Farm & Rural Ag Network: Recent Episodes
Farm & Rural Ag Network
The best agricultural podcast content around the internet. Hear from farmers, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and agribusiness influencers about the issues facing modern agriculture.
Michael Bosworth is the President & CEO of Next Generation Foods, a food business that markets and distributes locally produced foods in the Northern California area. Brent Lafollette, Martin Miller, and Robert James Woodry are 5th generation farmers and the founders of Premium Growers, a company that produces and sells a variety of flavored, premium roasted Oregon Hazelnuts. They are some of the many farmers who transitioned from being producers to direct-to-consumer retailers.
Michael joins me today to share his company’s humble beginnings. He explains how he puts a price tag on his products and how much of his farm is dedicated to retail. He also describes the benefits of going to food shows. Brent, Martin, and Robert discuss why they decided to start a hazelnut company. They share the effort it took to get their company up and running. They also describe the marketing process involved with their hazelnuts.
“It's incredible what you can learn about how people are using your products.” - Michael Bosworth
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The origins of Michael Bosworth’s company and how they transitioned from a farm to a food business.
- The first client who asked them to supply organic ingredients.
- Adding their margin and how the ingredient price and competition factor in.
- The percentage of farm production that goes to the food business aspect.
- Attending food shows and scouting for new food products to offer clients.
- The type of clients they like to work with.
- Brent's farming background and how he, Bob, and Marty founded Premium Growers
- Their hazelnut product and the processing involved before clients receive them.
- How they set up their business to be a direct-to-consumer type of company.
- How long it took for their business to become stable.
- The customer feedback they've received since they started.
Connect with Michael Bosworth:
- Next Generation Foods
Connect with Brent, Martin, and Robert:
- Premium Growers
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots! And be sure to join the new Future of Agriculture Membership for even more valuable information on the future of ag.
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
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AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Micki Seibel is an investor, advisor, and tech builder who was part of the team behind internet products such as Netscape and eBay. She is currently an Operating Partner for Radicle Growth, an acceleration fund that partners with entrepreneurs who have ideas that can innovate the future of food. She has over 20 years of experience in building companies and has made much of it at Silicon Valley. Micki also serves on the advisory board of multiple food system startup companies such as Swarm Technologies.
Micki joins me today to share how Radicle Growth is helping startups in the AgTech industry. She discusses the goals of Radicle Growth, their criteria when selecting companies to fund, and the ideas that they want to promote. She describes her career in Silicon Valley and how it led her to be part of the food industry. Micki also explains the effects of climate change on the ag economy and ag innovations.
“Selling to a corn grower in Iowa is not at all the same as selling to a strawberry farmer in California or Chile.” - Micki Seibel
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Solving the problem of rural connectivity in AgTech.
- Where her interest in food and agriculture stems from.
- The different companies she has worked for previously.
- The technical experience she gathered before becoming part of the AgTech industry.
- How she developed an interest in the connectivity problem in agriculture.
- Her thoughts on AgTech and IoT companies and what they should focus on.
- The people behind Radical Growth and the aim of the company.
- What it takes to sell the same product to a variety of ag markets.
- The difference between AgTech and a typical tech investing business.
- Will the ag industry favor indoor farms or regenerative agriculture?
- The effects of climate change on agriculture innovations.
Resource:
- SWARM TECHNOLOGIES
- Episode 87: BLOCKCHAIN AND THE INTERNET OF FOOD WITH RAJA RAMACHANDRAN OF RIPE.IO
Connect with Micki Seibel
- Radicle Growth
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Mike Barrow is the Project Lead at OpenVino, a company that aims to create the first-ever open-source, transparent winery, and wine-based cryptocurrency under the Costaflores label. Costaflores is a boutique organic winery based in Argentina. As suggested, OpenVino will rely on blockchain technology to engage in a new and innovative way of selling wine products. With over 30 years of experience in IT, data science, and cloud services, Mike aims to disrupt the wine world with a business that converts consumers into shareholders.
Mike joins me today to share how OpenVino will innovate the way we consume wine through blockchain tech. He shares his passion for wine, what inspired him to start OpenVino, and why he chose to make the company open-source. He explains their data collecting strategies and how consumers can benefit from buying their cryptocurrency. Mike also describes how wine is priced and why quality is second to story.
“The quality of the wine is not dictated by the quality parameter as much as the story behind it.” - Mike Barrow
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- How an open-source winery works and how you can profit from it.
- Why it's difficult to sell wine regardless of price.
- The questions that led him to start an open-source winery.
- The data he needs to collect and how he makes sure his customers understand it.
- How blockchain fits into their business strategy.
- A quick recap of what blockchain is and how it works.
- Determining the best price for their wine products.
- Why they chose to tokenize their wine production.
Resource:
- Episode 110: How Carbon Trading Can Benefit Farmers with Aldyen Donnelly of Nori
- Episode 189 - Farmers Building Their Own Open Source Technology
Connect with Mike Barrow
- Costaflores
- OpenVino
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Reinier van der Lee is the CEO & Founder of Vinduino, an AgTech company that supports farmers and other producers in the ag industry with products that improve profits and fruit quality as well as increase yield. One of the company’s latest products is the Vinduino R4 Sensor station, an open-source sensor that gives farmers data on water usage and efficiency. Reinier also owns a 4-acre vineyard and credits his need for better irrigation management as the reason why he founded Vinduino.
Reinier joins me today to share how Vinduino is helping farmers gather the kind of data they need and understand when it comes to water management. He explains how their products work, what separates them from other AgTech companies, and why knowing how much water you’re using is critical to your business. He also discusses why he chose to keep their products open source and shares some of the upcoming events and projects they have lined up this year.
“Water use is important because it impacts the quality and yield of your crop.” - Reinier van der Lee
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The contributing factors of understanding their need for water.
- The methods they used to determine how much water they should use.
- How Vinduino’s software provides water data for farmers.
- What inspired them to name their product "Vinduino."
- Where Reinier’s interest in growing grapes rose from.
- Why they chose to keep their program open-source.
- Encouraging others who are not tech savvy to innovate existing solutions.
- When he decided to scale this his business.
- What it means to sort good solutions from bad solutions.
- Why simply more data from sensors is not good enough.
- What's next for the Vinduino company?
Resource:
- Citizen Science
- Hackaday
Connect with Reinier van der Lee
- Vinduino
- Reiner van de Lee
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
David Chan is the COO and Founding Team Member at Farm Together, a company that offers a simplified approach to US farmland investment. The company not only serves Americans, but also welcomes foreign investors who are interested in growing their assets or simply having a continuous source of income in their retirement. David has over five years of Fin-Tech experience in the ag industry. He describes himself as a meteorologist by background, but a financier and technologist by training. David earned his MBA at Harvard Business School and is also part of the Board of Directors at the Harvard Alumni for Agriculture.
David joins me today to share how their company, Farm Together, will make it easier for local and foreign investors to invest in US farmlands. He explains how their platform works, when their investors get paid, and the due diligence they conduct prior to putting a property for sale. He discusses several risks involved in investing in different states. David also describes how they plan to put regenerative agriculture in the limelight.
“You must consider what the environment may look like in the future when you are purchasing these properties today.” - David Chan
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Connecting insurance, farmlands, and current trends in institutional investments.
- The characteristics of the typical user and investor on their platform.
- How foreign investors can own farm lands in different locations.
- How their due diligence process works.
- Knowing the risks of investing in farmlands and how they calculate for them.
- Why water is always a risk in any irrigated agriculture.
- How they inform investors of earnings and how investors make money.
- The feedback they receive from their clients.
- The SIGMA legislation in California and what it is about.
- The steps they have taken to make regenerative agriculture mainstream.
