Future of Agriculture

  The concept of Soil Health deals with making sure the land where our farms stand will remain the same for the next generation. This was the goal of my journey in bringing the awareness of soil health to the world, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of Jim Loar of Cool Planet .   This special episode will be the culmination of all the farms I visited and the amazing farmers I met along...

  Davon Cook is the Co-Founder of Ag Progress , a company that provides management consulting, family business advisory, and facilitation for ag ventures and other groups. Davon facilitates peer groups of ag operations and is a member of the Family Firm Institute, one of the most extensive networks of thought leaders in the family enterprise field. She received her master’s degree from Texas A&M i...

Joe Breker is the owner of the Coteau des Prairies , a getaway lodge that offers stunning views surrounded by prairie farms and fields. He has been farming for over 40 years and practices what the industry calls “No-till” farming, a method that prioritizes soil health. With his skills and knowledge, Joe managed to successfully operate his farm during the dry ‘80s and wet ‘90s, as well as each deca...

Brady Sidwell is the owner of Sidwell Strategies , a commodity brokerage that provides a variety of risk management solutions that caters towards those in the agricultural industry. They help farmers manage price risks by trading futures and options on the commodity market. Before focusing on this type of business, Brady enjoyed traveling to 95 countries and working in a lot of them. The experienc...

  Irving Fain is the CEO & Co-Founder of Bowery Farming , a company that seeks to innovate indoor and urban farming through sustainable methods without the need for pesticides. He is a seasoned entrepreneur who is passionate about expanding access to quality produce. Before he became the CEO of Bowery Farming, Irving began his career assisting early-stage companies and startups in raising capital...

  Israel Morales Sr. is JV Farms Organic ’s lead grower, carrying with him over forty years of farming experience. JV Farms Organic is committed to growing organic crops in an innovative and eco-friendly manner. Israel has extensive experience in not just knowing what produce matches the type of soil you have, but also the various factors involved in soil health. From types of plants and soil vari...

  Connie Bowen is the Principal and Program Manager of The Yield Lab as well as the Principal of Cultivation Capital. The Yield Lab is an accelerator program for entrepreneurs in the agriculture industry. The program’s mission is to enable agribusinesses to revolutionize agrifood systems and promote sustainability through educational resources and support.   Connie joins me today to share The Yiel...

  Nave Strauss is an arborist and the Director of Street Tree Planting for NYC Parks . His primary function is to make sure New York City and its surrounding areas are equipped with the right combination of trees and plants that can help sustain both public and environmental health. He obtained a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Forestry from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N...

  Alexander Reichert is the Co-Founder & CEO of AgVend , an eCommerce platform that partners with various ag retailers to adapt to the evolving needs of American farmers. Their platform allows farmers to connect with retailers and purchase their products and/or services anywhere and at any time. Alex practices the Build-Measure-Learn philosophy in his life and believes customer satisfaction isn’t...

Todd Janzen is an attorney whose practice covers the agricultural industry with the intent to represent farmers and their respective businesses. He is the President of Janzen Agricultural Law LLC , a law firm that specializes in the legal needs of an innovative agricultural industry. He also serves as the Administrator for Ag Data Transparent , a non-profit organization that aims to bring transpar...

  Dr. Abbey Wick is an Extension Soil Health Specialist for North Dakota State University . In her position, she is responsible for producing soil health videos with topics ranging from soil erosion to cover crops. She is trained in soil organic matter dynamics, soil structural development, and microbial ecology. She believes all systems need a holistic approach encompassing every interaction with...

  Georg Banauch is a molecular biotechnologist with extensive knowledge of synthetic biology and biofuels research. He is also a Co-Founder and Development Director for HATCH , an accelerator program focused exclusively on the aquaculture industry seeking to develop and scale disruptive aquaculture startups.   Joel Harris is Ag Startup Engine ’s Co-Director. Ag Startup Engine is a privately-owned...

