Croptastic the InnerPlant Podcast

Join InnerPlant’s Gary Schaefer, Chief Commercial Officer, and Ariel Patton, Director of Product, as they talk about what to expect from the 2026 CropVoice season and give a sneak peek behind the scenes of the only plant-powered disease detection tool.  2025 case study examining the world’s first detection of an active fungal infection in real time in Northeastern Nebraska. https://youtu.be/Qu7fQX...

In August of 2025, InnerPlant hosted a technology demonstration field day in Perry, IA, that took guests through the 2030 growing season with a walking tour featuring demonstrations representing a different day in the future season. Each stop on the tour showcased a specific aspect of how InnerPlant's technology will shape the future of agriculture. This special Croptastic series of episodes...

In August of 2025, InnerPlant hosted a technology demonstration field day in Perry, IA, that took guests through the 2030 growing season with a walking tour featuring demonstrations representing a different day in the future season. Each stop on the tour showcased a specific aspect of how InnerPlant's technology will shape the future of agriculture. This special Croptastic series of episodes...

In August of 2025, InnerPlant hosted a technology demonstration field day in Perry, IA, that took guests through the 2030 growing season with a walking tour featuring demonstrations representing a different day in the future season. Each stop on the tour showcased a specific aspect of how InnerPlant's technology will shape the future of agriculture. This special Croptastic series of episodes...

Shely is joined in this episode by New York Times bestselling author, Michael Grunwald, whose new book "We Are Eating the Earth" publishes on July 1, 2025. Michael shares the idea behind his book and chats with Shely about finding a pragmatic balance between climate and real-world human behavior as it relates to agriculture and food. "We Are Eating the Earth" is available for p...

InnerPlant is planning three field days to show off our CropVoice product that's currently deployed across the Midwest. The events will take place in three sites this summer, July 28 in Stewardson, IL , July 30 in Perry, IA , and Aug. 1, in York, NE . We’re also planning another field day on Aug. 5, in Perry, IA . For that event, we’ll give guests a tour through the growing season in the year...

This is the second of two special episodes featuring Virginia farmer and "King of Corn," who broke the 600-bushel corn barrier, David Hula.  He joins the conversation about a conceptual framework examining the value of agricultural inputs using the examples of how wine and diamonds are valued and sold.  The idea was introduced in Part I by Dan Northrup, a veteran agricultural research sc...

This is the first of two special episodes discussing a conceptual framework examining the value of agricultural inputs using the examples of how wine and diamonds are valued and sold. The idea was brought to the team by Dan Northrup, a veteran agricultural research scientist with experience at companies including Booz Allen Hamilton and Benson Hill. His current role is Principal, Science and Techn...

Shely is joined in this episode by Ron Adner, the Nathaniel D'1906 and Martha E. Leverone Memorial Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of "The Wide Lens," and "Winning the Right Game." Ron chats with Shely about the complexities of bringing innovation to market and how it might impact the future of agriculture...

Croptastic's fifth season continues with Bruce Sherrick, Professor, Director of the TIAA Center for Farmland Research, and the Fruin Professor in Land Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, joining Shely to discuss how the economics of crop insurance and tariffs will impact the future of agriculture.

Croptastic kicks off our fifth season with a special episode from the second Croptastic on Stage conference held at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta in January! Get a glimpse of what attendees enjoyed during the one-day event that gathered members of InnerPlant's InnerCircle farmer feedback community along with partners and industry experts to learn more about the company's technology and...

 This episode we chat with Piyush Pandey and Brandon Rasmussen from our Detection team about the work they do detecting stress signals from InnerPlant's groundbreaking plants. Don't forget that this season of Croptastic features video. Head over to our YouTube channel to give this and our other episodes a watch.

This episode we chat with Ryan Mitchell and Ian Lemersal from our Molecular Biology team about the work they do manipulating molecules including plant DNA to help create InnerPlant's plant sensors. Don't forget that this season of Croptastic features video. Head over to our YouTube channel to give this and our other episodes a watch.

This episode pulls the curtain back on our Plant Genetics Transformation Team. Ramtin Ravanfar and Sharon Radke give us a look at the transformation process and what makes the InnerPlant team so successful. Don't forget that this season of Croptastic features video. Head over to our YouTube channel to give this and our other episodes a watch.

This episode features Michael Doane, Global Managing Director of Food & Freshwater Systems at The Nature Conservancy. Michael joins Shely to talk about The Nature Conservancy's work and how sustainability might fit into the future of agriculture. Don't forget that this season of Croptastic features video. Head over to our YouTube channel to give this and our other episodes a watch.

This episode features Trey Malone, the Purdue University College of Agriculture Department of Agricultural Economics' Boehlije Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness. Trey chats with Shely about the work he does to better understand the business of agriculture and shares his thoughts on innovation in the industry. Below are links to the studies that Trey references during the episode....

InnerPlant recently held its first Field Day in partnership with GROWMARK FS and hosted at the West Central FS Innovation Campus in Galesburg, IL. The day featured live demonstrations of InnerSoy plants signaling in the field, as well as panel discussions about how InnerPlant's technology is helping companies like John Deere and Syngenta build the future of agriculture. This episode features...

Croptastic returns for its third season with video! Join the InnerPlant team for exclusive peaks behind the scenes and special guests who join us to discuss the future of agriculture. You can find the video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel @Inner_Plant   This episode features Jon Entime, founder and Executive Director of the Genetic Literacy Project, who joins Shely to talk about gen...

Croptastic returns for its third season with video! Join the InnerPlant team for exclusive peaks behind the scenes and special guests who join us to discuss the future of agriculture. You can find the video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel @Inner_Plant   This episode features Tim Keller, InnerPlant's Detection Engineer, who shares a bit about his role and some of the projects he...

This is a particularly exciting episode as we’re joined by Charles C. Mann, the New York Times bestselling author of “ 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus ,” and “ 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created .” Charles shares insights with us about his more recent book, “ The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World...

In this episode, we’re joined by Laura Wood, an environmental and agricultural lobbyist who works on behalf of clients like IPSA, the Independent Professional Seed Association. Laura previously led federal affairs for Syngenta and Indigo Ag. She shares with Shely some of the ins and outs of lobbying, as well as tips for how startups can engage in the process and help shape the future of agricultur...

On this very special space episode, we’re joined by guest co-host Reza Bloomer, InnerPlant’s Director of Business Development, and Dr. Alyssa Whitcraft, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland, founding Director of the Harvest Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture Initiative, founding Director of NASA Acres, and immediate past co-founding Director of NASA Harvest. Harvest and...

First-generation Kansas farmer Matt Turecek of DY Farms joins the podcast this episode. Matt shares his story with Shely and gives his take on farming, agtech, and the future of agriculture. 

Bryan Thompson, a sixth-generation farmer in Central Ohio, joins the podcast today to talk with Shely about the changes on the farm over the last few decades and what we might see in the future.

This episode we’re joined by Dr. Pamela Ronald, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at the University of California, Davis and a member of the Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Ronald recently received the VinFuture Prize Award - for her breakthroughs in high-yield stress-tolerant rice varieties. She is also the author o...