Connect with David Chan
- Farm Together
- Email: david@farmtogether.com
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Kenneth Quinn is the former President of the World Food Prize Foundation, an organization that seeks to give individuals recognition for achievements that directly improve the quality, quantity, and availability of food in the world. Kenneth is often referred to as “the Ambassador” because he was the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. During his time as President, he received various high-level honors and awards from different organizations, including The American Farm Bureau and The Crop Science Society of America.
Kenneth joins me today to describe what the World Food Prize Foundation stands for, how it got started, and what makes it similar and different to the Nobel Peace Prize. He shares his journey, his time as Ambassador, and how he began to follow in the footsteps of Norman Borlaug. He explains the current state of agriculture across various countries and the agricultural hindrances that America needs to fix. Kenneth also discusses what he wants his legacy to be and the dangers that Americans face in regards to agricultural research.
“That's what I look for in the world: building peace through agriculture.” - Kenneth Quinn
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Kenneth's life before agriculture and how he started to work in the industry.
- The countries he’s worked with and the projects he has spearheaded.
- The laureates who stood out to him over the years and their accomplishments.
- Their international reach and the different nationalities in their group.
- Notable agricultural milestones that ushered in an era of peace in American history.
- His thoughts on China's road and rural infrastructure over the last few decades.
- How roads are connected to hunger and suffering.
- The history of the World Food Prize Foundation.
- Addressing the challenge of feeding 10-billion people on the planet.
- What he wants his legacy to be for the organization and the world.
- The danger America faces when it comes to agricultural research.
Resources Mentioned:
- Freedom From Famine
- The Wizard and the Prophet
- Norman Borlaug
Connect with Kenneth Quinn
- World Food Prize
- Ambassador Kenneth Quinn Archive
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Being a full time agronomist/salesman while also being a full time farmer isn't all that unusual... but it doesn't mean it's not impressive
Listen as I talk to Matt McCune about ag and storm chasing
Hey friends and welcome back to our 2020 season of podcasting. This episode we are going to discuss living with an abundant mindset vs a scarce mindset. We think this applies to life in general and we compare to our farm lives. In a nutshell someone with an abundant mindset is an optimist and is genuinely happy for others when they are successful. Those with a scare mindset are competitive, jealous and resent others success. "The secret to having it all is believing you already do."
Happy New Year, and welcome to everyone listening to the very first episode of the year for the Future of Agriculture podcast. 2019 was such a good year for the show and was rife with amazing guests bearing their trade secrets and intelligent insights into the world of agriculture. To commemorate the year we had, I decided to categorize the overarching themes that summarize what 2019 was like for the Future of Agriculture podcast.
In today’s episode, I discuss the five trends that governed much of the events in 2019. I share a few clips of the most well-received episodes that relate to the trends we had. I discuss some of the trends that we’ll be doing a deeper dive this year and some of the changes that will happen. I also share some of your wonderful ideas and suggestions.
“Technology takes away gatekeepers in the food industry, just as it had done so in other industries.”
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The five themes we discussed in the show throughout 2019.
- What it means to quantitatively prove farm sustainability
- The importance of farmer profitability when it comes to innovation
- Why we should be worried about the future of water for the ag industry
- Changing Five Minute Farmer to Farmer's Spotlight
- What's coming for 2020 on the Future of Ag Podcast
- Ideas to improve the show and audience suggestions.
Resources Mentioned:
- Managing the Modern Farm Business with Farmers Justin Dahlgren and Eric Thalken
- Tackling Tough Questions about AgTech with Renee Vassilos
- Water Economics with Dr David Zetland
- Real Meat Without the Animal with Mike Selden of Finless Foods
- Plant-Based and Cellular Agriculture Alternatives with Bruce Friedrich of GFI
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Stuart Austin is an award winning farmer who, with his wife Trish, manages Wilmot Cattle Company, a regenerative grassfed beef operation in the New England area of NSW, Australia.
In this episode, Stuart shares how he got involved in regenerative ag, and the the tools he’s using to make 6 and 7 figure decisions around stocking rates and carrying capacity.
Stuart and I also chat about how the stigma around regenerative agriculture is changing from “witchcraft” to “solid business practices,” and what he’s doing to help other farmers unlock value in their farming systems.
Relevant links from the episode
- Wilmot Cattle Company- https://www.wilmotcattleco.com.au/
- Write up of the 2019 Field Day- https://www.maiagrazing.com/250-plus-graziers-attend-field-day-on-drought-resilience/
- RCS Grazing for Profit course- https://www.rcsaustralia.com.au/products/family-business/grazing-for-profit-2/
- Allan Savory’s TED talk- https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_fight_desertification_and_reverse_climate_change
- You inc. by John McGrath- https://www.amazon.com.au/You-Inc-Attract-Amazing-Business/dp/0732276365
- Remember the Titans (trailer)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir1OH33uiwA
- Maia Grazing- https://www.maiagrazing.com/
- FarmBot- https://www.farmbot.com.au/
Ashlea Miles and David Ricardo are Australian farmers and founders of agtech startups Training Paddock and Farm Service Manager. They, along with six other farmer-led businesses, have been selected into the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp program, an intensive 3 month accelerator that helping them take their business to the next level.
In this episode, Ash and David share the story behind Training Paddock and Farm Service Manager, and reflect on the differences and similarities between running a farm and building a startup.
Relevant links:
- https://www.trainingpaddock.com.au/
- https://farmservicemanager.com/
- https://twitter.com/FarmServiceApp (@FarmServiceApp)
This episode is produced in partnership with Farmers2Founders. To learn more, check out https://www.farmers2founders.com/ or @farmers2founder on Twitter
How does a kid from Spanish Harlem end up selling seed corn in Nebraska?
Listen to the incredible story of Andrew Rodriguez and how Football and his older brother changed his life.
As most of you know we began this journey without ever meeting in person. Building a relationship via Instagram and daily texts. Well we finally got to meet up in Nashville last week. To say we hit it of and had a blast would be an understatement. Love at first sight? Haha maybe for best friends. Our husbands equally enjoyed one another and all the farm talk, which made it bitter sweet! We want to say happy holidays and new year to all of our listeners, and as always thank you so much for your support!
Joe Swartz is the Vice President and Lead Horticulturist at AmHydro, a company recognized as a top innovator in the ag industry and focused on developing products that promote efficient hydroponic growing systems. Joe is also widely recognized as one of the leading consultants when it comes to Controlled Environment Agricultural industries that include commercial greenhouse farms. He specializes in crop production improvements, pesticide-free insect and disease control, and professional grower training, among other skills.
Joe joins me today to discuss the economic implications of fusing traditional farming with greenhouse technology. He shares why he is interested in greenhouse farming and how he initially tried it himself. He explains how controlled ag works and the factors required to make it work. He describes the benefits traditional farmers can reap from adapting greenhouse operations. Joe also shares some of the limitations of controlled environment agriculture.
“Incorporation of greenhouse techniques into an existing traditional farm is really a very natural and very positive progression.” - Joe Swartz
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- What Joe's focus was before he became invested on greenhouse technology.
- Where his interest in controlled ag came from.
- The importance of the environment and location when it comes to controlled ag.
- The practicalities of controlled ag during the winter.
- Benefits of merging traditional farming and controlled environments.
- The return on investment when it comes to greenhouse farming.
- Encouraging the youth to join the ag industry.
- Limiting factors of setting up a controlled environment type of farm.
- Determining standards of practices for controlled environments.
Resources Mentioned:
- Hydroponics and Controlled Environment Ag with Joe Swartz of American Hydroponics
Connect with Joe Swartz
- AmHydro
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Here it is.... The Christmas episode!!!
From John Deere colored trees to present shaming... this one has it all
Merry Christmas!!!!!
