First annual event at Benson Farm highlighted soilless agriculture research and pathways from student training to commercialization.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A $7 million research initiative led by Kentucky State University is well on its way to developing a much-needed statewide agtech network.

That progress was on display April 21, when the first DARE-KY AgTech Symposium brought researchers, students, educators, public-sector partners, community collaborators, colleagues from several colleges and universities, and agtech companies together at the University’s Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort.

“This symposium showed what DARE-KY was created to do,” said Dr. Avinash Tope, principal investigator for DARE-KY and associate dean and associate professor of human nutrition and food safety at Kentucky State. “It brought people from across the agtech ecosystem into the same conversation and showed how Kentucky State is building capacity for Kentucky to lead.”

DARE-KY, or Driving AgTech Research and Education in Kentucky, is supported by the largest National Science Foundation grant in Kentucky State history. The initiative is designed to strengthen research, education, and workforce development around soilless food systems, including hydroponics and aquaponics, while connecting partners across the Commonwealth around applied agricultural innovation.

The event marked a shift from planning into implementation. Across the DARE-KY network, partners are developing research incubators, building new facilities, expanding coursework, creating student research opportunities, and strengthening connections between academic discovery and agricultural practice.

At Kentucky State, that work is being anchored by new research infrastructure. The University’s Center for Agriculture Research, Education, and Technology is scheduled for completion in May and will include a two-bay aquaponics and hydroponics greenhouse, with one bay supporting research and the other supporting demonstration.

Kentucky State researchers also shared updates on work centered around nutrient use and waste recovery in aquaponic and hydroponic systems. One research focus is mineralization, a process in which microbes break down fish waste and release nutrients that can be used by plants. Early findings presented by the Kentucky State DARE-KY team showed that mineralized waste can increase nutrients available to plants and support higher plant production in aquaponic systems.

The research speaks directly to one of the practical challenges in aquaponics: how to better recover and reuse nutrients that otherwise remain bound in fish waste. Kentucky State researchers are studying not only whether those nutrients can be recovered, but also how plants use them, which microorganisms drive the process, and how those insights can help producers improve system performance.

Student research was also featured through an AgTech poster competition showcasing work from institutions across Kentucky, including Kentucky State, the University of Kentucky, the University of Pikeville, and FoodChain. Fifteen students presented their research to an independent panel of judges representing the Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation, Kentucky Commercialization Ventures, and DARE-KY advisory board members.

Poster winners received cash awards sponsored by the Kentucky Aquaculture Association. Annika Maxey of FoodChain earned first place for research on the use of vertical aquaponics to promote food literacy. Kentucky State undergraduate student DeAira Watts earned second place for DARE-KY research on microbial dynamics in aquaponic mineralization. Kentucky State graduate student Kwabena Sarpong earned third place for research on the influence of selenium fertilization on plant chlorophyll levels.

Other student poster topics reflected the breadth of agtech research underway across the Commonwealth, including hydroponic production trials, GIS modeling, edible coatings, and precision agriculture.

The symposium also featured a keynote presentation by Jacob Ball, executive director of Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp., titled “From Classroom to Commercialization: How AgTech Is Rewriting Kentucky’s Agricultural Story.” Ball’s remarks connected student curiosity, classroom-based growing systems, controlled environment agriculture, entrepreneurship, and Kentucky’s broader agtech economy.

His presentation emphasized that the challenge is not only introducing students to agriculture, but also creating entry points that help them see where they fit. Ball connected student research and poster presentations to potential commercialization pathways, including innovation awards, early market traction, and future funding opportunities for agtech companies.

Student learning was central throughout the symposium. The agenda included a student poster competition, panel discussion, partner updates, and recognition of work underway across the DARE-KY network. Through the initiative, students are gaining experience in plant and fish husbandry, water-quality testing, molecular laboratory work, sequencing, bioinformatics, statistical analysis, system design, and research presentation.

DARE-KY has engaged more than 100 students in research and training across partner institutions, including 69 paid positions. The initiative also has supported student presentations at conferences, delivered K-12 curriculum modules to students across central Kentucky schools, and advanced development of Kentucky’s first registered apprenticeship program focused on soilless agriculture.

That workforce focus extends beyond Kentucky State. Bluegrass Community and Technical College shared updates on its Leestown campus aquaponics program, which is being developed through DARE-KY as a hands-on training, workforce development, and student research system. The BCTC effort includes greenhouse infrastructure, aquaponics equipment, course planning, and potential transfer pathways with Kentucky State.

FoodChain, a Lexington-based DARE-KY partner, highlighted its role as a research incubator supporting deep-water culture aquaponics, sustainable urban food production, internships, K-12 learning modules, and water-quality testing. Its work connects research with community-based food access and experiential learning opportunities for students at multiple levels.

Together, the partner presentations showed how DARE-KY is becoming more than a single research project. It is developing into a statewide network connecting Kentucky State, BCTC, the University of Pikeville, FoodChain, Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, Bellarmine University, industry partners, and other collaborators around shared questions in food production, sustainability, workforce development, and applied research.

A pre-symposium grant-writing workshop on April 20 also gave undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to develop research proposals connected to agricultural technology. Selected student proposals may receive up to $5,000 to support implementation of their research ideas.

For Kentucky State, the symposium underscored the University’s land-grant mission in action: bringing research to practical challenges, expanding hands-on learning, building partnerships, and preparing students for emerging careers connected to food, water, sustainability, and technology.

As DARE-KY continues to grow, the work at Kentucky State is helping position the University not only as a hub for soilless agriculture research, but also as a place where students, partners, and producers can help shape what comes next for agriculture in the Commonwealth.