Jim Pantaleo is a renowned expert and consultant for Indoor Vertical Farming and offers ag companies sound and technical advice on best practices. Some of his services include performing market research and business development work. Other than companies, Jim also works with different universities such as the University of Arizona, UC Davis, and the University of Santa Barbara. He also enjoys writing about indoor vertical farming and regularly speaks at ag-related conventions. Jim joins me today...
Feb 19, 2020•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Michael Bosworth is the President & CEO of Next Generation Foods , a food business that markets and distributes locally produced foods in the Northern California area. Brent Lafollette, Martin Miller, and Robert James Woodry are 5th generation farmers and the founders of Premium Growers , a company that produces and sells a variety of flavored, premium roasted Oregon Hazelnuts. They are some of the many farmers who transitioned from being producers to direct-to-consumer retailers. Michael joins ...
Feb 12, 2020•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Micki Seibel is an investor, advisor, and tech builder who was part of the team behind internet products such as Netscape and eBay. She is currently an Operating Partner for Radicle Growth , an acceleration fund that partners with entrepreneurs who have ideas that can innovate the future of food. She has over 20 years of experience in building companies and has made much of it at Silicon Valley. Micki also serves on the advisory board of multiple food system startup companies such as Swarm Techn...
Feb 05, 2020•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike Barrow is the Project Lead at OpenVino , a company that aims to create the first-ever open-source, transparent winery, and wine-based cryptocurrency under the Costaflores label. Costaflores is a boutique organic winery based in Argentina. As suggested, OpenVino will rely on blockchain technology to engage in a new and innovative way of selling wine products. With over 30 years of experience in IT, data science, and cloud services, Mike aims to disrupt the wine world with a business that con...
Jan 29, 2020•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Reinier van der Lee is the CEO & Founder of Vinduino , an AgTech company that supports farmers and other producers in the ag industry with products that improve profits and fruit quality as well as increase yield. One of the company’s latest products is the Vinduino R4 Sensor station, an open-source sensor that gives farmers data on water usage and efficiency. Reinier also owns a 4-acre vineyard and credits his need for better irrigation management as the reason why he founded Vinduino. Reinier ...
Jan 22, 2020•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Chan is the COO and Founding Team Member at Farm Together , a company that offers a simplified approach to US farmland investment. The company not only serves Americans, but also welcomes foreign investors who are interested in growing their assets or simply having a continuous source of income in their retirement. David has over five years of Fin-Tech experience in the ag industry. He describes himself as a meteorologist by background, but a financier and technologist by training. David e...
Jan 15, 2020•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kenneth Quinn is the former President of the World Food Prize Foundation , an organization that seeks to give individuals recognition for achievements that directly improve the quality, quantity, and availability of food in the world. Kenneth is often referred to as “the Ambassador” because he was the US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. During his time as President, he received various high-level honors and awards from different organizations, including The American Farm Bureau and The Cro...
Jan 08, 2020•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy New Year, and welcome to everyone listening to the very first episode of the year for the Future of Agriculture podcast. 2019 was such a good year for the show and was rife with amazing guests bearing their trade secrets and intelligent insights into the world of agriculture. To commemorate the year we had, I decided to categorize the overarching themes that summarize what 2019 was like for the Future of Agriculture podcast. In today’s episode, I discuss the five trends that governed much ...
Jan 01, 2020•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joe Swartz is the Vice President and Lead Horticulturist at AmHydro , a company recognized as a top innovator in the ag industry and focused on developing products that promote efficient hydroponic growing systems. Joe is also widely recognized as one of the leading consultants when it comes to Controlled Environment Agricultural industries that include commercial greenhouse farms. He specializes in crop production improvements, pesticide-free insect and disease control, and professional grower ...
Dec 25, 2019•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Collins is the owner of California Endive Farms , a farming operation that specializes in growing endive, a vegetable of the chicory family that is so special, it’s grown twice. Due to the strict conditions and labor-intensive manner of growing it, the endive was deemed a rare crop to produce. However, Rich took advantage of this fact and decided to niche down and focus on building a farming business around it. Today, California Endive Farms is still the largest American endive grower. R...
