Tech Hub LIVE Honors 2026 CropLife Ag Tech Awards of Excellence Recipients

Lauren Milligan By Lauren Milligan|July 21, 2026
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During Tech Hub LIVE in Des Moines, IA, on July 21, industry leaders, innovators, researchers, and farmers were recognized for their contributions to advancing agricultural technology during the annual CropLife Ag Tech Awards of Excellence ceremony.

The Legacy Award was presented to Don Bierman, CEO of Crop IMS LLC, in recognition of more than four decades of leadership in precision agriculture and ag technology. Bierman spent more than 30 years with Wabash Valley Service Company before helping launch Crop IMS in 2004. He also co-founded MyWay RTK LLC and MyAgData and currently serves as vice president of the Ag Data Coalition. During the ceremony, Bierman’s career was described as “a master class in how to do technology adoption just right,” highlighting his role in helping growers embrace practical, impactful innovations.

The Innovator Award was accepted by Darin Krantz of Ag Legacy on behalf of Vishnu Jayaprakash, CEO and co-founder of AgZen. Inspired by firsthand experience with spray application challenges on his family’s farm in southern India, Jayaprakash has focused his career on optimizing droplet-leaf interactions and developing feedback-driven spray technologies to improve application efficiency.

The Visionary Farmer Award recognized Marc and Meagan Kaiser of Kaiser Family Farms in Carroll County, MO. The fifth-generation farmers founded PAL Farm Management, a precision agriculture consulting company serving clients across seven states with GPS, drone, soil sampling, and variable-rate fertility services. Meagan also serves as chief operations officer and soil scientist at Perry Agricultural Laboratory, which provides nutrient analysis services to clients in all 50 states and 75 countries. In accepting the award, the Kaisers emphasized the value of using data to improve farm performance while collaborating with fellow growers.

The Educator/Researcher Award was presented to Dr. Tom Meade, chief science officer at Enko Chem, for his contributions to AI-driven crop protection discovery. Meade has spent his career leading teams focused on developing new crop protection chemistries and traits and holds 27 U.S. patents. During the ceremony, he was recognized for helping pioneer AI-powered pesticide discovery platforms that are accelerating the search for new crop protection solutions.

The Emerging Leader Award went to Dr. Ramesh Raliya, CEO of Rhizophyll Corporation, for his work advancing nanotechnology-enabled agriculture. Raliya’s innovations in nano urea and next-generation nutrient delivery systems have been deployed across more than 300 million acres in over 20 countries, improving nutrient use efficiency while reducing conventional fertilizer use. He holds more than 30 patents and has authored over 100 scientific publications focused on sustainable crop nutrition.

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Lauren Milligan is Content Specialist for the Agribusiness Group, including AgriBusiness Global, CropLife, and Women in Ag Tech. Before joining Meister Media Worldwide in 2022, she received a bachelor’s degree in English from Kent State University in 2017 and has worked on newspapers local to Portage and Summit Counties in Ohio. See all author stories here.

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