The Modern Acre

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/111

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/110

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/109

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/108

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/107

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/106

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/105

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/104

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/103

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/102

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/101

We made it to 100 episodes! Thank YOU for listening and following The Modern Acre. Your support means everything to us. On this episode, we are debuting a new podcast format called Acre Insights, where we will share more of our thoughts and perspectives on the industry. We hope you enjoy and would love to hear what you think! Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

John Raines (@jmrainesfarm) is the Chief Commercial Officer for The Climate Corporation, the digital farming arm of Bayer. In this role, John serves on Climate's leadership team and is responsible for global sales, marketing, account management and customer service & support. John has been involved in production agriculture throughout his life. Connect with Climate Corp Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Richard Owen is the Vice President of Global Membership and Engagement with the Produce Marketing Association. Richard joins us for a discussion around the latest in global trade policy affecting the ag industry. Richard's extensive background and role with PMA makes him the perfect guest to give us an incredibly useful overview of the highlights of 2019. Connect with PMA Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Seana Day is a Partner at Better Food Ventures, a venture capital fund looking to identify and develop companies that can improve the performance of the food and agriculture industries through the application of information and communications technology. Seana shares more about the firm and her take on the industry and how it's evolved. You won't want to miss this! Connect with Better Food Ventures Website | Twitter | Vision Conference Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Derek Axten is the owner of Axten Farms based in Saskatchewean, Canada. He joins us to discuss how his farm transitioned to regenerative practices, including what's worked and challenges they've faced along the way. This is the perfect conclusion to our mini-series on regenerative agriculture. Tune in! Connect with Axten Farms Website | Twitter Connect with Grounded Growth Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website| Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Jill Clapperton is the principal scientist, owner, and founder of Rhizoterra, an international company that creates information and knowledge pertaining to soil health, so we can all make informed decisions based on science. Jill is also a well-known international lecturer and advocate for practices that promote soil health. Rhizoterra is partnering with Grounded Growth to provide nutrient-density testing as a way to execute an outcome-based approach to verifying regenerative ag. Tune in to learn more! Connect with Rhizoterra Website | Twitter Connect with Grounded Growth Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Sara Harper is the founder of Grounded Growth, a membership-based company that provides the resources needed for food companies and farmers to research, develop and build regenerative supply chains together. Sara was previously on the podcast (episode HERE) to discuss her backgrounded the origin of Grounded Growth. On this episode, she joins us to discuss the latest trends in regenerative agriculture and updates on her membership community. Tune in! Connect with Grounded Growth Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Cousin Brad (Brad Squires) comes back on the podcast to update us on his suburban family 10-acre farm that he started a few years ago (check out his first episode here). Brad shares some key business insights on what's worked on the farm, including their go-to-market approach for flowers. Brad also discusses some new ventures, Orangevale Fruit Co. and a plan for a retail store called The Local Acre. Tune in! Connect with Heirloom Acres Website | Instagram Connect with Orangevale Fruit Co Website | Article Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Chiles Wilson is the founder and general manager of Branch to Box, a business-to-business ecommerce business that provides fresh fruit and snack delivery to company offices. This is Chiles' second time on the podcast, because his first appearance was so good! This time we dig in deeper to how he is focused on scaling the business. Tune in! Connect with Branch to Box Website | Twitter | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Dave Kohl is the founder of Joolies, a California based farm and CPG brand producing Medjool date products. Dave and his family founded the original date farm two decades ago and recently launched Joolies. He shares more about the company's origin and how they strategically built the brand and product messaging. Connect with Joolies Website | Twitter | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

John Bourne is the VP of Marketing at Ceres Imaging, a venture-backed company delivering solutions for irrigation and nutrient management, pest and disease prevention, and more. Tune in to learn how John and the Ceres team recently launched an updated product portfolio and corresponding rebrand to further scale and grow the business. Connect with Ceres Imaging Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Julie Escobar is the co-founder of Global Women Fresh, a community focused on connecting, inspiring, and empowering women in the fresh produce industry. She has over 20 years experience in the fresh produce industry, achieving growth in domestic and international sales and marketing operations. Julie shares more about her background and the origin story of GWF. She shares details about how they have grown the organization and insight into the produce industry. Tune in! Connect with Global Women Fresh Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Paul Schrimpf is an award-winning journalist who has covered the agriculture market since 1998. He is Group Editor of the Agribusiness Group at Meister Media Worldwide, with full editorial responsibility for CropLife®, CropLife IRON, and PrecisionAg® Professional. Paul shares his story of joining Meister and his perspective on the ever-changing agriculture industry, sharing insights you won't want to miss throughout the episode. Tune in! Connect with Meister Website | VISION Conference Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

This is the last episode in a 4-part series sponsored by PMA! John Hartnett is the founder and CEO of SVG Ventures and the THRIVE accelerator. SVG Ventures-THRIVE is a leading agri-food innovation ecosystem, comprised of top agriculture, food & technology corporations, universities and investors. With a community of over 2,000 startups from 82 countries, the THRIVE platform invests, accelerates and creates unparalleled access for entrepreneurs to scale globally. Tune in to hear John share his story about founding the company and getting into the ag sector, plus his thoughts on the current state of the industry. You won't want to miss this episode! Connect with PMA Website | Fresh Summit Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

