Agbioscience

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223. BONUS: Better food access through private sector innovation Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Last year, the federal government invested nearly $120 billion to combat food insecurity with its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but the challenge still remains. As AgriNovus works to inspire innovation in food security through a new category of agtech we call HungerTech, it’s important to understand the scope of food insecurity in America and how we can improve. Today we are joined by Head of Economics at Purdue University and Distinguished Professor, Dr. Jayson Lusk, to discuss new research from AgriNovus that examines factors driving food insecurity across Indiana and areas ripe for private-sector innovation to increase proper access to nutrition.

Read the full report here.

222. Eggs for the greater good Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

In the US, more than 42 million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and nearly 1/3 of those are children. Today we are joined by HATCH for Hunger Executive Director, Danny Leckie, to talk about the organization’s mission to unite Midwest poultry producers and a distribution network to combat hunger. They talk about how the organization was founded, building a sustainable model for food insecure populations and animal protein as a key to building healthy lives. Danny also gets into COVID, inflation and manning a difficult pricing era for eggs.

So why eggs? Danny gets into that, eggs as a powerful tool to do great things and what’s ahead for HATCH for Hunger. Learn more here.

221. BONUS: Let’s RALLY Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

The agbiosciences offer one of the most approachable areas of modern innovation. From new foods to sustainability advances and new tech, agbioscience touches every human being on the planet. Today we are joined by Elevate Ventures CEO, Toph Day, to talk about a new global event where agbiosciences will link arms with other modern focuses of our economy: RALLY Innovation Conference, which is coming to Indianapolis on August 29-31, 2023. They dig into what attendees can expect for the world’s largest cross-sector innovation conference (including a $5M pitch competition), why Indianapolis and RALLY as a launch pad for big ideas and authentic connections.

From high school and university talent to venture, entrepreneurship, industry and beyond, RALLY is Indiana’s time to put their game face on and seize an opportunity.

Get your spot for RALLY today! Visit rallyinnovation.com.

220. Emerging innovations in pork Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Pork’s place on the plates of people around the globe continues to grow with a global pork market expected to reach more than $418 billion by 2028. Indiana hog producer and National Pork Board President, Heather Hill, joins this week to talk a growing demand for the protein paving the way for new innovation. She dives into her work at the National Pork Board, emerging trends in pork consumption and a continued dedication to sustainability (and also what that actually looks like on a farm). Heather also gets into the criticality of public education, emerging innovations she sees on the horizon and the one thing she wants others to know about raising pork.

219. BONUS: Announcing the 2023 HungerTech Challenge Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 13.5 million households – more than 10% of the population – experience food insecurity. Innovation, especially in the category of agtech, holds tremendous promise to lower that number. Today we are joined by AgriNovus Indiana Senior Director of Innovation, Geoff Zentz, to announce the launch of the 2023 HungerTech Challenge. They talk about what this year’s challenge entails, the intersection of doing good and doing well and what’s at stake for this year’s winning team (hint: it includes a $25K prize to accelerate their solution). They also dive into the role of innovation to eliminate food insecurity, not needing to know food or agriculture to solve this problem and the importance of food and nutrition to drive better health outcomes.

Are you ready to take on the 2023 HungerTech Challenge or do you want to learn more about AgriNovus’ work in this space? Click here.

Special thank you to Elevance Health – our presenting sponsor of the HungerTech Challenge – for their commitment to tackling food insecurity. Hear Dr. Shantanu Agrawal’s episode of Agbioscience here.

218. Seeing what’s ahead before it comes Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Growing an economy is part art and part science. It requires a bold vision, deep understanding of a region’s assets and an ability to unite leaders across business, academia and government, all to take action and drive growth. Today we are joined by Melina Kennedy, CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, to learn how a former lawyer, deputy mayor and leader at Cummins came into her new role last month. She talks about the uniqueness of CICP as an organization, serving the community in an impactful way and being a proponent for innovation.

How does Indiana continue to grow and what is the role of agbioscience in that story? Melina also talks about refusing to sit still, looking up and out and seeing what’s ahead before it comes.

217. Transforming engines from diesel to ethanol Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Companies and governments across the world have made commitments to decarbonization; but one of the key technologies, electrification, is still years away from being applicable to the high-horsepower, high-torque requirements of production agriculture. BJ Johnson, founder and CEO of ClearFlame Engine Technologies, has developed a technology to transform high-horsepower diesel engines to run on 100% ethanol. He joins this week to talk about ClearFlame starting as an academic exercise and accelerating into a high commercial-potential product, the economic and environmental impact of this innovation and the necessary long-term focus on net positive emissions. BJ also dives into ClearFlame’s collaboration with Beck’s Hybrids, their innovation as one tool for the overall sustainability toolbox and how he thinks about growth in the future.

ClearFlame’s research and development is located in Columbus, Indiana. Learn more here.

216. Letting crops tell a colorful story Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Worldwide, an estimated 20-40% of crop yield is lost to pests and diseases every year. Coupled with a growing desire to reduce environmental impact in crop protection and you’ve got a growing opportunity for innovation. From a central Indiana farm to Purdue University and then onto Scotland, Insignum Agtech founder and CEO, Kyle Mohler, joins us to talk stress detection in crops using his tech-enabled solution that taps into a plant’s visible natural pigments that signal a problem is coming. He also talks about farmer’s love for the tangibility of what Insignum offers, enabling responsiveness to whatever nature throws in their path and help boost yields while also being more sustainable. Kyle and Mitch also talk about making sense of on-farm data and Insignum integrating into existing systems. They wrap up with what’s ahead for Insignum Agtech including expanding partnerships.

Insignum attached the close of a pre-seed rounding of funding the day this episode was released. Read more here.

215. A more equitable, resilient food supply chain Feb 27, 2023

Show notes

Tackling food security in America often centers on programming and funding; however, innovators are turning to tech and new models to better connect food supply with food demand. Today we are joined by Khadijah Abdullah, Vice President of Economic Development and Social Impact at Shipt, to talk about the company’s fundamental shift in how access to grocery and goods happens and how they are using that to improve food security.

From her time as a lawyer and past experience as an educator, Khadijah considers her career path the perfect straight line to where she’s at today. She talks her passion for changing big systems, impacting communities and Shipt leading innovation in how America gets its groceries. Khadijah also dives into the challenges our country faces with food insecurity, technology reducing barriers to food access and scaling solutions that create meaningful change.

Shipt recently launched their accelerator program – LadderUp - to create conditions for innovators to solve these big problems surrounding food insecurity. Learn more here.

214. A seamless experience for the farmer Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

Agtech continues to be one of the fastest-growing categories of the agbioscience economy as producers and those that serve them seek to deliver greater value, efficiency and ultimately, improve net farm income. This week, we are joined by Dr. Brian Lutz, VP of Agricultural Solutions, at Corteva Agriscience. They dive into optimizing solutions for the farmer, the transformation of agtech and where we are at in its maturation cycle. Brian also talks about digital solutions letting farmers transparently see the value of the products they’re investing in for their operations and how Corteva Agriscience is formatting their business in accordance. Lastly, he talks through energy, sustainability and what’s ahead for the company’s digital platform.

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