The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator is a mentor-led program that allows startups to collaborate with agriculture industry leaders and present their solutions to refine product market fit, perform customer discovery within the industry, and build strategic partnerships. Iowa AgriTech Accelerator Executive Director Megan Vollstedt  joins the show to share more about their program. One of their success sto...

Andrew Diprose is the CEO at Rootwave , a UK tech startup that aims to provide a sustainable and efficient solution to weed problems by zapping them from the root up. The goal is to reduce weeds without using chemicals which could help solve soil contamination issues. His role is to lead the product and technology department, making sure the technology is safe and effective when it is commercially...

Tony Chen is the Co-Founder of Manolin Inc ., a new startup in the aquaculture space. Manolin is a software company that aims to accelerate resource sharing between salmon farms as well as prevent and manage sea lice outbreaks through digital health management. Before co-founding Manolin, Tony was developing software for the U.S. government and was only interested in aquaculture as a hobby. His fa...

 Jim Loar is CEO and President of Cool Planet , an innovations company that seeks to improve upon the current agricultural technologies we have today to facilitate increased profits and crop production at a low cost in a sustainable manner. Jim has over 30 years of experience in the industry and worked with big corporations like Wilbur-Ellis Company and Griffin LLC. He has a Bachelor of Nautical S...

  Zack James is the Founder of Rabbit Tractors , a team that designs and builds swarm-enabled, compact, and autonomous farm equipment. His company’s aim is to help farmers save time and money while increasing productivity. He has a degree in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and attended University of Michigan Law School with a focus on corporate governance and securities...

  Pete Nelson is the President and Executive Director of AgLaunch, an agriculture accelerator that supports startups that innovate food and provide sustainable solutions. He has over twenty years of experience as a farmer, writer, consultant, speaker, and entrepreneur emphasizing farm-based innovation technologies and models. He has worked with a variety of public and private sector partners build...

    Martin Gross is the Founder and President of Gross-Wen Technologies , a next generation wastewater treatment company that makes use of microalgae to provide a sustainable and efficient alternative to conventional water treatment methods. As President, he has raised over $3 million in Angel and Series A investments, applied for numerous patents, and served as Principal Investigator in non-dilut...

  Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller are the founders of Pheronym , an agricultural biotechnology company that develops safe and nontoxic solutions to protect a wide variety of plants. Their flagship product is based on pheromones which is extracted from microscopic roundworms called nematodes. Fatma is Pheronym’s CEO/CSO and is an accomplished scientist with a Ph. D. in Plant Molecular and Cellula...

  Welcome back to another episode of the Future of Agriculture’s Follow Up Friday series - the segment when we follow up with listener-submitted questions and comments related to their favorite previous episodes of the show.   This week, I highlight Village Capital , an accelerator that finds, trains, and invests in leaders and entrepreneurs solving real-world problems. Village Capital’s US Ventur...

    Jeff Beegle and Tony Bova are the Founders of Mobius , a biotechnology company that envisions to build a future where the world sees organic waste as a valuable resource instead of a burden on the planet. Tony is officially the Chief Executive Officer, and Jeff is the Chief Science Officer. Their current project is a form of biodegradable plastic made from a unique substance found in plants ca...

    Welcome back to another episode of the Future of Agriculture’s Follow Up Friday series - the segment when we follow up with listener-submitted questions and comments related to their favorite previous episodes of the show.   TERRA’s Regional Manager Anil Suren answers some of my questions regarding the company’s ideas and services, including what it’s like being part of the TERRA organization,...

  Abi Ramanan is the CEO of Impact Vision , a company that seeks to build a more secure and transparent food system with the use of hyperspectral technology. The company envisions to reduce the cost of food waste and food fraud through software that provides users with information on food quality, rapidly and non-invasively. Abi is also the founder of Papi’s Pickles and Co-founder of DayOld , food...

Sarah Nolet is the Founder and CEO of AgThentic , a company that helps ag businesses and their entrepreneurs and innovators build the food systems of the future. She is a renowned food systems innovation expert and is the reason behind Australia’s early stage agtech ecosystem. Sarah holds a degree in System Design and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Computer...