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Midlothian-based fertilizer company NTP Technologies earned top honors in the second annual Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability Agricultural and Forestry Innovation Challenge.

The competition, also known as the “Bull Pen,” was held during the 2023 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Virginia Beach. Winners were announced during the convention’s opening luncheon on Nov. 28. NTP Technologies was awarded the competition’s grand prize of $10,000 in addition to $2,500 for plac- ing among the five finalists. Wilmer Stoneman, vice president of agriculture, development and innovation for VFBF, described the Bull Pen as an entrepreneurial competition that highlights innovative practices in agriculture and businesses “that are going the extra mile for value-added production.”

The challenge aims to “foster entrepreneurial ideas that support the agricultural and forestry industries in Virginia,” added Tony Banks, senior assistant director of VFBF agriculture, development and innovation.

Participants were asked to describe why their business proposals were innovative and, if executed, how they would benefit the commonwealth’s agricultural and forestry sectors.

John Ireland, CEO of NTP Technologies, said that as global populations rise, there is a growing need for a nitrogen fertilizer substitute. NTP has created one through its proprietary, non-thermal plasma technology that generates affordable, sustainable, saltfree nitrates that use only air and electricity as inputs.

“Even though it’s a global problem, it’s the local farmers that are really interested in alternative solutions to