The Modern Acre

Barney Debnam is the Director, Agribusiness Industry Solutions, at Microsoft. Barney joins the podcast to provide insight into Microsoft's focus and involvement in agriculture, his background and current role with Microsoft, and the state of ag technology adoption. This episode has great insight into how the tech industry is approaching ag. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/211

Tom Shapland is the co-founder and CEO of Tule Technologies, an agtech company that combines agronomic expertise with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to provide growers with irrigation decision support. Tule's UC Davis research-based sensor technology measures the Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa) of a field. Tule's latest offering, Tule Vision, enables grape growers to take midday Leaf Water Potential readings using a smartphone camera. Tom joins us to share his journey founding and scaling the company, including the technology, perspectives on computer vision, capital raising, sales, and more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/210

Jordan Rubin is the co-founder and CEO of Ancient Nutrition, a supplement company with its mission to restore our health, strength and vitality by providing history's healthiest whole food nutrients to the modern world. One of America's most-recognized and respected natural health experts, Jordan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Maker's Diet, and 26 additional titles, including his latest work Essential Fasting. Jordan joins us to share his journey in health and nutrition and what led him to start Ancient Nutrition. We dive deep into Ancient Nutrition's focus on regenerative agriculture with their R.A.N.C.H. Project. Don't miss this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/209

Vishnu Jayaprakash is the co-founder and CEO of AgZen, a startup based in Boston, Massachusetts on a mission to help farmers save money and prevent the over-spraying of agrochemicals. Their patented sprayer retrofits and additives, developed at MIT, allow farmers to spray 50% less pesticides while maintaining crop health and yield. Vishnu shares more about his backstory and the origin story of AgZen. We talk a lot about the technology the use as well as the overall strategy for the company. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/208

Dax Hansen is the owner of Oatman Flats Ranch and founder of Oatman Farms is a world-renowned FinTech lawyer, and a visionary farmer who is leveraging his blockchain expertise to bring transparency to the food supply chain. Dax's focus in on creating sustainable and profitable business family-farm models that other farmers can replicate. Dax joins us to share his background in law and technology, journey back to agriculture, using bitcoin to save the farm and transition it to regenerative agriculture, and building a consumer food brand. This is an incredibly fun, jam-packed episode you can't miss! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/207

Helena Lumme is the President and Co-Founder of Hälsa Foods, a CPG company that produces oat milk products, focusing on clean ingredients, clean processing, and clean labels. Helena joins to share more about her journey founding the company and optimizing their marketing and supply chain. Helena is joined by Eric Ziehm, who is a farmer-partner of Hälsa. He has converted his dairy operation to produce oats. He shares his perspective of making this change and being open to alternative paths for farmers. We hope you enjoy this episode with a founder and a farmer! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/206

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Everywhere Else On this installment of Acre Insights, Tim and Tyler give a sneak peak of the project they are working on for The Modern Acre based on Web3. They also share their bold predictions for this year, plus they provide an update on Nuss Farms. Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Lew Moorman is the Co-Founder of Soilworks, a Public Benefit Company on a mission to accelerate the Regenerative Food Movement by helping launch scalable, repeatable businesses that fuel the Regenerative economy. Lew's background is in the tech industry and he shares his story about why he decided to jump into the ag industry and start investing there. Tune in to learn what's he's up to with Soilworks, PastureMap, and Wholesome Meats! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/204

Mike Woelk is the CEO and founder of Corigin, a startup that aims to help farmers improve yields and margins with organic solutions produced from farm waste. Mike joins the podcast to tell us more about the company and technology, along with his perspective on scaling regenerative agriculture. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/203

Ashwin Madgavkar is the CEO and founder of Ceres Imaging, an agtech startup that is creating irrigation management solutions that help farmers improve profitability. Their high-resolution aerial imagery and expert support help their customers detect issues quickly, measure potential ROI, and take action with confidence. Ashwin joins the podcast to share his journey in founding and scaling Ceres. We dive into the business, the aerial imaging technology and competitive landscape, and more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/202

