Rachel Laudan is a food historian and award-winning author of Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History , a book about the rise and fall of various culinary traditions and philosophies. She has over twenty years of dedicated research to the evolution of our food systems. She’s also an engaging speaker who helps industry professionals, students and professors, and public groups see food from a long-term and global perspective. Today, Rachel joins me to share a brief overview of what food histo...
Jun 20, 2018•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Olympia Yarger is the Founder and CEO of GOTERRA , an Australian-based waste management company that redefines the idea of food waste through decentralized waste management. Their company’s primary goal is to manage food and animal waste using insects of which the byproduct could be used as a feed additive. This approach is an alternative and sustainable way of feeding livestock that also reduces global waste. Today, Olympia shares how maggots can help solve global food waste. She describes what...
Jun 13, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Pamela Marrone is the founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations , a company dedicated to finding practical, sustainable pest management solutions that are safe for people as well as the environment. She is also the founding Chair and former board member of the Biopesticides Industry Alliance, a cluster of over a hundred biopesticide and related companies. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research as well as a member of the...
Jun 06, 2018•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Michael Doane is the Managing Director of the Agriculture and Food Systems at The Nature Conservancy , a nonprofit organization and the world’s leader in providing nature conservation efforts. Their mission is to conserve Mother Nature for future generations by buying lands to prevent plant and animal extinction and restoring otherwise ruined parts of nature back to its former glory. Michael’s responsible for ensuring industries that rely heavily on nature are managed and controlled. He primaril...
May 30, 2018•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jim Loar is the President & CEO of Cool Planet , a company founded to provide innovative agricultural technologies that increase crop production at a low cost while reducing greenhouse gas throughout the atmosphere. The company’s current research focus is on their Cool Terra Engineered Biocarbon technology, a type of soil enhancer that improves soil health, reduces water consumption, and supports optimal fertilizer performance. Prior to joining Cool Planet in 2015, Jim was the VP of Operations a...
May 23, 2018•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ryan Sirolli is the Senior Director at Danone North America , a food company that focuses on dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and plant-based foods. Ryan is responsible for leading a team that serves to develop and execute agricultural sourcing and improve supply chain sustainability. He and his team emphasizes on soil health as well as creating alternative economic models that advocate both customer satisfaction and environmental sustainability. Today, Ryan shares how Danone North America i...
May 16, 2018•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Perry is the President, CEO, and Director of Indigo Ag , a company that seeks to harness the power of plant microbes to improve yield and lessen (and potentially eliminate) the use of harmful pesticides and insecticides. David is a well-known entrepreneur, having founded and built three outstanding companies within the last two decades. He has lead the last two companies through successful IPOs while providing significant returns for their investors. Prior to becoming a businessman, David ...
May 09, 2018•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jason Mauck is a farmer in Gaston, Indiana and the CEO of Constant Canopy, an operation dedicated to closing the gap between livestock and grain production. He is passionate about demystifying misconceptions and bringing public awareness to how the farming and agriculture industry truly works from a large-scale farming perspective. Jason joins me today to share how his large-scale nutrient management system works, discuss the imbalance between supply and demand, and why he believes a sharing eco...
May 02, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Marc Brazeau is the Chief Organizer and Editor at Food and Farm Discussion Lab , a food system think tank and online magazine for people within the agriculture industry to share evidence-based solutions, ideas, and concepts related to sustainable agriculture, hunger and food security, and public health and nutrition concerns. With previous experience as a chef and restaurant owner as well as organizing unions within the agriculture space, he brings a unique perspective to the food-to-table movem...
Apr 25, 2018•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Lackey is the Chairman and CEO of the World Food Bank , an organization founded in 2015 to provide sustainable solutions to the food security and hunger issues around the world. He is a highly-regarded expert in the trading and securities industry and is passionate about finding solutions that will help end world hunger. Richard joins me today to share the driving force behind World Food Bank, their mission, and how their unique program is designed to significantly impact the food securi...
