Agtech - So What?
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Agtech - So What?
We tell the stories of innovators at the intersection of agriculture and technology to answer the question: what really is agtech and why should you care?
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Putting cotton farmers at the forefront of the cotton industry, with Marzia Lanfranchi
The biggest issue facing the cotton industry isn't fast fashion or water consumption. It's that the people growing cotton have been rendered invisible...
Will China’s cheaper tractors disrupt ag equipment? With Lachlan Monsbourgh
As the world’s largest agricultural economy, when China makes a move, the world pays attention. China has just unveiled an ambitious plan to accelerat...
From agtech adoption problems to high performance farming teams, with Kevin Boyle, EFI
When the agtech is not working in the field, we can be quick to search for answers in the product itself. But sometimes, the solution is not there. Th...
Can robotics solve farm labor challenges? with Sophie Thorel and Connie Bowen
Ask any farmer what their biggest challenge is right now and most will say ‘labor’. But what if, instead of trying to get more farm workers, we focuse...
Are agtech startups just digital agribusinesses? Mark Kahn, Omnivore
The term ‘agtech’ now encompasses so many different types of businesses and innovations, that from an investment perspective, it can look overly compl...
How “Food is Medicine” Could Change Food and Farm Economics with Brad McNamara
“Food is Medicine” is extremely popular right now, and a few facts suggest it might be more than just a trend. The U.S. alone spends something like $1...
How Policy Hamstrings AgTech in California with Walt Duflock
When it comes to the production of high-value food crops, California is, without question, a global leader. Plus, much of the state’s thousands of acr...
Is AI the Secret to Next Gen Soil Sampling? with Jack Oslan and Nate Storey
Finding the right solution often starts with finding many, many wrong solutions. When it comes to some of agtech's most beguiling challenges, like rea...
Disrupting the AgTech Ecosystem with Ron Adner
Longtime listeners have heard Sarah and Matthew talk about ideas like “ecosystem disruption” and “adoption chain risk” and “value architecture,” all o...
Making Sense of Recent AgTech Acquisitions with Shane Thomas
Despite a persistent sense of uncertainty in the AgTech market lately, we’re still seeing startups get acquired– even if information about those acqui...
How GLP-1 Drugs are Reshaping the Food and Ag Landscape with Mary Shelman
Over the last few decades, a lot of products and technologies have promised to disrupt the diets and food buying habits of the world’s consumers. But...
Beyond VC: Redeemable Equity in AgTech with Connie Bowen
Big news from Tenacious– WE’RE HIRING! Do you share our mission of unlocking impact at scale in agri-food systems? Check out our open roles here.
Merging AgTech Startups to Multiply Value and Impact with Ron Hannam
Between COVID-19, Avian Influenza, and African Swine Fever, ordinary consumers are more aware than ever of the risks of infectious diseases on animal...
Paying for Ag R&D When Consumers Won’t with Brooke Sauer of Boolah
For commercial farming operations, determining whether or not new tools, technology, and practices work can be a big undertaking. From install and set...
A Business Model for Novel Ingredients with Jake Berber At Prefer
For years the food tech space has been rife with companies eager to replace familiar standbys– from protein to sweeteners to colorings– with cheaper,...
Solving for Adoption and Channel in AgTech… So what? with Shane Thomas
There are a few topics in agtech (and in the tech startup world more broadly) that are truly perennial– problems that must be solved again and again i...
From Demo Farms to Adoption with Wine Australia
When your organization is tasked with the job of getting growers to adopt new technology, there are a few tried, and frankly, not-so-true options to c...
Killing Weeds Without Poison with Liam Hescock at Azaneo
Controlling weeds on farms is a sticky, two part challenge. First, you’ve got to identify the weeds, as distinct from the plants you want to grow. The...
2025 in AgTech… So what? with Shane Thomas
As the new year gets underway, we’ve been thinking about the likely ups and downs ahead for the agtech world. We’ve been searching for insights in the...
How Business Model Innovation Changed AgTech in 2024
There’s nothing like the end of another year to have us reflecting on the recent successes in the world of agtech, and the many challenges still left...
Shortening the Long Game in Livestock Breeding with Gerard Davis from Nbryo
The history of agriculture is a history of selective breeding. Whether it’s plants or animals, humans have been choosing desirable traits and making s...
Rethinking Who Pays in Irrigation AgTech with Jairo Trad
Despite its importance to both agricultural and environmental outcomes, irrigation has not been a terribly successful subsection of agtech. We have ou...
The Two Faces of Global ESG in Ag with Catherine Marriott
Depending on where you sit, the supremacy of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) action seems inevitable. Corporates are talking about. Invest...
Fractal Ag Pitch Breakdown with Ben Gordon and Shane Thomas
Farmland has long been a popular asset among investors for its steady appreciation and resistance to economic downturns. At the same time, farmland is...
Investing in Regenerative Agriculture Supply Chains with Calla Rose Ostrander
When it comes to leveraging capital to fund climate action in agriculture, few ideas get as much play as regenerative agriculture. The idea of product...
When Kansas Drys up… in 2050 with Dan Northrup
There are many parts of the US that are at risk for severe drought and heat in the next 30 years due to climate change. But then there’s Kansas, where...
Unconventional Farmer-led Finance Strategies with Quint Pottinger
Despite challenging conditions in financial markets the world over, ambitious entrepreneurs find a way. There are few sectors where that is more true...
Ag’s Scifi (and Non-Fiction) Future: Horizon Scanning… so what? with Shane Thomas
We’ve been thinking (and talking, and writing) a lot lately about the forces that are shaping the future of agriculture. There are the more obvious on...
Citrus Moves North with Farmer and Orangepreneur Lindy Savelle
When people talk about the impacts of climate change on agriculture, they usually use the future tense. The reality, though, is that climate change al...
How Syngenta is thinking about AI with Feroz Sheikh
Not too long ago, we co-published a paper on the future of AI called “Yield Maps Killed AgTech Software, Can AI Save It?” and got a ton of great respo...
AgTech News …So What? July 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and broader policy and tech worlds to share insights and ask...
Evaluating Biologicals Businesses with Joel Lipsitch
For better or worse, the biologicals space is still in the process of repairing a reputation that was marred by years of over-promising and under-deli...
Rebooting AgTech Software with AI, with Rhishi Pethe
We are certainly not alone in our interest in how artificial intelligence will shape agriculture in the coming years. We’ve been learning out loud abo...
How green is sustainable aviation fuel? With Cris Handel
As the US works to hammer out requirements for sustainable aviation fuel tax credits, the potential for the airline industry to open a huge new market...
AgTech News …So What? May 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and broader policy and tech worlds to share insights and ask...
The Many Faces of Farm Security with John Hill
At the intersection of ubiquitous and affordable cameras and internet connections, growing farm sizes, and increasing environmental and social vulnera...
Landfill to Farm-fill: Rethinking Waste with Sam Coulton
The modern fashion industry creates a ton of waste. From the field to the cutting line, to the supply chain and consumers' closets, today’s ultra-chea...
Biosecurity Meets AgTech: Preparing for a hotter sicker world with Sarah Britton
As the world continues to get more crowded and less climatically predictable, the risk of biosecurity issues– from pest and disease invasions to food...
AgTech News …So What? March 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and global ag policy worlds to share insights and ask “so wha...
Generics, Biologicals, and the Volatile Farm Inputs Market with Sam Taylor, Rabobank
The global ag sector has recently passed a turning point, with prices and future outlooks for key commodities taking a decidedly pessimistic turn. Tho...