Charlie Anderson is the CEO and Founder of Burro, a robotics startup looking to solve the labor problem facing farmers by making robots like Wall-E a reality. To do this, they are starting first with a collaborative robotic platform called Burro, that helps people work more productively today, while building the base for more expansive autonomy where it is needed most. Charlie joins us to talk about his background in agriculture and what led him to found and scale the company. He share insights into the industry and lessons learned along his journey. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/201

Episode 200! For this milestone, we had to do something special. This week we sit down with our dad, Dave Nuss, to learn more about the history and evolution of Nuss Farms. We dive into his journey as well as his perspective on the changes within California ag over the years and our interest in and transition to regenerative agriculture. Thanks for your support to get us to this point! We hope you enjoy this special episode. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/200

Sarah Sha is the Director of Strategy and Isha Joshi is the Director of Product Development for KitchenTown, a scale-up facility in San Mateo, CA that gives food startups access to a commercial kitchen, product innovation lab, direct to consumer warehouse, brand partnerships program, and thriving community of makers. Sara and Isha join the podcast to share more about their backgrounds and the evolution of KitchenTown as a key hub for CPG innovation. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/199

Greg Shewmaker is the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of TeakOrigin, a food data company that collects actionable data to help consumers make better food decisions. Greg joins us to talk about his background in ecommerce, founding and developing the business at TeakOrigin, and the role nutrient density will play in the food system. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/198

On this installment of Acre Insights, Tim interviews Tyler on a variety of topics, including his thoughts on Web3 and NFT's, college entrepreneurial pursuits, his career from Apple to Rivian, and finally more on Nuss Farms. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/198

Craig Hurlbert is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Local Bounty, a premier controlled environment agriculture company redefining conversion efficiency and ESG standards for indoor ag. Craig joins the podcast to share more about his background in the energy sector and private equity and what ultimately led him to found Local Bounti. We discuss the challenges of CEA and how he and the team are taking a unique approach to a difficult business to scale profitably. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/196

Interested in direct-to-consumer business? We are re-airing one of our most popular episodes to-date featuring the Farmer's Dog. Brett Podolsky joins The Modern Acre podcast to talk about how he helped create The Farmer's Dog, a dog food company focused on using real, fresh food and delivering customized servings to their customers. Brett shares the vision behind the company and why using real food is so important to the brand. While the company is not directly involved in a agriculture at the farm level, there is SO much insight from building a direct-to-consumer business, cutting out middlemen, focus on high quality food, marketing, and more! Let us know what you think! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/195

Scott Uknes and Eric Ward are the co-founders and co-CEO's of AgBiome, a biotechnology company that is focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative biological and trait products for crop protection. Scott and Eric join the podcast to talk about their journey starting the company together and how they have successfully scaled and launched their first product, Howler. They also share how they make being "co-CEO's" work leading their team. Don't miss this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/194

Another edition of Acre Insights! Tyler provides a quick update on Rivian, then Tim and Tyler discuss the latest at Nuss Farms and their journey developing a product to go direct-to-consumer. Plus, they discuss a recent article and study about the US importing tomatoes from Mexico. Tune in for some insights! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/193

Jennifer Barney is the founder of Barney Butter Almond Butter and previously led Innovation for a $700mm CPG category leader. She is an advisor and mentor to startup CPG brands and ag leaders entering the value added space. Jennifer joins us to share more about her journey founding, scaling, and exiting a CPG brand. She also dives into the current landscape of ag and CPG and her current work at 3rd & Broadway. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/192

Sign up for our produce box: https://fruitstand.com Kristy Lewis is the founder and CEO of Quinn Snacks, a CPG company reimagining classic snacks by bringing real ingredients and transparency back to the snacks you love. Kristy joins the podcast to tell us about the founding story, Quinn's focus on their farmer-partners, their approach to regenerative ag, how they have scaled, and much, much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/191