Apr 18, 2018•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tom Bottoms earned his bachelor’s degree in Plant Sciences from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and in 2013, he received his Ph.D. in Horticulture and Agronomy from the University of California. He currently works as an employee of a large farming operation based in Northern California with the intention of eventually accumulating his own farm land and building his own operation. Tom joins me today to share what inspired him to work in the agriculture industry and ...
Apr 11, 2018•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rob Saik is the founder of the Agri-Trend® group of companies whose primary goal is to help farmers grow food through agriculture consulting services in areas such as agronomic production, carbon-offset trading, grain marketing strategies, and data management systems for producers around the world. He is the creator of The Agri-Prize contest series, a TEDx and keynote speaker, and the author of the book The Agriculture Manifesto - 10 Key Drivers That Will Shape Agriculture in the Next Decade whi...
Apr 04, 2018•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Simone Kain is the co-creator of George the Farmer , a social enterprise that focuses on educating kids about proper farming practices as well as how food and fiber are produced using apps, music, videos, picture books, and free curriculum-aligned educator’s guides. She drew inspiration from a 2012 survey in Australia that shows 10-12-year-old students don’t know where their food comes from. Simone describes George the Farmer as “everyone’s mate” and tackles the daily activities of Australian fa...
Mar 28, 2018•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris Rawley conceived the idea of crowdfunding platforms for agriculture while visiting a farm investment in Central America. He would soon start Harvest Returns , a crowdfunding company that serves investors looking to diversify their portfolio and invest their money on actual farms. Before founding Harvest Returns, Chris obtained corporate management roles in various companies and once served as a defense consultant at Special Operations Command Headquarters thanks to his military experience....
Mar 21, 2018•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Jason de Koff is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at Tennessee State University. He holds a Ph.D in agronomy from Purdue University and has received numerous awards including the NACAA Achievement Award and the TAAA&S Communications Award (Learning Module Southeast Region) in 2016. Dr. de Koff joins me on today’s episode to discuss how cooperative extension programs are helping to spread unbiased information throughout the agriculture industry to help improve the future of agr...
Mar 07, 2018•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jerod McDaniel is a farmer and cattleman from Texhoma, Oklahoma. He is progressive when it comes to farm-related data, and new technology and practices. He is quite open and excited about the idea behind blockchain and how it would impact farmers like him. Jerod took over his grandfather’s farm in 1995 when he was just 18 years old which has enabled him to acquire the necessary skills for traditional farming as well as learn and integrate new ways to make the different processes involved much mo...
Feb 21, 2018•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emma Weston is the CEO and one of the founders of AgriDigital , a commodity management company that combines advanced technical and industry expertise with aesthetic design and intelligent systems to develop seamless solutions to complex logistical, risk, customer management, and commodity issues in the agricultural sector. Emma leads the company’s business strategies, investor engagement, and their own Blockchain and talent management. She also has responsibilities in sales and operations. In t...
Feb 14, 2018•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Raja Ramachandran is the CEO of Ripe.io , a company that considers itself as the Blockchain of food. Ripe.io offers solutions to food problems that involve data transparency while also providing answers to many consumer questions. Raja has a background in finance and FOREX trading and is fond of using financial technology, cloud-based systems, machine learning, and Blockchain to help solve problems around food on a global scale. In this episode, Raja shares the idea behind Ripe.io, their mission...
Feb 07, 2018•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alex Danco is an Associate and member of the Discover Team at Social Capital , a partnership consisting of philanthropists, capitalists, and technologists who together share the same goal of funding startups and ideas that can create value and change on a global scale. Alex is fond of thinking and writing about the future, and has authored a number of blogs that discuss the future of human society and technology all over the web. This penchant for futurism has made him grow fond of little yet no...
Jan 31, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast FoA085 FOA How Blockchain Technology Can Help Farmers in Developing Countries David Davies is the Founder of AgUnity and AgriLedger . AgUnity enables the world’s smallest and poorest farmers to have access to a means to lift themselves out of poverty through smartphone and blockchain solutions. AgriLedger is the smartphone app AgUnity developed that records and transacts incorruptible data through blockchain technology. The app allows virtually every user to know their transactions and data are ...
