Future of Agriculture

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FOA115: Microscopic Biological Pest Wars with Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller of Pheronym Aug 22, 2018

Show notes

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 Cellular Biology and postdoctoral training in Natural Product Chemistry. Cameron is the COO and has extensive experience in entrepreneurship with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Science degree in pharmacy healthcare management.

Fatma and Cameron join me today to discuss their pheromone-based pesticide and how it can improve the agricultural landscape in the future. They describe the primary problem regarding nematodes, what inspired them to investigate the use of pheromones as a pesticide, and what eventually lead them to make nematodes work for farmers instead of against them. They also explain the science behind their product and its mechanical and legal challenges as well as share their experience with accelerators.

“We need to have rotations and multiple solutions when it comes to pest control options.” - Fatma Kaplan

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

What made them look at nematodes for agricultural purposes?
What pheromones are and how they utilize it to control nematodes.
The challenges of developing nematodes and the pheromones to control them.
How to collect nematode secretions.
How farmers can identify if they have a nematode problem.
The most effective treatment against parasitic nematodes.
The difference between nematodes with pheromones vs nematodes without pheromones.
How damaging are nematodes to agriculture?
Their experience with accelerators and how they helped the business grow.
How do connections and networking work with accelerators?
Should they be worried about nematodes developing pheromone resistance?

Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller’s Key Takeaways:

Nematodes can hinder farm production, but they can be utilized to benefit the agriculture industry.
If you’ve done everything but can’t seem to grow your crops or produce right, you might have a nematode problem.

Connect with Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller

Pheronym
Email: schiller@pheronym.com
Phone: (352) 219-4464

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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.

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Follow Up Friday: Village Capital Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

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 Ventures Manager Alex Arrivillaga responds to some of my questions regarding the company’s missions and goals, including what Village Capital is and its background and history as well as what sets them apart from other accelerator programs. Alex also shares what she loves about working with food and ag companies.

Resources & Related Content:

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! We want to hear from you and feature you on a future Follow Up Friday segment!

Future of Agriculture 114: Sustainable Plastics for Agricultural Use with Tony Bova and Jeff Beegle of Mobius Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

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 called Lignin. They seek to use their special plastic in various industries such as agriculture, horticulture, and food services.

Jeff and Tony join me today to discuss Mobius’ latest innovation. They share their thoughts on the current economic and environmental issues that surround traditional plastics. They describe their latest product, how it’s made, and why it’s environmentally friendly. They also discuss the different challenges of competing in a plastic market, the difficulty of getting investors, and how they accomplished solving those two problems.

“If someone really wants what you have and they're willing to give you a dollar for it, that's the thumbs up we need to know we're on the right track.” - Tony Bova

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

How they became inspired to start Mobius and the problems they are trying to solve with their products.
Why plastics are double-edged swords
How their biodegradable plastic works.
What makes their product different from traditional PET plastics?
How their biodegradable mulch affects the soil.
What they did to prevent their product from biodegrading too fast.
How they scaled their business.
The challenges they faced while searching for investors.
Why they chose to team up with Village Capital as an accelerator.
The most challenging part of establishing their brand.
What's in store for Mobius in the near future?

Tony Bova and Jeff Beegle’s Key Takeaways:

Biodegradable mulch films are actually improving soil health.
There's no bacteria and fungi that can actually eat plastic in the soil.
When we start using low-cost, but durable materials like plastic for single use, the problem is what we do with them afterwards.

Resources Mentioned:

Village Capital Accelerator

Connect with Tony Bova and Jeff Beegle:

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

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Follow Up Friday: TERRA Accelerator Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

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, the company’s partners an this week, I highlight the TERRA Accelerator, a business that seeks to bring together the ag industry’s most disruptive startups and progressive corporations to boost innovation and set new standards for food and agriculture. d achievements, and the benefits startups can expect by becoming part of their accelerator program.

Resources & Related Content:

TERRA Accelerator

Join the Conversation!

Future of Agriculture 113: Reducing Food Waste and Fraud through Hyperspectral Imaging with Abi Ramanan of Impact Vision Aug 08, 2018

Show notes

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 enterprises that tackles food waste and unemployment in migrant communities and promotes gender equality.

Abi joins me today to discuss her company’s fantastic innovation for the food and ag industry. She describes what hyperspectral imaging technology is and how space technology can fuse with the food supply chain to solve food waste and food fraud problems. She also describes how their software works in detecting food fraud, how it provides users with information, and shares some of their current and future projects.

“We need to decrease food production and produce more food for the growing population with less resources.” - Abi Ramanan

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

What hyperspectral technology is and how it can benefit the agriculture industry.
What inspired Abi to apply hyperspectral technology to food?
How this technology can reduce food waste.
The economical and global impact of testing 100% of food instead of a small representative.
What food fraud is and how hyperspectral technology can help test for it.
Their business strategy in choosing where to apply this technology.
The company's plans for the future.
Why they choose Terra over other accelerators.

Abi Ramanan’s Key Takeaways:

We need to equip the supply chain with newer tools to test for food safety.
We can combine space technology with the supply chain in order to bring about a technological revolution in the ag industry.