Praveen Penmetsa is the co-founder and CEO of Monarch Tractor, an agtech company developing an electric, driver-optional compact tractor. Praveen has nearly two decades of hands-on experience in translating creative visions into products for startups to Fortune 50 companies alike. He co-currently serves as founder and CEO of Motivo Engineering, a product-engineering firm with clients in the Mobility, Energy, AgTech, and Aerospace sectors. Praveen joins us to talk through the founding story, product development, market dynamics within agriculture, and much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/190

John Mey is the Director of Product at Carbon Robotics, an agtech startup pioneering the next revolution in agriculture through the deployment of innovative technology and hardware. Carbon Robotics' first product, the Autonomous Weeder, is purpose built to tackle one of the industry's biggest problems: weed control. John joins us to share more about the company, his role as head of product, and how they intend to scale with their recent round of funding. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/189

Zach Sheely joins us to talk about how his interest in technology started on his family farm and evolved to his current position as President of Agworld. Agworld is one of the leading farm management companies, recently acquired by Semios, helping farmers take control of their business and operate more efficiently. Zach walks us through how he joined Agworld and helped them grow over time. This is a jam-packed episode you can't afford to miss! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/188

Rob Hranac is the CEO of Pattern Ag, an agtech startup developing a recommendation and product discovery platform centered around a deep understanding of soil. They are leveraging advances in genomics, robotics, and high-resolution agronomic data to build this knowledge, in service of improving farm profitability. Rob joins the podcast to talk about his path to Pattern, their investors and long term vision, and how scaling the company has gone over the past few years. Tune in to learn more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/187

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Everywhere Else Kim Bui is the Global Head of FreshCloud Infrastructure and Analytics at AgroFresh, an agtech innovator and global leader with a mission to prevent food loss/waste and conserve the planet's resources by providing a range of science-based solutions, data-driven digital technologies and high-touch customer services. AgroFresh supports growers, packers and retailers with solutions across the food supply chain to enhance the quality and extend the shelf life of fresh produce. Kim joins the podcast to talk about how his team is responsible for implementing the digital layer within AgroFresh in the food supply chain. We dive deep into how technology is impacting and driving the produce industry. Connect with AgroFresh Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Matt Crisp is the CEO and Co-Founder of Benson Hill, a food technology company founded in 2012 with a mission to deliver food made better from the beginning. Through our CropOS® technology platform, which combines data science, plant science and food science, we are leveraging the natural genetic diversity of plants to deliver seed innovation that enables healthier, better tasting, more sustainable and more affordable food and ingredient options. Matt joins us to talk about the plant based food movement, how we has grown and scaled the business, and shares insight into their decision to go public via SPAC. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/185

This week we talk to two agtech founders - Jake Joraanstad, the CEO and co-founder of Bushel, and Jesse Vollmar, the CEO and co-founder of FarmLogs - about the recent news of Bushel acquiring Farmlogs. Bushel is an independently owned software company and leading provider of software technology solutions for growers, grain buyers, ag retailers, protein producers and food companies. FarmLogs is an agtech startup that provides farm management software designed to help run a more efficient, more profitable farm. Jake and Jesse talk through the recent news, their businesses, and how they plan to integrate and grow together. They also offer some spicy takes during our quick takes segment. Don't miss this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/184

John Kempf is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and teacher. He is passionate about the potential of well managed agriculture ecosystems to reverse ecological degradation. In addition to being a grower, John is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, Crop Health Labs, Ozadia, and the Regenerative Agriculture Academy. He hosts the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, where he interviews top growers and scientists about the principles and practice of implementing regenerative agriculture on a large scale. John joins us to dive deep into what regenerative means and what is does not mean. We address what is overhyped, what is undervalued, and if regenerative agriculture will cure climate change. We also discuss John's background and entrepreneurial endeavors, including his company, podcast, and new book! Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/183

Julie Kunen is the Director of Sustainability at Oatly, the world's original and largest oat drink company. Julie's background is in creating and delivering sustainability programs and motivating stakeholders to deliver results. She joins us to dig deep on what sustainability means at Oatly and how they are driving towards continued improvement. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/182