Dec 18, 2019•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bruce Friedrich is Co-Founder and Executive Director at The Good Food Institute (GFI) , a company that promotes plant-based and cultivated meat food products by making them just as good, just as convenient, and just as affordable as real meat. Their company has several branches in over six countries, all working towards the goal of making the alternative meat industry more attractive to consumers. Bruce oversees the business’ global strategy and programs. He also works with its directors, staff,...
Dec 11, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russ Conser is the CEO of Blue Nest Beef , a regenerative agriculture and food startup. What makes Blue Nest Beef special is how they raise cattle from bird-friendly land, citing that the presence of birds indicates a healthy agricultural ecosystem. Russ specializes in soil health and regenerative agriculture, business strategy development, and managing highly creative people. He was also featured on the podcast two years ago, where he talked about the benefits of multi-paddock grazing. Russ joi...
Dec 04, 2019•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Ray Goldberg holds the title of George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He’s among the pioneers of modern agribusiness, coining the term himself. He is the author of Food Citizenship , a book that talks about the global food system and the many faces that are leading the charge in changing the way we look at food and agriculture forever. Ray has decades of experience in the industry, from authoring journal articles and teaching materials ...
Nov 27, 2019•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Colin Hurd is an entrepreneur and the Business Development Manager at Raven Industries , a highly diversified technology company that provides innovative products and solutions to help feed, connect, and protect the world. Raven Industries recently acquired Smart Ag , a company founded by Colin. Smart Ag is a tech company that develops autonomous farming solutions, selling products that allow farming equipment and machinery to be operated remotely, similar to drones. Colin founded Smart Ag to ad...
Nov 20, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mariana Vasconcelos is the Founder of Agrosmart , a platform that brings digital agriculture to countries with low internet infrastructures under tropical agronomic conditions. The MIT Technology Review selected her as one of the Most Brilliant Innovators Under 35 and a Global Ambassador for Thought of Food. Being a farmer’s daughter, Mariana was aware of the problems that plague small farmers, especially when it comes to decisions about crops. To solve this gap, she proposed the idea to use AI ...
Nov 13, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shay Myers is an onion expert and the owner of Owyhee Produce . Owyhee Produce is a 3rd generation family farm and one of the biggest vertically-integrated onion farms in the United States. Their farm grows enough onions to provide adequate supplies that reach about 6 million Americans annually. Other than managing an onion farm, Shay is also a produce industry influence and agriculture keynote speaker. He is currently working to provide asparagus, hemp, and sweet potatoes to American families o...
Nov 06, 2019•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller founded Pheronym , an agricultural biotech company that provides safe, non-toxic, and innovative solutions to solve numerous agricultural problems. They also recently become involved in the development of space nematodes under the company AstroNematode . AstroNematode seeks to establish interstellar agriculture for Earth. The first launching experiment will happen this December and provide data to pave the way for sustainable agriculture outside of Earth. Dr...
Oct 30, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bill York is the Founding Partner, CEO, and Chief Credit Officer at FarmOp Capital , a lending company that provides funding primarily to farm operators. Their independent business model allows farmers to decide which suppliers to buy from. Bill has over 40 years of experience in the ag lending space and has held senior positions in various major ag lending companies. He specializes in business development, particularly increasing profits and assets of the businesses he works with. Bill York joi...
Oct 23, 2019•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Anastasia Volkova is the CEO and Founder of FluroSat , a company that provides scientifically-proven solutions to common agricultural problems through advanced remote sensing technologies and data from both airborne and satellite platforms. She is also an aeronautical engineer and obtained her Ph.D. in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Sydney. Anastasia uses her vast academic knowledge as well as experience in project management in various organizations...
