

"FarmSmarter aims to be the world's best virtual agricultural expert," Raby said. "We take millions of pages of up-to-date agricultural documents and regulations and turn them into actionable intelligence. Louisiana has incredible agricultural and technical talent, and we aim to leverage this prize to lead the charge in revolutionizing an industry that our state has excelled in for generations."

CTO Grant Muslow said winning both prizes "completely changes the trajectory of our company." The team planned to use the winnings to grow, accelerate research and development, and build new tools: GIS field mapping, plant and insect identification, and compliance checks for new Endangered Species Act guidelines. Its first product, Farmer AI, had launched the month before with access to more than 16,000 EPA-approved pesticide and herbicide labels, state-specific research and live weather.The founders at the time: Colin Raby, Grant Muslow, Cole Lacombe and Julius Pallotta. The company is now FarmMind.