Stories from
Mark Kannmacher
@tara_m_davidson
@messykennedy
In this podcast episode, I speak with Dr. Patrick Wall, Professor of Public Health at University College Dublin. Professor Wall qualified in Veterinary Medicine in UCD and in Human Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. In addition, Professor Wall was the first Chief Executive of the Irish Food Safety Authority and the second Chairperson of the European Food Safety Authority, a pan-EU Agency with a remit on food safety for the entire food and feed supply chains.
Richard Collins is the owner of California Endive Farms, a farming operation that specializes in growing endive, a vegetable of the chicory family that is so special, it’s grown twice. Due to the strict conditions and labor-intensive manner of growing it, the endive was deemed a rare crop to produce. However, Rich took advantage of this fact and decided to niche down and focus on building a farming business around it. Today, California Endive Farms is still the largest American endive grower.
Rich joins us to share the story of how he learned about the endive plant and what made him decide to grow such a complicated crop. He explains what endives are, why they’re difficult to grow, and the market potential it has. He describes the various factors they have to consider and how they manage to control them on their farm. Rich also shares why there’s hardly any competition for them when it comes to growing endive.
“There's a huge window of opportunity for us to grow crops in a much more rational manner with respect to soil and water resources.” - Rich Collins
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Rich’s journey in the ag industry and the people who influenced his business decisions.
- What endive is, why it needs to grow in the absence of light, and the difficulty in farming it.
- What the market is like for endive, its uses, and its health benefits.
- How marketable is it growing endive as a primary source of income?
- The factors that influence endive growth and the conditions they control.
- Finding a niche like endive farming today compared to what it was like decades ago.
- The competition for endive growing and why they hardly have competition.
- The costs of growing endive and why it's not easy to automate.
Connect with Rich Collins
- California Endive Farms
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Imagine living in a camper with 6 kids and your spouse...
listen as I talk to Suzanne Swift-Cook, first generation farmer
Bruce Friedrich is Co-Founder and Executive Director at The Good Food Institute (GFI), a company that promotes plant-based and cultivated meat food products by making them just as good, just as convenient, and just as affordable as real meat. Their company has several branches in over six countries, all working towards the goal of making the alternative meat industry more attractive to consumers. Bruce oversees the business’ global strategy and programs. He also works with its directors, staff, and international representatives to guarantee the effectiveness of their programs.
Bruce joins me today to discuss how GFI is making plant-based and cultivated meat products more consumer-friendly and just as competitive as traditional meat. He shares where he drew inspiration to innovate food, how the idea of starting GFI began and the company’s current progress. Bruce also explains why they’re not here to disrupt the meat industry and shares his thoughts on animal agriculture.
“Animal-based meat is made up of fats, proteins, minerals, and water. All of that exists in the plant kingdom.” - Bruce Friedrich
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- How Bruce became passionate about improving the world through food innovation.
- Replacing meat with foods that cost the same or less with their product.
- Appealing to palatability and cost over environmental impact.
- What if plant-based meats and traditional meat product consumption rose together?
- The time needed for consumers to adapt to cultivated meat.
- How far along they are with regards to scaling their cultivated and plant-based meat products.
- His thoughts on animal agriculture and their business focus as a company.
- The difference between disrupting and transforming the meat industry.
- The big milestones he is excited about in the near future.
Resources Mentioned
- Quorn
Connect with Bruce Friedrich
- The Good Food Institute
- Essential Reading and Research
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Wexford strawberries are known the length and breadth of Ireland, but timing and location can prove important factors in deciding where to grow and sell them. Here strawberry grower, Cyril Wheelock from Wheelock Fruit Farm in Co. Wexford tells how has recently diversified his fruit farm into a farm shop and restaurant, providing some insight and background into what is a relatively unique development within Ireland.
Click here for gift suggestions for this year. Click here for gift suggestions from last year
Russ Conser is the CEO of Blue Nest Beef, a regenerative agriculture and food startup. What makes Blue Nest Beef special is how they raise cattle from bird-friendly land, citing that the presence of birds indicates a healthy agricultural ecosystem. Russ specializes in soil health and regenerative agriculture, business strategy development, and managing highly creative people. He was also featured on the podcast two years ago, where he talked about the benefits of multi-paddock grazing.
Russ joins me today to discuss how Blue Nest Beef is promoting regenerative agriculture. He explains how birds indicate the health of the ecosystem and why it’s critical to farm on bird-friendly land. He shares data that indicates the benefits of raising cattle over not raising it from a greenhouse gas perspective. He shares the type of grazing system they want other farmers to adapt and why it benefits the soil. Russ also describes why regenerative agriculture is important to every person on Earth, regardless of your political affiliation.
“The birds are the treasure - and the measure.” - Russ Conser
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Defining Regenerative Agriculture and what it's supposed to do.
- The importance of bird presence in agriculture.
- Informing consumers on how the food system works and how Blue Nest Beef plans to do it.
- How Blue Nest Beef works and what sets them apart from other farms.
- The grazing system they promote and how rotational grazing benefits the soil.
- Why Regenerative Agriculture is an apolitical issue.
- Resources and tools Russ is interested in using and working with.
- Data that says producing beef through regenerative agriculture is better than not producing beef at all.
Resources Mentioned
- Episode 044: Grassfed Beef Through Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing
- Eddy Covariance Flux Towers
Connect with Russ Conser
- Blue Nest Beef
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Is it possible to be born a farmer without being from a farm family?
Would you walk into random grocery stores trying to create a market for yourself?
Listen as I talk with Gavin Spoor about his path to becoming a farmer
Aidan Connolly is the CEO of Cainthus, and agtech startup using cameras and machine learning to help farmers make better decisions. Before that, Aidan helped Alltech grow from $24 million to $2.3 billion. During that time he was, among many things, Director of the Pearse Lyons Accelerator where he saw hundreds of agtech startups in all different sectors.
Aidan joins us to share his insights on:
- What it's like to go from a global agribusiness to a startup
- How cameras are transforming agriculture
- How to get engineers off the keyboard and onto the farms they're trying to help
- Why it's so important for farmers to help entrepreneurs, even when it's frustrating
For more from Aidan, check out:
- Aidan on LinkedIn
- Aidan on Twitter
- Aidan on Forbes
- Cainthus
Other resources:
- HBR on the average age of successful founders
Dr. Ray Goldberg holds the title of George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He’s among the pioneers of modern agribusiness, coining the term himself. He is the author of Food Citizenship, a book that talks about the global food system and the many faces that are leading the charge in changing the way we look at food and agriculture forever. Ray has decades of experience in the industry, from authoring journal articles and teaching materials to holding seminars about climate and its effect on food systems.
Ray joins me today to share the progress the ag industry has made over the many years he has watched over it. He describes the need to form a group of individuals that represent different parts of the industry, the reason why he authored his latest book, and what readers can expect. He explains the relationship between capitalism and agriculture, and why the government needs to help small farmers more. Ray also shares his thoughts on millennials and why he looks forward to what they can bring for the next generation.
“Unless we get the food system done correctly, we won’t have the kind of productivity or the kind of lifestyle we want for future generations.” - Dr. Ray Goldberg
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Why his first meeting with those in the food and ag business was a disaster.
- How they came to the decision to constantly renew ag information and relationships annually.
- The need to limit the number of people in his group.
- His criteria in choosing the people to be included in his book.
- The relationship between capitalism in agriculture and the public good.
- When he coined the term ‘agribusiness’.
- Why he was adamant at bringing important people in agriculture together.
- Living in an era of distrust in the food system.
- His thoughts on millennials and their acceptance of change.
- The big questions he's always asking himself throughout his career.
- Why small scale farmers should have more support from the government.
Connect with Dr. Ray Goldberg
- Harvard Business School
- Book: Food Citizenship
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Would you be able to handle death threats from animal rights extremist?