Another edition of Acre Insights! This week we are talking about the drought crisis on the West Coast and the impact on farmers there, the shutting down of Abundant Robotics and what that means for agtech startups, and finally we discuss some challenges we are seeing in the co-packing space, specifically for farmers trying to develop a brand. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/181

Bob Powell is the founder and CEO of Brightmark, a global leader in waste solutions that takes a holistic approach to tackling the planet's most pressing environmental challenges with imagination and optimism for the future. Brightmark enables programs specifically tailored to environmental needs in order to build scalable project solutions that have a positive impact on the world and communities in which they live and work. Bob joins us to talk about how and why he founded the company and how Brightmark is working closely with the ag community, specifically dairy farms, to solve these environmental challenges. Don't miss this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/180

Adam Litle is the CEO of Sound Agriculture, a plant development company that helps producers grow more efficiently and enhance food taste, nutrition and sustainability. Adam was formerly part of the founding management team at Granular, a farm management software platform startup that was acquired by Dupont for $300M in 2017. Adam joins us to share lessons from his time at Granular, where he supported multiple functions and company growth. We learn more about Sound Ag and their efforts to transform agriculture through sustainability. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/179

Paul Gambill is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nori, a carbon removal marketplace on a mission to reverse climate change by removing enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to lower the overall concentration of CO2 below 300 parts per million. Paul joins us to talk about how they are leveraging blockchain technology to build the business and develop their own cryptocurrency. We also get in to how the business has scaled, the verification and permanence problems of regenerative agriculture, and much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/178

Rhonda Bassett-Spiers is the President and CEO of iTradeNetwork, the leader in perishables supply chain management for 20 years with a powerful network of over 8,000 food and beverage trading partners. Its end-to-end supply chain software suite simplifies the complexities that occur at all waypoints of the food and perishables supply chain. Rhonda has 25+ years of Silicon Valley technology company experience in financial services and supply chain solutions. She joins us to talk through how she has scaled the company and how they have evolved the business through COVID as partners are more concerned than ever with supply chain resiliency. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/177

Alexander Reichert is the co-founder and CEO of AgVend, a digital commerce platform in the agriculture industry. AgVend's tools constructively power the omnichannel experiences for ag retailers, distributors, and manufacturers. Alexander joins us the podcast to talk about founding AgVend, evolving the business model, disruption vs. innovation, and much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/176

Jason Kosareff is a Farmland Asset Manager at FarmTogether and joins us this week to dive deep on farmland operations. Jason has an extensive background in farming and agriculture, including in retail, working as a PCA, farm management, and asset manager for investment groups. We discuss more about management, evolving ag trends, row crops vs. permanent crops, and much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/175

We are finally back with another edition of Acre Insights. This episode we discuss if regenerative agriculture is losing it's buzz as well as some of the negative press it has received. Plus, we cover cryptocurrency in ag, Bowery's latest funding round (and some concerns with indoor farming), and the latest happenings with Nuss Farms. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/174

Jeff Dunn is the Chairman and CEO of Bolthouse Farms, a farm and consumer brand focused on carrot production and healthy beverages. Jeff was the CEO of Bolthouse for 6 years before helping sell the business to Campbell's Soup Company in 2012. In a twist of events, Campbell's sold the company back to Jeff last year. Jeff joins us to dive deep into that journey and to share more about what makes Bolthouse special and innovative. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/173

Michael Bosworth is the CEO of Next Generation Foods which was established in 2006 to market and distribute locally grown foods in Northern California. Next Generation Foods' seeks to shorten the supply chain, increase traceability and transparency of the local food system and promote foods grown by local family farms. Michael joins us to share more about his story as a farmer turned founder, including why he started NGF, processing and distribution, creating a retail brand, and much more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/172

