Las Cruces-based Backyard Farms LLC received a US$25,000 grant

NEW MEXICO – Las Cruces-based Backyard Farms LLC received a $25,000 grant from the New Mexico Small Business Innovation Research Program (NMSBIR) to continue its goal of improving the border region’s food system.

Backyard Farms seeks to empower small fruit and vegetable farmers by using freeze-drying (freeze-drying) to create a healthy, nutritious and delicious food product that can reach vulnerable food insecure populations without the need for refrigeration.

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes announced that five companies in the state would receive NMSBIR grants to help grow their businesses. The program provides recipients with additional resources to commercialize the technology they develop.

The grant program was renewed in 2019 with a more technical and expert review of business proposals. The Technology Research Collaborative (TRC) Board is responsible for making the final recommendation to management on these supports.

The board is comprised of a panel of university, national laboratory, government and business experts assembled by the New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) through its Office of Science and Technology (OST) to promote technology commercialization in the region.

“These five companies represent some of the best technology and science our state has to offer. The winners are working on advanced and innovative processes that will advance the entire country while offering impressive benefits to the quality of all human life,” Keyes said.

Other recipients included Albuquerque-based Actoprobe LLC, which was awarded $100,000 to develop a nanospectroscopy needle laser for rapid and accurate identification of viruses and DNA. With this technology, customers can perform chemical analysis with atomic precision and manipulate live viruses in air or liquid under normal conditions.

Emerging Technology Ventures, based in Alamogordo, received $25,000 for the development of autonomous airborne and ground-based systems with integrated sensing/inspection and artificial intelligence-driven predictive analytics for complex environments, such as agriculture, aerospace, renewable energy, critical infrastructure, defense and public safety.

Just Health Care LLC, in Albuquerque, also received $25,000 for the creation of PainScan, a program aimed at making pain visible in order to provide clarity and actionable metrics to patients and physicians.

NeuroGeneces Inc, in Santa Fe received $25,000 for the development of a wearable device that is a sonic “pacemaker” for the brain.

Source: MEXICONOW Staff