Can a "farm wife" represent agriculture on social media?
All this and more as I talk with The New Mexico Milkmaid
Noel Kelly grew up on a pedigree dairy farm (Creva Herd) near Athenry in Co. Galway. He trained in dairy management in the UK and worked in farm software and international sales before returning home in 2010 to combine his twin passions of dairy farming and global agribusiness.
What steps do yo take, as a farmer, that helps you spend more time with family?
Listen as I talk with Chris Jansen about the two major events that shaped his farm life and family life
Please visit our sponsor GrainPhD.com
Colin Hurd is an entrepreneur and the Business Development Manager at Raven Industries, a highly diversified technology company that provides innovative products and solutions to help feed, connect, and protect the world. Raven Industries recently acquired Smart Ag, a company founded by Colin. Smart Ag is a tech company that develops autonomous farming solutions, selling products that allow farming equipment and machinery to be operated remotely, similar to drones. Colin founded Smart Ag to address the growing labor crisis in production agriculture.
Colin joins me today to discuss why he formed Smart Ag and the kind of technology and solutions they offer to farmers. He describes how he was driven to start Smart Ag, the problems he wants to address, and the people who helped him put the company in the market. He explains the need for Smart Ag to be acquired by Raven Industries and the benefits it has received. Colin also discusses some of the challenges their company faced as a startup, and how he and his team solved them.
“What’s different about a startup versus a large company is everything is just hyper-compressed; things happen at light speed.” - Colin Hurd
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The journey that led him to start Smart Ag.
- Labor scarcity and how it became a large problem in the industry.
- The people who inspired him to focus on autonomous ag technology.
- Determining whether someone can be a co-founder or the first employee.
- The challenges of starting a company that promotes autonomous tech.
- The technical problems they focused on and solved for their company to become successful.
- Differences between pre and post-acquisition of Smart Ag.
- Comparing and contrasting a startup and a large corporation.
- What it means to have an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age.
Connect with Colin Hurd
- Smart Ag
- Raven Industries
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Australia has world class agricultural research, but has struggled to rank as highly for commercialization. How can we improve this, and get more valuable innovations to market? One way is through collaboration between research organizations and startups.
But what does it actually take to collaborate? And are the challenges in Australia unique to this market, or do researchers and startups face similar obstacles in agtech around the world?
Today’s episode tackles this question in a panel discussion, recorded live at the AgTech Meetup in Sydney. Panelists for the evening were: Dr Peter Thorburn, Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO; Tegan Nock, Co-Founder at SoilCQuest 2031; and Nick Hazell, Founder and CEO at V2 Food.
Tune in to hear about:
- How research organizations can successfully move at startup speed
- Lessons about IP management
- How startups can leverage the rigor and credibility that research organizations bring, without breaking the bank
- Successful, unique models for researcher + startup collaborations
- The secret talents of all the panelists
For more on the panelists, check out:
- V2 Food: https://www.v2food.com/
- SoilCQuest: https://www.soilcquest.org.au/
- CSIRO: https://www.csiro.au/
The Sydney AgTech Meetup is proudly sponsored by SproutX, Australia’s first agtech accelerator.
Would you know what to do with the family farm if both your parents died when you were 22?
Listen as Lesley Kelly podcast bombs me on this crossover episode and we talk to Leona Watson
Please visit our sponsor: https://www.silothefilm.com/
Mariana Vasconcelos is the Founder of Agrosmart, a platform that brings digital agriculture to countries with low internet infrastructures under tropical agronomic conditions. The MIT Technology Review selected her as one of the Most Brilliant Innovators Under 35 and a Global Ambassador for Thought of Food. Being a farmer’s daughter, Mariana was aware of the problems that plague small farmers, especially when it comes to decisions about crops. To solve this gap, she proposed the idea to use AI and IoT to acquire more productive, sustainable, and economic agriculture which is what Agrosmart represents.
Mariana joins me today to discuss how Agrosmart works and the problems it seeks to solve for farmers in developing countries. She shares where her drive to start her company came from and the challenges of finding capital and investors. She describes how the data they collect can impact farming practices, especially in countries where farmers rely on instinct to make crop decisions. Mariana also explains why Brazil holds a lot of potential in terms of agriculture and the rising startup economy.
“We wanted to shift intuition-based decisions to fact-based decisions.” - Mariana Vasconcelos
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Where Mariana saw the problem that needed to be addressed in the ag industry.
- The changes their data can impact on the current farm systems.
- Why they shifted from irrigation to a digital ag platform.
- The farmers that can benefit the most from their platform.
- How farmers can adapt their practices to climate change.
- The countries they're currently working in and some of their future projects.
- The crops they focus on and how their platform is universal.
- Dealing with rural connectivity problems in Latin America.
- The ag startup ecosystem in Brazil and the kind of companies that are rising.
- The most challenging aspects of scaling a Brazilian startup.
Resources Mentioned:
- Innovators Under 35
Connect with Mariana Vasconcelos
- Agrosmart
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Shay Myers is an onion expert and the owner of Owyhee Produce. Owyhee Produce is a 3rd generation family farm and one of the biggest vertically-integrated onion farms in the United States. Their farm grows enough onions to provide adequate supplies that reach about 6 million Americans annually. Other than managing an onion farm, Shay is also a produce industry influence and agriculture keynote speaker. He is currently working to provide asparagus, hemp, and sweet potatoes to American families on top of their onions.
Shay joins me today to describe how their farm differs from most growers when it comes to vertical integration. He shares how his dream to fly was granted when he returned to manage the farm. He discusses some of the early mistakes he’s made as the lead farmer and what he learned from them. Shay also explains some of the challenges in the ag industry, particularly when it comes to working with companies and people, and why the US safe practices system is broken and easily exploitable.
“You can't expect the consumer to be willing to pay you a fair price for something if they don't know what it takes.” - Shay Myers
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Pursuing his passion for flying by having a career in agriculture.
- How his family responded to his desire to return to farming.
- What vertical integration is in agriculture and some examples.
- Some of the mistakes he's made in the industry and what he learned from them.
- The difference between a yam and sweet potato and why the US doesn't grow yams.
- What he believes is the most challenging hurdle in today's ag industry.
- Processing differences between mint oil and CBD oil.
- His thoughts on growing our own food and importing them and why the US is at a disadvantage.
- Eliminating labor and overhead costs with innovative technology.
- Why the system surrounding safety practices is broken.
Connect with Shay Myers
- Owyhee Produce
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Surrounding yourself with good people is good for "herd health"
Listen as I talk with Malawi veterinarian Hezy Anholz. We talk about everything from African swine flu to trophy hunting.
hezyfezybushvet on Instagram
Murray Scholz farms with his wife Emma in Southern NSW and the Eastern Riverina on the foothills of the snowy mountains. They grow wheat, canola, lupins, and barley, and run beef cattle and prime lambs.
Murray’s family is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, after his great-grandfather came to the area in 1919. They’ve always been an innovative family, adopting new practices and striving to run a profitable and sustainable business. In this episode, Murray shares several stories of how his thinking has changed through overseas travel and exposure to new perspectives, and the business decisions he’s made as a result.