Oct 16, 2019•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast FOA174 Bringing People to the Table to Innovate in Animal Agriculture with Kerryann Kocher Kerryann Cocher is a Principal at Rock Road Consulting , a practice that focuses on improving the translation of science and technology into something that will give value to farmers, ranchers, and other producers. Kerryann specializes in helping struggling ag businesses to be competitive again by providing re-engineering solutions. She is also an expert on animal health, feed ingredients, and protein prod...
Oct 09, 2019•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike Selden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Finless Foods , a startup that aims for a more sustainable future through advanced cellular agriculture technologies. Their projects revolve around growing fish meat and other seafood products from cells. Mike is a trained biochemist and has experience working as a researcher and educator. He also has researched numerous ways to solve food crises in Africa as well as marine conservation in South East Asia. Mike joins us to explain the many benefits of gro...
Oct 02, 2019•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shonda Warner is the Owner of Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners , an asset management business that specializes in investing in the agricultural industry. She has over 25 years of experience in financial asset management and once held the position of Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Shonda gained experience in trading grains from her career at Cargill in Kansas City and Minneapolis. Shonda joins me today to discuss how Chess Ag Full Harvest works and how it makes investing in agriculture easier...
Sep 25, 2019•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. John Cumbers is the founder of SynBioBeta . SynBioBeta prides itself as the premier innovation network for innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, and biological engineers. Their focus is introducing synthetic biology innovations to improve the human condition and make life more sustainable. John is a recipient of multiple grants and awards from NASA and the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the industry. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry fro...
Sep 18, 2019•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Poornima Parameswaran is the President and Co-Founder of Trace Genomics . Trace Genomics is a company that based its business around mapping living soil, analyzing its microbial content, and helping growers maximize yield potential without sacrificing sustainability. Poornima’s goal is to build the world’s most massive actionable body of soil intelligence, allowing even ordinary farmers to have access to expert information on what’s underground. Poornima earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and ...
Sep 11, 2019•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Carter Malloy is the Founder and CEO of AcreTrader , an online platform that seeks to provide a bridge that connects investors and farm sellers. Before starting his company, Carter was a successful Managing Director at Stephens Inc., a large private investment bank. His passion for conservation and agriculture was drawn from his experience growing up in an Arkansas farming family. This passion eventually led to founding AcreTrader. Carter joins me to share what AcreTrader can do for farm owners ...
Sep 04, 2019•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast A brief summary of this episode
Aug 28, 2019•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Ray Wheeler is NASA ’s Plant Physiologist and the lead for Advanced Life Support Research activities in the Exploration Research and Technology Program at Kennedy Space Center. He began his career at NASA in 1988 and the bulk of his research revolved around the use of hydroponic techniques for space farming experiments. One of Ray’s goals is to allow humanity to grow safe and nutritious crops off the Earth. Ray joins me today to discuss some of NASA’s recent developments regarding planting c...
Aug 21, 2019•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Robert Saik is a professional agriculture consultant, author, distinguished agrologist, and thought leader. He is a serial entrepreneur who has founded over 15 companies in the agriculture sector. His latest project, AGvisorPRO , is an app that seeks to instantly connect farmers with experts to help them with their queries and problems. Robert is also the CEO of DOT Farm Solutions, a company that specializes in the development of autonomous robotic farming equipment. Robert joins me today to dis...
Aug 14, 2019•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lee Addams is the CEO of CropMetrics , a company that pursues innovation in US irrigation services and provide smart irrigation solutions to growers. Lee has experience in business model innovation, business unit growth strategizing, enterprise-level sustainability strategizing, and public sector water resources. He obtained his Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University and is also a Post-Doc Fellow for Water Resources/International Development at Columbia University ...
Aug 07, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chris Damico is the CEO and Founder at Farm’d . Farm’d is described as an online platform that enables farmers to connect to local buyers directly. The idea was born from annual price hikes, long transits, and expensive middlemen. Chris’ company benefit farmers through their transparency in market prices and profitability, as well as offer convenient ways to confirm and adjust orders in real time. Chris joins me today to describe how Farm’d works and how farmers can join the platforms. He shares...
Jul 31, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