Resources Mentioned:

TERRA

Connect with Abi Ramanan:

Impact Vision
Papi’s Pickles
DayOld
Email: abi@impactvi.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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

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Future of Agriculture 112: Accelerating AgTech with Sarah Nolet of AgThentic Aug 01, 2018

Show notes

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 Science and Human Factors Engineering.

Sarah joins me today to share her insight regarding the future of ag businesses and how she seeks to help expand them faster. She shares the story behind AgThentic, how it started, and how it helps farmers and agbusinesses bridge the gap between agtech and traditional agriculture techniques to create innovative solutions for various problems throughout the industry. She also defines the concept of business accelerators and incubators and how they help agtech startups gain the traction they need to succeed in the agtech industry.

“If connecting to a big company is of strategic importance to your startup, then an accelerator or incubator program can be a good way to do that.” - Sarah Nolet

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

What inspired her to start AgThentic.
Her experience regarding farmers who don't adapt to the latest technologies.
Do a lot of farmers need help when it comes to using basic software?
What agtech accelerators are and how they help agtech startups.
The criteria your agtech startup must meet to join an accelerator program.
The difference between agtech accelerator programs and agtech incubators.
The transformation that happens when an agtech startup goes through an effective accelerator program.
Budding countries in the agtech startup space.
How AgThentic helps improve the agtech ecosystem between agriculture and agtech.

Sarah Nolet’s Key Takeaways:

There is potential in combining technology and entrepreneurship that can solve a lot of problems.
There's a gap between ag and agtech, and it needs to be filled to push innovation.

Connect with Sarah Nolet:

Check Out Our Sponsor for the “Sustainability at Scale” Series

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Marrone is very proud to support The Future Of Agriculture blog series on sustainability in agriculture with Tim Hammerich.

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

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Future of Agriculture 111: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with Jeremy Williams of Monsanto Jul 25, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Jeremy Williams is the Vice President of Biotechnology and Agricultural Productivity Innovations at Monsanto, one of the largest modern agricultural companies in the world that develops products and tools to help farmers grow more crops and make use of resources more efficiently. His responsibilities include leading the chemistry and trait research teams that assist farmers to succeed through innovative means such as artificial intelligence. His ultimate goal is to create a discovery pipeline that streamlines projects that affect agricultural development into commercialization.

Jeremy joins me today to discuss the future of agriculture and how artificial intelligence and machine learning can impact the agriculture industry. He describes the concept of artificial intelligence, its current applications, and why he believes these technologies can create new job opportunities throughout the agriculture industry. He also explains the difference between machine learning and deep learning, how artificial intelligence can improve productivity and sustainability within the industry and shares his perspective on the future of the agriculture industry.

“Over time, there’s going to be increasing desires from society to have agriculture be even more sustainable. The development of automation, the use of data science, is going to help us meet those demands from society.” – Dr. Jeremy Williams

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

How he ended up working with Monsanto and his responsibilities.
What is artificial intelligence and how is it used in the ag industry?
The difference between Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
Applications of artificial intelligence on the farm.
How machine learning can impact the ability to discover new crop protection chemistries.
How artificial intelligence can help discover new insect control traits for expression in plants.
How humans and artificial intelligence can work together.
The impact that artificial intelligence and machine learning can have on future job opportunities in the agriculture industry.
How the Bayer-Monsanto acquisition can impact agriculture innovation.
Advice for new ag-tech entrepreneurs.
His predictions for the future of the ag industry.

Dr. Jeremy Williams’ Tips for New Ag-Tech Entrepreneurs:

The quality of your team is very important.
Remember: You don’t know everything as an organization. Be externally focused. Partner aggressively. Use the leverage of a much bigger ecosystem than you can build yourself with your organization.
The ability to fail, learn, and recover is critical.
Be patient, but also be persistent and tenacious.

Connect with Dr. Jeremy Williams:

Check Out Our Sponsor for the “Sustainability at Scale” Series

Marrone is very proud to support The Future Of Agriculture blog series on sustainability in agriculture with Tim Hammerich.

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter AgGrad on Facebook AgGrad on LinkedIn AgGrad on Instagram

Future of Agriculture 110: How Carbon Trading Could Benefit Farmers with Aldyen Donelly of Nori Jul 18, 2018

Show notes

Aldyen Donnelly is the Director of Carbon Economic at Nori, a startup company dedicated to creating trust and transparency while lowering transaction costs throughout the carbon trading industry. Her mission is to reward carbon sequestering farmers with blockchain-backed carbon credit certificates. Nori is a blockchain-enabled platform allowing users to trace where carbon dioxide is sequestered and is currently the world’s only carbon dioxide sequestration marketplace.

Aldyen joins me to share the mission behind Nori and how it can help both the environment and farmers. She shares how she became inspired to help the world reduce its carbon emissions, where carbon emissions are primarily derived, and the company’s business strategy to help reverse this problem. She also explains the role of blockchain with regards to transparency in their platform and how farmers can benefit from regenerative and carbon sequestering practices.