Tune in to learn about:
- What it’s like to be in the middle of the GMO controversy, where no one seems to listen to what you’re really saying
- Why Murray decided to run sheep, after publicly criticizing them for years
- How a hiking trip in Switzerland challenged his views on ag policies
- The decisions you can make when you’ve been collecting data for over 30 years
- Tips for agtech startups to better engage with farmers
To hear more from Murray or follow what Scholz farming is up to, check out:
- Murray’s Nuffield presentation: https://www.nuffield.com.au/conferences/08-pdfs/Murray-Scholz-presentation.pdf
- Practical tips from Murray on integrated weed management and water use efficiency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b4QRvoma1o
- Murray on why they integrated sheep and how they’re benefiting from a mixed farming operation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KjUfhCDzkU and https://www.theland.com.au/story/6272468/lifting-profit-to-cut-risk/
- Find Murray on twitter and Facebook @ScholzFarming
Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller founded Pheronym, an agricultural biotech company that provides safe, non-toxic, and innovative solutions to solve numerous agricultural problems. They also recently become involved in the development of space nematodes under the company AstroNematode. AstroNematode seeks to establish interstellar agriculture for Earth. The first launching experiment will happen this December and provide data to pave the way for sustainable agriculture outside of Earth.
Dr. Fatma and Cameron join me today to share their latest project, AstroNematode, and how it can help provide sustainable solutions for future generations. They describe the origins of this idea and the companies that helped fund the project. They discuss their tie-ins with private companies like Space-X and explain the experiments that will happen in space. They also share what it’s like to work on this project while running Pheronym at the same time.
“If you're going to colonize the moon and Mars, we need to have agriculture.” - Dr. Fatma Kaplan
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- How the project got started and where they found funding.
- The best qualities of the project and what it can provide data scientists.
- Their contingencies when the project doesn't work as planned.
- The kind of animals NASA plans to take to Mars.
- Why they think nematodes can survive and reproduce in space.
- The upcoming launch and how the nematodes will be packaged.
- Making sure the experiments are running smoothly while they remain on Earth.
- How they manage to run a startup and the nematode project at the same time.
Resources Mentioned
- Microscopic Biological Pest Wars with Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller of Pheronym
Connect with Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller
- Pheronym
- AstroNematode
- Email: kaplan@pheronym.com
- Email: schiller@pheronym.com
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Life is a path... You may not have a choice where you begin but you always have a choice how you continue.
Listen as I talk to Cami Ryan about life and corporate ag
Please visit our sponsor https://stepsgms.com/
In this podcast episode, I speak with Aidan Connolly, CEO of Cainthus, a computer vision company that turns visual information into actionable insights for farmers. Aidan has also served as Chief Innovation Officer with Alltech and more recently accepted into the prestigious Forbes Technology Council.
Bill York is the Founding Partner, CEO, and Chief Credit Officer at FarmOp Capital, a lending company that provides funding primarily to farm operators. Their independent business model allows farmers to decide which suppliers to buy from. Bill has over 40 years of experience in the ag lending space and has held senior positions in various major ag lending companies. He specializes in business development, particularly increasing profits and assets of the businesses he works with.
Bill York joins me to describe what FarmOp Capital is and its efforts to provide farmers with a helping hand in receiving capital loans. He explains the trends that make their company ripe for the ag industry and the benefits of doing business with them from a farmer’s perspective. He also shares the criteria and requirements they have for their customers and explains what sets their company apart from traditional lending companies.
“If you’re able to get a loan that is timely and adequate to meet all of your operating needs, you’re better able to purchase inputs efficiently to buy the optimum level of inputs and actually reduce your costs.” - Bill York
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Converging trends that make the industry perfect for FarmOp Capital.
- How FarmOp works and the services they offer.
- How soon farmers should seek a loan to benefit the most from them.
- The customers they are targeting for the loan services they offer.
- The kind of crop materials they help farmers finance.
- Working directly with the customer and the team they assembled for the job.
- Transitioning from big agricultural lending companies to working with a startup.
- Why it will be difficult to have competition in what they do.
- The difference between the typical loan application and what they offer.
- Assessing the current farm-risk situation and his outlook.
Connect with Bill York:
- FarmOp Capital
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Is farming a birthright?
Listen as I talk to Craig Hickman about how he became an equity owner in his dairy, even though he didn't come from a farm family
Anastasia Volkova is the CEO and Founder of FluroSat, a company that provides scientifically-proven solutions to common agricultural problems through advanced remote sensing technologies and data from both airborne and satellite platforms. She is also an aeronautical engineer and obtained her Ph.D. in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Sydney. Anastasia uses her vast academic knowledge as well as experience in project management in various organizations to make FluroSat the next big thing in AgTech.
Anastasia joins me today to discuss how FluroSat works to provide artificial intelligence (AI) for Precision Agriculture Decision Support. She shares why she decided to work in agriculture and what drove her to start FluroSat. She explains how their approach can help farmers and agronomists improve their data collection process and gather more accurate data from their farms. She also explains the limitations of their product and why they decided to expand their service to the US instead of focusing exclusively on Australian agricultural markets.
“The barriers to adoption of precision agriculture are, first and foremost, the fact that data is siloed.” - Anastasia Volkova
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- When she decided to stop being an aeronautical engineer and focus on agriculture.
- Barriers that are preventing farmers from making AI part of precision agriculture.
- How FluroSat's approach can help agronomists and farmers gather data for their farms.
- How their product works and the important data it provides to farmers.
- Success stories where their product improved a farmer's business.
- Where her experience in aeronautical engineering comes into play.
- The limitations of their product in the context of crop types.
- The reasons they decided to expand in the US instead of focusing on Australia.
- How FluroSat makes money and makes their investors happy.
Resources Mentioned:
- Zapier
Connect with Anastasia Volkova:
- FluroSat
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
There aren’t very many Venture Capital funds focused on food systems transformation, but today’s guest co-founded one of them. Victor Friedberg is the co-founder of S2G ventures, a Chicago-based firm that has backed companies across the ag and food industries such as Beyond Meat, Maple Hill Creamery, X, and Y. Victor is also the founder of Foodshot Global, a non-profit consortium of companies focused on creating a food system that's more healthy, sustainable, and equitable.
Victor’s background is as a tech entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, where he built one of the early social networks and raised money from corporates like Motorola and Venture Capital firms. But now Victor is interested in helping revolutionize the food system, bringing technology, systems thinking, and capital to support game changing innovations.
In this episode, Victor and I chat about a range of things, from how he became interested in the food system (hint: it involves a vacation), to the opportunities he sees for farmers as more technologies and new business models challenge the status quo of the current system.
o learn more about Victor and what he’s up to, check out these additional resources:
- S2G Ventures
- FoodShot Global
- Maple Hill Creamery
- Beyond Meat
- Umami
- Organic Fraud Imports in the news
Imagine investing everything into something on your farm... only to see it go up in flames.
Listen to Kylie Epperson talk about her views on farming and more.
David Atherton, CEO of Thomson & Joseph, a UK-based dairy nutritionist and soils expert, provides some background to an intriguing soil-improvement programme that he has helped pioneer.
FOA174 Bringing People to the Table to Innovate in Animal Agriculture with Kerryann Kocher
Kerryann Cocher is a Principal at Rock Road Consulting, a practice that focuses on improving the translation of science and technology into something that will give value to farmers, ranchers, and other producers. Kerryann specializes in helping struggling ag businesses to be competitive again by providing re-engineering solutions. She is also an expert on animal health, feed ingredients, and protein production.
Kerryann joins me today to share the various opportunities and untapped potential in animal agriculture. She describes the challenges that the animal agriculture industry currently faces and the solutions she proposes to resolve these issues. She also explains how she brings people to the table to innovate in animal agriculture and why she remains motivated about the success of the animal agriculture industry.
“It’s more than a choice to play in ag; it’s a lifelong commitment.” - Kerryann Kocher
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The jump she made from working in the corporate environment to starting a company of her own.
- Practical problems she helps her clients address.
- The reason behind the lack of innovation regarding animal health.
- How to make the animal agriculture industry more innovative to catch up with the competition.
- Areas of agriculture that are more at risk than others.
- How dietary changes can affect the meat and dairy industry.
- The conversations she's had with industry professionals about the future of protein.
- Why she remains motivated in the success of the animal ag industry.
