Viewpoint from OEDIT's Ken Lund: 'Building more investors is vital to Colorado’s economy'

Quoting from today's posting in the Denver Business Journal:

"Since January 2011, we’ve created 97,000 jobs and now have 2.4 million jobs in the state — prerecession levels. And we have the fourth-fastest job growth in the nation. We are continuing to successfully woo a number of industries and we’re enhancing our advanced industries with a 10-year, $150 million investment.

We are just missing one key piece of the economic pie: investors. Venture-capital investment is critical to the growth of successful startup companies...

...We’re working on creating more funding opportunities. OEDIT, in partnership with the Colorado BioScience Association and Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., established the Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor and Partnering Conference (RMLIPC) in 2009. Celebrating the third biennial conference on Sept. 19, RMLIPC will bring together more than 50 investors to Denver to showcase 30 regional startup companies in the biotech, diagnostic, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. The Rockies Venture Club, along with the Impact Angel Group, are working their connections with local angel investors and entrepreneurs."

Link to the OpEd piece authored by Ken Lund

About Ken Lund: Ken joined Gov. Hickenlooper as Chief Legal Counsel before taking the helm at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade in August 2011. Ken is focused on driving the state's economic recovery, ensuring that Colorado is the most pro-business state in the country and that Colorado remains competitive in the global marketplace.

Coverage Overview: Rocky Mountain Life Science Investor & Partnering Conference Announces Thirty Regional Companies for 2013 Presentation Lineup

Link to CNBC.com

Link to Yahoo! Finance

Link to Metro Denver News Center

Link to VancouverSun.com

Link to Silobreaker

SeafoodSource: 'McCowan honored for aquaculture work'

Quoting from the August 16th posting:

"The president of an Indiana-based aquaculture company has been honored with an award for work in his field.

Norman McCowan, the president of Bell Aquaculture, received the Agrivision Award this week, recognizing him as a leader of the agricultural community in Indiana."

Link to SeafoodSource.com

Audio Interview: 'McCowan honored with AgriVision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th posting by Meghan Grebner:

"Yesterday was Farmer’s Day at the Indiana State Fair. In recognition of his vision, innovation, and leadership, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann presented Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, the Indiana Agrivision Award.

McCowan says the honor is humbling. 'We’re in a niche sector, aquaculture, which is now a growing industry in Indiana,' he says. 'To be recognized was unbelievable. I’m very excited, it’s very exciting.' 

A recent Purdue Extension study showed that aquaculture is a growing contributor to Indiana’s agriculture economy. McCowan tells Brownfield he doesn’t see that slowing down any time soon."

Link to the Brownfield Ag News for America posting

Link to the mp3 interview

Seedstock: ' the greatest, most valuable web site' with startup profile of Bell Aquaculture from 2011

Why Seedstock? Example, per The Taste of Tomorrow:

"Seedstock is also a steady source of inspiring tales of smart aquaculture — they’ve profiled VCs focused on fostering enviro-friendly aquaculture, and fish farmers experimenting with ways of lowering feed conversion ratio, companies focused on improving quality and traceability for consumers.

Here are two examples — two great profiles of US-based farmers using recirculating aquaculture systems — one looks at SweetSpring Salmon, a producer of coho salmon, and the other focuses on Norman McCowan, a fish farmer who raises 2 million perch a year in the middle of the Indiana cornfields. (McCowan’s Bell Aquaculture, North America’s leading producer of yellow perch, reuses 99.8 percent of its water and converts leftover fish waste into a saleable product, organic liquid plant fertilizer.)

Check out Seedstock if you’re interested in becoming involved in sustainable food production. Their resource page includes a bunch of helpful links — aimed at entrepreneurs, students, job-seekers interested in aspects of sustainable agriculture. In brief, Seedstock bills itself as the resource on sustainable ag, we agree."

Link to The Taste of Tomorrow

Link to Seedstock's May 2011 posting "Startup Profile: Yellow Perch at Sea in the Cornfields of Indiana"

Coverage Overview: 'McCowan Honored with Indiana Agrivision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th Silobreaker: "Yesterday was Farmer’s Day at the Indiana State Fair. In recognition of his vision, innovation, and leadership, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann presented Norman McCowan, president of Bell Aquaculture, the Indiana Agrivision Award." Link to Silobreaker

Quoting from August 15th Indiana Ag News: "Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann Wednesday presented the Indiana Agrivision Award to Jay County businessman Norman McCowan. The award recognizes a member of the Indiana agriculture family for demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in their field." Link to Indiana Ag Connection

Quoting from the August 16th posting: "The president of Bell Aquaculture, Indiana, USA, Norman McCowan has won the Indiana Agrivision Award... The award recognises a member of the Indiana agriculture family for demonstration, vision, innovation and leadership in their field... McCowan received the accolade from Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann." Link to the Aquaculturists Blogspot 

Hoosier Ag Today: 'Aquaculture Pioneer Honored with AgriVision Award'

Quoting from the August 15th posting:

"The annual Agrivision Award presented by Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann recognizes an individual who has made a difference in Indiana agriculture. This year’s recipient has almost single-handedly build the state’s aquaculture industry from the ground up. Norman McCowan of Redkey, IN is the founder of Bell Aquaculture, one of the state’s oldest and largest fish farming operations... 

...McCowan told HAT Indiana is a great place to raise fish, 'We have a great source of water, a favorable tax structure, and a good permitting process that has allowed this industry to explode.' When McCowan started in 2005, there was very little in the way of resources, research, and even equipment to start such an operation. He credited Purdue and the soybean checkoff for helping the aquaculture industry grow the $500 million industry it is today, 'They have done a lot of work for us in developing new species we could produce and doing some of that core research that needs to be done.' Indiana Soybean Alliance Chief Executive Officer Jane Ade Stevens wrote, 'Norman McCowan has demonstrated vision in fish production, processing, research, economic development and the use of soybeans as a sustainable feed ingredient that is helping Indiana to be recognized domestically and internationally.'"

Link to Hoosier Ag Today