“When we create a market that is transparent, a whole bunch of ideas about how to do this will come up that have never entered our mind yet.” - Aldyen Donnelly

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

Where greenhouse gases are primarily stored.
How soon can we reduce the greenhouse gases to 350 ppm?
The theory behind Cap and Trade and why it’s not an optimal strategy to address the greenhouse gas emission issues.
The true value of one carbon certificate.
Why California is a special case when it comes to emissions certificates.
How Nori works and how it utilizes blockchain.
Who are the buyers of the carbon certificates?
How regenerative practices allows farmers to generate marketable carbon credits, even during natural disasters.
Causes of the downward pressure on the price of carbon certificates.
How funding U.S. farmers to sequester carbon can offset transport and gas plant emissions.

Aldyen Donnelly’s Key Takeaways:

When most people are buying a certificate in the state of California market for $15, they think it’s costing $15 to reduce one ton of CO2, but if a certificate is really only worth 25% of a ton, they’re actually paying $60 a ton.
Every cap and trade pollution market has crashed and burned within seven years.
If we fund U.S. farmers to sequester carbon at top price, they can offset all of the U.S. transportation emissions and all of the gas plant emissions.

Connect with Aldyen Donnelly:

Nori
Twitter

Check Out Our Sponsor for the “Sustainability at Scale” Series

Marrone is very proud to support The Future Of Agriculture blog series on sustainability in agriculture with Tim Hammerich.

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter AgGrad on Facebook AgGrad on LinkedIn AgGrad on Instagram

Future of Agriculture 109: Regenerative Agriculture with Del Ficke and Graham Christensen Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

Del Ficke and Graham Christensen own farms that advocate a practice called Regenerative Agriculture. This practice sequesters a massive portion of CO2 in the soil and even in forests. Del is the owner of Ficke Cattle Company, a family run farm and livestock operation with a history dating back to 1860. Graham is the Founder of GC Resolve, an environmental consulting company based in Nebraska that specializes in grassroots community development, education, and mobilization.

Del and Graham join me today to discuss the practice of Regenerative Agriculture and what they have done to implement it in their farms. They share how they learned about regenerative practices and their success stories and explain why this type of practice is based on what’s already been done before, but long forgotten due to mass production. They also share examples of how regenerative ag can benefit farmers financially.

“We don't need to get bigger; we just need to get smarter on this and work with nature.” - Del Ficke

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

How they began working in the ag industry.
Their farms before and after they embarked on their journey to regenerative ag.
How they're able to earn more despite having smaller farms.
The first step in moving towards regenerative ag.
Common concerns towards regenerative agriculture.
How they trained their banker to be comfortable with the regenerative agriculture approach.
How regenerative practices revitalize rural communities.

Resources Mentioned:

Episode 098: Evidence-Based Agriculture and Defining Sustainability with Marc Brazeau of Food and Farm Discussion Lab

Del Ficke and Graham Christensen’s Key Takeaways:

It's helpful when you have other farms doing regenerative ag successfully. It makes you realize this type of farming does work.
You can try to run a farm at 90% efficiency, but there's always something you can't eliminate.

Connect with Del Ficke:

Ficke Cattle

Connect with Graham Christensen:

GC Resolve

Regenerate Nebraska Facebook

Check Out Our Sponsor for the “Sustainability at Scale” Series

Marrone is very proud to support The Future Of Agriculture blog series on sustainability in agriculture with Tim Hammerich.

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter AgGrad on Facebook AgGrad on LinkedIn AgGrad on Instagram

Future of Agriculture 108: Data-Driven Sustainable Agriculture Through IoT and Machine Learning with Michael Gilbert of Semios Jul 04, 2018

Show notes

Michael Gilbert is the Founder and CEO of Semios, a Canadian company that helps farmers manage their pest problems using onsite sensing, big data, and predictive analytics solutions. He has over twenty years of experience in the field of biotech research and development. Before founding Semios, Michael held positions with federal research institutions, large multinationals, medium-sized public companies, and startups.

Today, Michael joins me to share the goal of Semios and how they plan to contribute to sustainability. He explains the driving idea behind Semios, the technologies they apply in their business, and the many problems they help farmers solve. He also explains why pesticides can eventually stop working and the different applications farmers can use based on the data gathered from sensors.

“You need to have more data to understand why things are occurring and how to best manage it.” - Michael Gilbert

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

How Semios helps farmers find solutions to pest problems.
How producers previously managed pest issues before using sensors.
How Semios analyzes pests.
How to incorporate machine learning in the agriculture industry.
The four V’s of Big Data.
The benefits of IoT and Machine Learning technology.
His background and how he stumbled upon the pest problems farmers face.
How farmers can apply the data gathered by sensors.
How their technology can aid sustainability throughout the agriculture industry.
Problems they hope to solve in the future.

Michael Gilbert’s Words of Wisdom:

Having a bad year has nothing to do with luck. Our job is to understand what made the risk occur.

Connect with Michael Gilbert:

Semios

Check Out Our Sponsor for the “Sustainability at Scale” Series

Marrone is very proud to support The Future Of Agriculture blog series on sustainability in agriculture with Tim Hammerich.

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.

Share the Ag-Love!

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter AgGrad on Facebook AgGrad on LinkedIn AgGrad on Instagram

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