Resources Mentioned:
- Future of Agriculture 023: JJ Jones of the Center for Food Integrity
- Cultivated Conversations
Connect with Kerryann Kocher:
- Rock Road Consulting
- Roots and Legacies
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Tim Hammerich is the Founder of AgGrad and the host of the Future of Agriculture podcast. Tim grew up on a hobby farm in Northern California selling pigs, goats and ducks. After 8 years working in a feed and grain business, Tim saw an underserved market for helping young people get jobs in ag and agtech. He founded AgGrad to fill the gap.
AgGrad began as a ‘traditional’ recruiting company where Tim would do the legwork of recruiting talent for agribusiness. It’s since become about helping employees find their place in modern agriculture through a wealth of content for job seekers and employees.
In this episode, Tim shares his insights on what agtech companies are looking for, tips for getting and staying hired, and ideas for how all ag companies, including farms, can hire ‘right’ from the start.
What are agtech companies looking for? Most agtech companies are struggling with customer adoption. Tim’s clients often have a great product, but they’re struggling to get it into the hands of customers. This means that agtech companies are looking for talent that can help with marketing and sales.
More specifically, agtech companies are looking for employees with a mix of empathy and drive. Empathy, because they need to understand what producers are going through. Drive, because they need to want to see the product be adopted and help the producer succeed. They also must be open to new ideas and able to take complex ideas and make them simple.
“Agtech requires you to be teachers and consultants rather than traditional marketing or sales roles, you’re really in partnership with the people you sell to”
Culture and Content are Kings In today’s world, the closest you can come to the proverbial silver bullet that will score you a dream job is content. Employers want to see that you have an ability to think outside the box, not just what your college degree is.
With the tools available today, it’s easier than ever to create engaging content that helps you build a brand and share your unique perspectives. Whether it’s a funny Tweet or an insightful LinkedIn post, it’s an opportunity to build a new connection.
This same tip applies to companies as well, who can use the power of social media to share their culture with future employees. Gone are the days where a job is one dimensional with a sole focus on salary. Employees, especially young people, want to work for a company that stands for something greater than themselves.
The biggest mistake that companies in agriculture make, according to Tim, is being too transactional in the hiring process. Like the rest of agriculture, it’s about relationships. Come in with a genuine exchange of value, not just an ask or offer.
Watch out for the D word Another pitfall that Tim has seen agtech companies fall into is using the D word: disruption. This can be off putting to future customers as well as employees. While the intention may be around innovation, employees might think, “do I really want to be a part of a business that disrupts?” or “I’m not sure that agriculture needs ‘disrupting’.”
Listen to the full episode for more tips from Tim on getting a job and finding talent, as well as some of what the future holds for Ag Grad.
For more from Tim, check out:
- https://aggrad.com/
- @TimHammerich and #FutureOfAgriculture Podcast
- 30 Under 30 awards http://agwired.com/2019/03/15/aggrad-30-under-30-announced/
Do you return to the family business or blaze your own trail?
Daniel Carmichael could have settled into a comfortable life in the family business, Maplehurst Farms. Instead he decided to take a different path in Silicon Valley.
Mike Selden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a startup that aims for a more sustainable future through advanced cellular agriculture technologies. Their projects revolve around growing fish meat and other seafood products from cells. Mike is a trained biochemist and has experience working as a researcher and educator. He also has researched numerous ways to solve food crises in Africa as well as marine conservation in South East Asia.
Mike joins us to explain the many benefits of growing meat from cells and the ways it can improve life, not just on Earth but also in outer space. He shares how their company can produce real meat without the animal and the big scale effect it will have on the economy. Mike also discusses some of the reasons why this project isn’t against fishermen, how it can solve overfishing problems, and how it can help otherwise expensive fish products become more affordable.
“We're growing it directly from the cells, so no whole animals are needed after that first initial sample.” - Mike Selden
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Explaining the case for cell-grown meat and why it's exciting.
- The benefits of cell-grown meat for people and the environment.
- How they plan to sell their products to the average consumer.
- The inspiration behind starting Finless Foods.
- Why they chose to start experimenting with fish cells.
- How space agriculture factors in with the products they want to produce.
- The variables involved in mass-producing cell-grown meats.
- Solving the waste problems they may produce in the future.
- The financial side of scaling this type of product.
- The kind of progress we can look forward to if their product becomes successful.
Connect with Mike Selden:
- Finless Foods
- Mike Selden Twitter
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Mike Swidersky is a husband, father and a grazer of cattle and sheep in the high plains of Ontario (Melanchton). Listen to Mike as he talks about lessons learned through his work as a community pasture manager and farmer. Photo cred:
@BeefFarmersON
Shonda Warner is the Owner of Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners, an asset management business that specializes in investing in the agricultural industry. She has over 25 years of experience in financial asset management and once held the position of Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Shonda gained experience in trading grains from her career at Cargill in Kansas City and Minneapolis.
Shonda joins me today to discuss how Chess Ag Full Harvest works and how it makes investing in agriculture easier. She shares her inspiration for starting the company, the systems they have in place, and their commitment to having a good impact on the environment. Shonda also shares her advice to those who want to start a business in the ag industry.
“We need to be good stewards of the earth and the communities in which we’re active.” - Shonda Warner
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- How she formed the idea of starting Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners
- The company's first investments and their returns.
- The problems they want to solve involving ancillary services to make farming a successful venture.
- Her sales pitch to investors and the projects she proposed.
- Their commitment to the environment and the community.
- The scale of their operations and their plans for further expansion.
- The products they produce in their facilities.
- Her advice to the young generation who are interested in starting their own ag business.
Resources mentioned:
- Farmacopia Farms
Connect with Shonda Warner:
- Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Aleana Young took a leap of faith and opened her own specialty cheese shop in Regina, Saskatchewan. Now she deals directly with the end consumer everyday, providing them with poetic descriptions of her imported cheeses. Listen as she tells Rob and Lesley what she has learned from her customers and how it is all about the cheese experience.
In this episode, CEO Gary Wickham outlines some recent successes for this innovative precision-farming solution, assisting farmers meet their twin profitability and sustainability goals, whilst protecting the environment. Dublin-based MagGrow is a patented and proprietary technology that helps solve the problem of droplet formation, experienced within conventional pesticide spray applications.
Cody Creelman, Disruptor Cow Vet on life changes, keeping up in the digital world and jumping in with both feet.
https://codycreelman.com/
FOA171 Synthetic Biology with Dr. John Cumbers of SynBioBeta
Dr. John Cumbers is the founder of SynBioBeta. SynBioBeta prides itself as the premier innovation network for innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, and biological engineers. Their focus is introducing synthetic biology innovations to improve the human condition and make life more sustainable. John is a recipient of multiple grants and awards from NASA and the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the industry. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Brown University, his MSc in Bioinformatics from Edinburgh University, and a degree in Computer Science with Information Engineering from the University of Hull.
John joins me today to discuss the potential of synthetic biology if applied to today’s agriculture sector. He explains what SynBioBeta stands for, what they want to accomplish, and the innovations we can look forward to as consumers. He shares his thoughts on lab-grown meat, the Anti-GMO crowds, and the future of Mars exploration. John also discusses what we can look forward to from their Beta Space Event.
“Synthetic biology is not actually what you do - it’s the way you do it.” - Dr. John Cumbers
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- What SynBioBeta is and what they aim to achieve with synthetic biology.
- The innovations synthetic biology has made possible.
- His thoughts on plant-based meats and cell-based meats.
- How Rural America can benefit from what he calls the "Bio Belt."
- What needs to happen to pursue a "Bio Belt" hub program.
- How the Anti-GMO community reacts to their technological innovations.
- Why everybody should have a bio strategy.