Michael Guirguis is the co-founder and CEO of Seso Labor, a labor marketplace for agriculture that addresses the labor problem by connecting U.S farms with qualified seasonal workers via America's agricultural guest worker program (H-2A). Michael joins us to dive into his background in labor policy, founded and scaling the company, and some meaningful insights into the complex nature of agricultural labor. Must listen! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/171

Stacy Kimmel, PhD, is the Vice President of R&D at AeroFarms, an indoor farming company and Certified B Corporation that uses the latest breakthroughs in vertical farming, artificial intelligence and plant biology to grow and distribute fresh produce locally and globally. Stacy joins us to give an update on AeroFarms, including their recent announcement of going public via SPAC, company and product rebrand, and construction of their newest indoor farm. Tune in for an insightful update into one of the most innovative companies in the indoor farming space! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/170

Israel Talpaz is the co-founder and CEO of See Tree, an agtech startup that uses the power of machine-learning algorithms to get smarter, and offer farmers the most precise window into the strength of their tree crops. Israel joins the podcast to talk about how he founded the company and how they are scaling both geographically and in crop type. Tune in to learn more about their approach, technology, and more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/169

Vonnie Estes is the Vice President of Technology of the Produce Marketing Association. Vonnie joins us for the second time to give some updates and insights into some hot topics within agriculture. We talk through the recent merger of PMA and United Fresh, the latest in carbon markets, agtech exits including SPAC's, indoor farming, and seeing a Rivian in the wild! This episode has it all. Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/168

Jayce Hafner (CEO) and Sami Tellatin (COO) are the co-founders of FarmRaise, a digital platform that equips producers with financial resources to build vital farming communities that are profitable, equitable, and ecologically resilient. Their simplified farm funding app applies farmers for major USDA cost-share programs in less than 20 minutes. They also track local and state funding programs as they open throughout the year and provide 1:1 support to help farms unlock more capital. Jayce and Sami join the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation. We cover how they founded and have grown the business, the challenges of farm financing, regenerative hot takes, and much more. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/167

Josiah Terrell-Perica is the Director of Farmland Investing at FarmTogether, a technology-enabled farmland investment platform that provides accredited investors with direct access to farmland as an asset class. Josiah joins us for the second time on the podcast to dive deep on some of FarmTogether's recent deals, what Josiah looks for in farmland, and sustainable water management and principles. He provides an overview of both climate and market related factors to consider in farmland investing. A ton of good stuff in this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/166

Loren Booth is the President of Booth Ranches, a premium citrus grower located in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Their Navel oranges, Valencia oranges, Cara-Caras, Minneolas and W. Murcotts are distributed worldwide. Loren joins us to talk about the origin story of the farm and how she joined and has developed the business over time, including focusing on bringing more of the farming operations and business in-house. We also discuss their focus on sustainability and technology. Tune in! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/165

Dan Miller is the founder and CEO of Steward, a private lender providing regenerative farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and producers the capital they need to expand and sustain their businesses. And through our innovative online platform, qualified lenders have the opportunity to join in our mission and help fund the growth of regenerative agriculture by purchasing loan participations. Dan joins us to talk about how he started and is growing the business. We go deep on regenerative ag, transition finance, and investing in value-add processing and direct marketing. Don't miss this one! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/164

Cousin Brad (Brad Squires) joins us again on the podcast to give an update on his farm, Heirloom Acres Farms, and orchard, Orangevale Fruit Co. We talk through how the farm business has involved, the focus on community building, regenerative practices, and much more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/163

Haven Baker is the Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Pairwise, an agtech company that has developed the world's most sophisticated genome editing platform. Haven is the former Senior Vice President / General Manager of Simplot Plant Sciences, where he led the team that launched the innovative, non-browning Innate® potato. He holds a PhD in chemistry from Northeastern University, an MBA from Harvard University, and a BS in biomedical engineering from Yale University. Haven joins the show to teach us all about CRISPR technology and how he and the team at Pairwise have leveraged in to build the business. We also talk about how they think about GMO vs. non-GMO and much more! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/162