Dirt Smart

In this special episode the host of Dirt Smart sits in the interview chair and is interviewed by Dirt Smart Producer, Ty Paxton. Ben’s story begins on his family’s 130-year-old tree fruit farm in Kent, southeast of London. It’s where he learned the rhythm of farming — the grit, the rewards, and the relentless work — from his father and grandfather. After university, he served as a decorated vetera...

Jason Tarry spent more than three decades inside Tesco , UK's largest retailer. He rose from graduate trainee to the CEO and he's shaped how Britain shops, eats, and thinks about value. Few leaders understand the full chain from field to fork like Jason. He knows farming, he knows food, and he knows how the smallest supply chain can ripple across an entire nation.  Jason is now the Chair...

Imagine scanning every tree in your orchard - blossom to harvest - and knowing with confidence what you will grow, harvest, the amount to sell, and where to send labor. In this episode we meet the founder making this crystal ball a reality for farmers across four continents.  Jenny Lemieux is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vivid Machines - a Toronto-based Ag Tech company turning orchards and vineyards...

In this episode we dive into the post-harvest world with Kailan Dunn, President & CEO of H.R. Spinner - one of the largest fruit packaging companies in the United States selling over 100 million boxes every year.  Since 1916 H.R. Spinner has been an industry-leading company enabling tree fruit growers to protect, sell, and deliver their crop with smarter boxes, pads, and in-house automation wi...

Tyler Price is a Stanford educated CEO leading one of the largest fruit growing and packing companies in Washington State, Price Cold Storage and Packing Company. A fourth generation family business that's been in operation for nearly a century, Tyler is leading the company into the future with a state of the art facility, bold partnerships, and a relentless focus on quality. He's not ju...

Steve Saunders has built businesses in almost every link in the horticulture chain - pre harvest, post harvest, branded produce, and innovative robotics. He's helped entrepreneurs, growers, scientists, and investors connect long before agricultural robotics even entered the picture. Now, Steve is most famed for his business, Robotics Plus, a company at the forefront in developing innovative r...

Caine Thompson is Head of Sustainability at O'Neill Vintners and Distillers. A regenerative wine pioneer who is rewriting what sustainability looks like in viticulture, Caine is helping O'Neill steward their grapes toward a future where wine is not only world class, but also climate positive. He has become one of the most influential voices in regenerative wine. A New Zealand born viticu...

Paul Mikesell is a visionary technologist and a serial founder who has set up multiple billion dollar businesses. He is now proving that robotics, AI and farming can co-evolve and at scale.  As the founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics he has built a company that is zapping billions of weeds without the need of herbicides, retrofitting tractors to be self-driving and redefining what productivity and...

Michael (Mike) Roy is a farmer who leads a century-old hop farming business in Yakima, Washington and is one of the largest independent hop growers in the world. What started as a ten acre farm in 1907, Roy Farms is trusted among the smallest craft outfits to the largest brewery giants. This episode dives into Mike's journey in agriculture, the evolution of the hop industry, and the importanc...

Austin Allred runs Royal Family Farms in Washington State, a 20,000 acre operation and home to the largest worm farm in the world. His 7.5 acre bio-filtration worm system processes nearly 400,000 gallons of wastewater every day, recycling into clean irrigation water. and producing valuable worm castings that go straight back into their soils. Royal dairy produces 90,000 gallons of milk and 70,000...

Kevin "Smitty" Smith co-founded Bale Breaker, one of the largest independent craft breweries in North America—and the only commercial brewery in the world located in the middle of his family’s hop farm, Loftus Ranches. A true product innovator, Kevin works at the intersection of farming, brewing, cannabis, and product development. Rooted in his farming heritage, his ventures span from so...

Cody Beebe is a multifaceted individual who has transitioned from a career in music to founding a video marketing company to becoming a regenerative farmer. The conversation explores Cody's unique journey, the challenges faced by independent musicians, the impact of AI in the music industry, and the importance of storytelling in connecting farmers with consumers. His journey weaves together m...

Recognized as one of the most influential figures in UK wine, Ed Mansel Lewis leads the viticulture team at Knight Frank. With a rare blend of expertise across finance, wine, land, and farming, Ed advises on some of the UK’s most dynamic vineyard ventures. In this episode, we explore the economics behind vineyards, emerging terroir trends, the role of regenerative agriculture, and how climate, cul...

Known across the industry as the Cherry King, Matt Hancock founded and led Norton Folgate, one of the UK's most influential produce businesses. From cherries to citrus, grapes to rhubarb, Matt spent decades mastering the brutal beauty of the fresh supply chain - where taste, timing, and trust is everything. Matt continues to advise the next generation of operators, helping them understand wha...

Sean Gilbert is the CEO of Gilbert Fruit, one of the largest cherry and apple producers in North America. His team is managing thousands of acres, huge labor forces, and a global supply chain. Learn more about Gilbert Fruit: https://www.gilbertfruit.com/ This episode is brought to you by BX, a farming intelligence platform helping farming enterprises turn their data into actionable insights. https...

Matty Blomfield is the CEO of Hectre, a world-leading orchard management and fruit sizing platform helping growers around the world improve productivity, fruit quality, and profitability. Learn more about Hectre https://hectre.com/ This episode is brought to you by BX, a farming intelligence platform helping farming enterprises turn their data into actionable insights. https://bx.tech/