- What extremophiles are and how they can help produce food in space.
- His opinion on the future of Mars exploration.
- What people can look forward to the Beta Space event.
Resources mentioned:
- BetaSpace
Connect with Dr. John Cumbers:
- SynBioBeta
- Book: What's Your Bio Strategy?
- Podcast
- The Mycelium Revolution: How a mushroom can make food, plastic, and more
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Alyssa Badger is one of the most impressive people you'll ever meet. Listen as she talks about building her career without a college education, and struggling to overcome an assault.
Dr. Rachel Hay is a social scientist at James Cook University who has uncovered some insights into agtech adoption through her work in behaviour change.
Rachel‘s PhD focused on agtech adoption, highlighting the importance of grazier women in the use and adoption of agtech. She found that women play a vital role in unlocking the potential of agtech adoption on-farm.
Though the research is now a bit dated (it was published in 2014), Rachel’s insights still hold true and may be helpful for agtech companies looking to understand the industry and develop marketing strategies that can cut through the noise.
Here are a few tips from Rachel’s research to help agtech vendors to reach their target audience and drive adoption:
-
Build trust and meaningful relationships with your producers. Though it may seem like this has to take time, Rachel highlights that content is king and relationships can be built digitally as well as in person.
-
Be approachable and be seen. AgTech companies need to get out to producer events and engage with their customers, not just sell.
-
Widen your marketing net, as decision makers are not always male! In fact, her research shows that it’s often the females who are doing the research and driving product adoption, both on-farm and for the back office.
-
Don’t tell farmers what they need, listen to what they want. This should go without saying, and yet it’s something that tech vendors and extension agents alike get wrong.
Do you have a story of women driving agtech adoption? Are there other tips that you’ve learned for building trust with producers? We’d love to hear them!
You can find Rachel, a boutique pig farmer when she’s not writing or researching, on social media here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrRach4Research
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrachelhay/
Facebook page: The Engagement of Women & Technology in Agriculture
To delve more into Rachel’s research, check out:
https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/rachel.hay/
Technology adoption by rural women in Queensland, Australia: women driving technology from the homestead for the paddock
Dr. Poornima Parameswaran is the President and Co-Founder of Trace Genomics. Trace Genomics is a company that based its business around mapping living soil, analyzing its microbial content, and helping growers maximize yield potential without sacrificing sustainability. Poornima’s goal is to build the world’s most massive actionable body of soil intelligence, allowing even ordinary farmers to have access to expert information on what’s underground. Poornima earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, her entrepreneurial skills at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and her Bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas at Austin.
Poornima joins me today to discuss how Trace Genomics seeks to improve farm yield and sustainability through genetic testing for soil. She shares the benefits of knowing which microbes are dominant in a particular farmland. She also explains how their analytics engine works, their process, and what a typical scenario using their technology would be like.
“There are two sides of the coin when you’re looking at what is causing production losses above ground.” - Dr. Poornima Parameswaran
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The questions farmers have before submitting soil samples.
- Diseases that can be prevented by genetic testing for soil
- Knowing when it is a soil health issue instead of a disease problem.
- Developing food in the perspective of sustainability and not just increased yields.
- How they know which microbes are important for the soil.
- The challenges that are top of mind to growers regarding soil health.
- The action steps they can take based on the data they gathered from growers.
- Variability of microbe samples in similar soil samples.
- How they reconcile the difference between gene presence and gene expression.
- Why they don't have that many companies as competition.
Connect with Dr. Poornima Parameswaran:
- Trace Genomics
This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag
What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.
To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions
Indigo. From questions… we grow.
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
One of ag YouTube's biggest stars. @BriansVideos talks about how he has never wanted to do anything else but farm.
Please visit our sponsor: https://www.degelman.com/
Millennials are a unique generation that have grown up with social media. Posting on social media has been part of their life. This has affected where they shop and what they eat. However, they are interested in facts and are willing to listen, which gives agriculture an opportunity to share information. Listen as Rob Sharkey and Lesley Kelly talk to David Coletto about this large segment of our population as they continue to drive decisions.
Always a pleasure to talk to Peter & Paula Hynes, & they're back on Rock & Roll Farming to talk about the Rearing to Go mental health workshop and charity auction that's taking place in Shrewsbury livestock market on 13th September 2019
Episode Sponsors:
Griffith Elder - Designers & Manufacturers of rugged weighing systems for heavy industrial use www.griffith-elder.com
NFU Cymru - for more information please visit www.nfu-cymru.org.uk
Podcast Partners:
Farmer's Guardian. For the biggest range of news and features from across the Ag industry, please visit www.fginsight.com
Rock & Roll Farming is proud to be a part of the Farm & Rural Ag Network. To find more great podcasts and vlogs, please visit www.farmruralag.com
Mareese Keane is Platform Director with THRIVE, an AgriFood -Tech Accelerator, located at Salinas, California. In this episode, Mareese provides some background to her exciting work with THRIVE, recently acknowledged as being the, ‘Most Valuable AgriFood Tech Accelerator Programme’ in the United States by San Francisco based AgFunder.
Tonight I headed up to the North East of Scotland to talk to farmer and butcher, Jock Gibson.
We talked about his family's farm, his early career in engineering and the year he spent working on yachts, his decision to go back to the family business, the tragic loss of his parents and the importance of succession planning for farming families, and what he's doing now with the butchery and farm.
Don't miss this one..
Episode Sponsors:
Griffith Elder - Designers & Manufacturers of rugged weighing systems for heavy industrial use www.griffith-elder.com
NFU Cymru - for more information please visit www.nfu-cymru.org.uk
Podcast Partners:
Farmer's Guardian. For the biggest range of news and features from across the Ag industry, please visit www.fginsight.com
Rock & Roll Farming is proud to be a part of the Farm & Rural Ag Network. To find more great podcasts and vlogs, please visit www.farmruralag.com
Jamie Waldron is passionate about the art of butchery, and owns a 'roaving butchery enterprise', where he teaches the art throughout the province of Ontario.
Jamie has worked at some of the top butcher shops in Canada, helped craft menus and meat programs for restaurant groups, consulted for butcher shops, and has worked with and for abattoirs in Ontario.
In 2013, he wrote the Home Butchering Handbook. It covers all aspects of traditional meat cutting, from whole carcass to usable cuts.
Carter Malloy is the Founder and CEO of AcreTrader, an online platform that seeks to provide a bridge that connects investors and farm sellers. Before starting his company, Carter was a successful Managing Director at Stephens Inc., a large private investment bank. His passion for conservation and agriculture was drawn from his experience growing up in an Arkansas farming family. This passion eventually led to founding AcreTrader.
Carter joins me to share what AcreTrader can do for farm owners and people seeking a long-term investment. He explains how the platform works, what a typical transaction would look like, and some of the fees involved. Carter discusses the total amount of investments in farmland and why it’s still insignificant from the perspective of the entire ag industry. He also describes some of the reasons why farm sellers should use their platform over traditional methods.
“There's a lot of ways we can work with people who want to sell farmland. For us, it's exciting to bring new solutions to the market.” - Carter Malloy
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Why he left a successful career in investments to start AcreTrader.
- The amount of private equity money invested in farmland.
- The requirements needed to bring the right deals out to the public.
- Motivations for sellers to use AcreTrader as a platform.
- How their platform works to provide information in a digestible format.
- The deal flow and access to market barriers and how they break them.
- How he describes the ideal seller on AcreTrader.
- What they do when a partner exits the platform and their contract.