Jan 24, 2018•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Nishant Dass is an associate professor and Ph.D. Coordinator in finance at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. His areas of expertise include major areas of financing and business management including CEO-Compensation, Corporate Governance, Mutual Funds, Trade Credit, and International Finance. He has plenty of published papers under his name with regards to financing and has extensive experience providing sage financial advice to startups and other small companies. He has recently pi...
Jan 17, 2018•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tomaz Levak and Ziga Drev are the founders of OriginTrail , a service that developed the first purpose-built protocol blockchain-based supply chains. Their protocol aims to bring trust into the supply chain without the need for a middleman brokering trust. The OriginTrail platform was created to bring blockchain tech to supply chains in an interoperable, scalable, and decentralized manner. In this episode, Tomaz and Ziga discuss their product and how it can solve many of the problems encountered...
Jan 10, 2018•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In part 1 of our Blockchain series, I discussed the concept of Blockchain and how it can impact the agricultural industry. I highlighted reputable resources, possible points where Blockchain can positively change, and how it can build trust in all market participants from beginning to end. I also compared Blockchain to BitCoin, emphasizing on their similarities, and why it is the next big thing in the agricultural industry. I also discussed the advantages farmers will reap from it and how a Bloc...
Jan 03, 2018•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Innovations in the agricultural industry come in many forms. From technological advances to improving farming practices, the world is slowly but surely guaranteeing safe and sustainable food sources for generations to come. But, what if we take that a step further? What if we have a system in place that enables traceability, security, improves food safety and gets everyone involved in making sure food quality is top notch? That is what the concept of Blockchain seeks to implement. In this episod...
Dec 27, 2017•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nick Horob is the founder of Harvest Profit , a company that provides a set of management tools focused on the business side of the farm. Their aim is to allow farmers make decisions based on objective analysis and data, preventing emotionally-driven choices which in turn gives them better, long-term returns. While Nick grew up in a family of farmers, his extensive experience in risk management, real estate investment, and business best practices motivated him to start Harvest Profit so he could...
Dec 20, 2017•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tyler Mayoras is a Principal at Advantage Capital Partners , a company that invests in small businesses that are ready for growth. As a principal, his duties revolves around screening and identifying potential opportunities for investments, facilitate due diligence, and close transactions. His primary focus is on investments made by their agriculture wing, aptly called Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners. Some of the most prominent businesses he watched over were Hip Chick Farms, Shenandoah ...
Dec 13, 2017•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast How does a 30,000 acre farm operate with just 9 employees? Lon Frahm shares with Tim how he has grown his row crop operation to over 30,000 acres, and how he uses economies of scale such as self-insuring and storing his own grain, to develop advantages over other farmers. Lon has a very impressive story. He took over his family's farm upon his father's death when he was just 28 years old. He has lead the operation to tremendous growth over the past 30 years and has experiences very little employ...
Nov 15, 2017•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steven Brockshus is the CEO and Founder of TERVA , an online real estate marketplace dedicated to empowering farmland professionals with knowledge, insights, and data. They aim to build a marketplace not only to educate, but to also connect with people looking to buy and sell farmland. He aims to bring the agricultural real estate industry online to shift the industry and how people interact and think about farmland. In this episode, Steven shares his story on how he started TERVA as well as the...
Nov 08, 2017•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Peter Ballerstedt is a Doctor of Animal Nutrition and is an expert in forage and ruminant nutrition in agriculture. He stepped out of the agriculture industry for some time and ventured in the tech world for many years. He came back because he realized a fantastic source of health could be found through leveraging animal agriculture, specifically ruminants. A stern believer in grass-based animal nutrition, Peter calls this – the potential of ruminants to lead the way towards healthier diets ...
Nov 01, 2017•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charles Baron is the Co-Founder of Farmers Business Network , an idea conceived by farmers for farmers. The company aims to gather unbiased and objective information with regards to agronomics and commodities. The idea is to pool available data from individual farmers, so every farmer in their network would benefit from them. The company started three years ago with just 3-4 farms, but through word of mouth and good service, they now have close to 4,700 farms within their network. Charles and hi...
Oct 18, 2017•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