Resources Mentioned:
- CrowdFARMING with Chris Rawley of Harvest Returns
Connect with Carter Malloy:
- AcreTrader
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
How does a guy from New York end up making a movie about grain bin entrapment? Listen as I talk to Sam Goldberg about the movie Silo
SiloTheFilm.com
Please visit out advertiser: http://agnowmag.com/
Peter Thompson and his wife Nicki run EchoCattle, a roughly 18,000 acre property located 80km northeast of Roma, in southern central Queensland, Australia. They run a grass-fed beef operation and crop around 3,000 acres, depending on the season, with an additional 6,00 acres of wilderness country.
As of this year, their house block (~10,000 acres) will have been in the Thompson family for 70 years. They’ll also celebrate their 42nd anniversary together.
The Thompson’s have been farming regeneratively long before it was a ‘thing’. In this episode, Peter shares his hard-earned insights about:
- Finding compromises that are truly win-win;
- Avoiding the temptation of silver bullet solutions;
- The long list of technologies they’ve adopted; and
- The importance of balance.
“I see the technology being able to give us the ability to help people understand and connect people so that they realize that it’s not me as the farmer doing whatever might be perceived as bad for the environment. It’s you and me and everyone else that eats and drinks and lives. We’re all complicit in it, so if we can virtually connect everyone and connect people back… I still believe we’ve got significant time to turn things around, if we start now”
Searching for Win-Wins and Breaking Tradeoffs The Thompson’s property is home to forty coal seam gas wells, which are some of the first drilled in Australia. Knowing that the world needs energy, and because they loved where they lived, Peter and Nicki made the conscious decision to find a way to have the wells and still look after the land.
They started by putting some principles in place. First, protect the land. Second, ensure the property continued to be livable for the family. And finally, make sure their operation wasn’t at risk. They also did their homework to ensure that they understood the impact these wells would have on the environment.
Once Peter decided to have the wells, he needed to figure out a new model for compensation. The original approach from the gas company was to pay producers with “a few cartons of beer and tickets to the rugby.” That didn’t fly with the Thompsons. Instead, they worked with the gas company to develop a compensation package that took the well from being worth a few thousand dollars per year, to “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The financial benefits of the gas wells have been a significant support, especially during dry times. Further, Peter is proud of the compromise that they reached, and that they were able to reach it without compromising the wellbeing of the land or the water. Peter’s approach was pragmatic, but grounded in a commitment to sustainability and vision that the environment and enterprise can work hand in hand.
“We must consider humanity and the environment in everything we do”
Beware of ‘Silver Bullets’ Back in the 90’s, hormone growth promotants (HGP’s) were all the rage, enabling producers to get top dollar for glossy, muscled cattle. For Peter and Nicki, this just didn’t seem right, so they turned to grass fed production instead. Some called him mad, but he stuck to his guns.
It turned out to be a great decision that has paid off. Just two years later, the big supermarkets were refusing to sell any beef with traces of growth promotants. And now, Peter’s grass fed beef commands a premium.
As much as we all wish there was a silver bullet, farming- like life- just doesn’t work that way. Farming practices and technologies that take time and consideration are more often than not where producers strike gold.
Netflix and No Till Conversations about connectivity in agriculture often focus on the potential productivity benefits from the technologies that an internet connection can enable. Peter has certainly explored these new and emerging tools, from walk over weighing to pasture mapping to water monitoring, Echo Cattle is a progressive operation in terms of technologies as well as practices. They also recently hosted a field day where, despite being “80kms from anywhere,” guests had “city style” wifi access.
With the significant investment Peter has made into connectivity comes another benefit: Netflix. Farmers and their staff don’t farm 24/7, and so, like the rest of us, they love a chance to rewind with a movie at the end of the day. A fast internet connection also helps staff keep in touch with family and friends. Peter has seen the benefits in terms of quality of life as well as retention.
In the future? Maybe he’ll be live streaming from his drone, too.
Want to learn more about Peter and some of the technologies he’s using? Check these out:
- EchoCattle: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Agricultural-Cooperative/Echo-Cattle-228388813850666/
- PeterPointT, his invention that’s now sold globally: https://www.facebook.com/433620400044090/videos/1219724138184212/
- Soil2Soul: www.soil2soul.com.au- Collaborative model that Peter is involved in, to support regenerative practices and bring in capital from aligned investors.
- Walk over weighing project: https://futurebeef.com.au/projects/walk-over-weighing/
- Tru Test - https://livestock.tru-test.com/en-au Provided weighing scales for the WOW system
- Advanced Communications - https://advancedcomms.com.au/ Assisted Peter’s field day by supplying the property with cell-fi go repeaters and mobile satellite to create a mobile Wifi hotspot for over 100 attendees of his field day.
- Observant - https://observant.net/ Remote sensors for water tanks and bores have helped identify leaks and water consumption habits of cattle. [Co-founded by our very own Matthew Pryor!]
- Cibo Labs - https://www.cibolabs.com.au/blog Satellite imagery for pasture crop monitoring
*This episode is the fourth in the theme, responding to climate risk, brought to you in partnership with* *Australian Farm Institute**, an independent organisation conducting research into the strategic issues facing Australian farmers and the agriculture sector. Find them on social media* *@AustFarmInstitu* *an online*
Tara Beaver Coronado has had some major curve balls in her life. However, this grape farmer won't let that stop her from trying to destroy agriculture stigmas.
check out this thing: Ag Now Magazine http://fliphtml5.com/homepage/mwnc
Trevor McBane is a goat farmer from Oklahoma but what sets him apart is how he relentlessly pursued his dreams and auditioned for American Idol. Although he didn't win he finished in the top 25. He talks about all the unexpected doors it has opened and what he's doing now!
Cashel Blue is a 100% family farmhouse, blue cheese production, located near the historic town of Cashel in Co. Tipperary. The focus is very much on quality cheese production, linked with a desire to keep the family living and working on the family farm. In this episode, Co-owner, Sarah Furno provides some background to this innovative Tipperary farming enterprise, making a range of cheese for the home and export markets.
Tackling Rural Crime
The NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report 2019 is out, and Will is in the Scottish Borders to talk through the findings and what’s changed in the last year. He’s joined by a number of different people on the front line of tackling rural crime and offering practical help and advice to combat the problem.
Dr. Ray Wheeler is NASA’s Plant Physiologist and the lead for Advanced Life Support Research activities in the Exploration Research and Technology Program at Kennedy Space Center. He began his career at NASA in 1988 and the bulk of his research revolved around the use of hydroponic techniques for space farming experiments. One of Ray’s goals is to allow humanity to grow safe and nutritious crops off the Earth.
Ray joins me today to discuss some of NASA’s recent developments regarding planting crops in space. He shares some of the systems and tech that have been made commercial in the ag industry and explains why it’s difficult to experiment with plants in space. Ray also describes some of the benefits of being able to grow plants on other planets.
“We've been trying to manipulate the environment to accommodate plants. Now we have the tools to manipulate plants to fit into the environment.” - Dr. Ray Wheeler
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- The research he's conducted that has made it in today's agriculture industry.
- How NASA helped in terrestrial applications of space farming.
- His recent projects that could be applied commercially in the future.
- Solving the ever-increasing CO2 emissions with space farming tech.
- Recent progress on the experimental planting chambers in space.
- Deciding which crops show promise for space production.
- The water content of Mars and the prospect of someday growing food there.
- The critical benefits of being able to grow plants in space.
- Recovering as much water as possible in space.
- The effects of low gravity environments on plant growth.
- His advice for people interested in space farming technology.
Resources Mentioned:
- Agriculture for Space: People and Places Paving the Way
Connect with Dr. Ray Wheeler:
- NASA
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Join the Conversation!
To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Future of Agriculture Website
AgGrad Website
AgGrad on Twitter
AgGrad on Facebook
AgGrad on LinkedIn
AgGrad on Instagram
Ryan Valk came back to his California ranch and turned it into an almond farm. Listen to how this young farmer's ambition is changing the way you'll think about your nuts.
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