This is the third episode in a 4-part series sponsored by PMA! Tommie Van Zyl is the CEO of ZZ2, a South African produce grower, packer, and shipper. Tommie has helped develop and scale the business, which supports both the South African and global markets. He dives into the operation, supply chain, and their outlook for 2020. Tune in! Connect with PMA Website | Fresh Summit Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

This is the second episode in a 4-part series sponsored by PMA! Alicia Calhoun is the Vice President of Talent Portfolio at the Center for Growing Talent by PMA. She joins the podcast to give us her perspective on building and sustaining talent within the industry as well as the importance of creating a positive culture. Whether you have a few employees on a farm or hundreds in the corporate world, you won't want to miss the insights on this episode! Connect with PMA Website | Fresh Summit | Center for Growing Talent Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

This is the first episode in a 4-part series sponsored by PMA! Bob Whitaker is the Chief Science & Technology Officer of the Produce Marketing Association. Bob has has a incredibly successful career, starting in the biotechnology plant space. He then spent time in the processing side of the produce industry before joining PMA over 10 years ago. In his role Bob has responsibility for food safety, technology, and issues leadership for the produce supply chain, from field to fork. Bob announced his retirement a few months ago and will be officially leaving after this year's Fresh Summit. He shares a ton of insight into the industry, including an emphasis on food safety and role of technology within agriculture. Tune in! Connect with PMA Website | Fresh Summit | Essentials of Food Safety Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Chris Paterson is the North America Lead for Xarvio, the digital farming arm of BASF. Chris has been involved with agronomy and agribusiness across North America for 25 years, and for the past ten years has been directly involved with the development of new business applications and value streams around the Digitization of Farming, Agribusiness, and AgriFood. He shares more about his career, and insights into how agriculture has evolved over time with some key insights into where the industry is going. Connect with Xarvio Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Paul Greive is founder of Primal Pastures, a pastured livestock farm that delivers high-quality, fresh meat direct to consumer. Paul shares his amazing story of founding the company to feed his family healthy, real food and how it grew to become a successful company. He talks about their focus on growing regeneratively, the role of social media, and how he has launched a wholesale company called Pasture Bird. Tune in! Connect with Primal Pastures Website | Twitter | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Gail Becker is the founder and CEO of Caulipower. Gail left an incredibly successful career in PR and marketing to launch a food company focused on making comfort foods with healthier ingredients. Caulipower came on the food scene with their incredibly popular cauliflower pizza crust. Gail shares her compelling story of starting and growing the company and you won't want to miss it. Tune in! Connect with Caulipower Website | Twitter | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Ryan Jacobsen is the CEO and Executive Director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. He is also the host of the television show, Valley's Gold, which provides a behind-the-scenes look of the California agricultural industry. We talk with Ryan about the current state of the ag industry, how we has managed and grown the Farm Bureau, and the importance of using your voice in agriculture. Connect with Fresno County Farm Bureau Website | Twitter | Valley's Gold Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

This is the fourth and final episode in a 4-part series sponsored by AgFunder! David Farquhar is the CEO of Intelligent Growth Solutions, a technology company that provides vertical farming systems for 3rd party indoor farms. IGS has been a leading innovator in the vertical farming space. David has an impressive background of scaling technology companies and shares the story and technology of IGS and what he has implemented since taking over as CEO. This is a must-listen episode! Connect with Intelligent Growth Solutions Website | Twitter Connect with AgFunder Fund | News | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

This is the third episode in a 4-part series sponsored by AgFunder! Abi Ramanan is the founder and CEO of ImpactVision, which uses machine learning and hyperspectral imaging to detect the quality and composition of food products to a degree that has not been possible before. This will enable food supply chains to reduce waste, maximize yield, and improve quality. Tune in to learn more about how the company was founded and developed over time, it's partnership with AgFunder, and more about hyperspectral technology. Connect with ImpactVision Website | Twitter Connect with AgFunder Fund | News | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

This is the second episode in a 4-part series sponsored by AgFunder! Sofia Elizondo is the co-founder and COO at Brightseed. She has an impressive background in CPG, pharmaceutical, and technology companies. Sofia co-founded Brightseed focusing on improving the nutrition in our food. The team has developed a computational search engine, Forager, which can identify plant compounds that can be instrumental in returning nutrition to food. We learn more about the company, their partnership with AgFunder, and where they are in the product development. Tune in! Connect with Brightseed Website Connect with AgFunder Fund | News | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

This is the first episode in a 4-part series sponsored by AgFunder! Michael Dean is the founding partner of AgFunder, which is a venture capital firm whose mission is to invest in technology that will rapidly transform our food and agriculture system. AgFunder has built it's investing platform on top of it's best-in-class news publications, which has become the go-to hub for the latest on food and agri-tech investment. Michael is an entrepreneur and investor with a background in agriculture, finance and law. On this episode, we discuss how Michael and his co-founder, Rob, started AgFunder and their approach to growing the business. Michael also shares his perspective on the industry, including the M&A activity, which you won't want to miss! Connect with AgFunder Fund | News | Episode 30 | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE

Nick Halla is the Senior Vice President, International at Impossible Foods and was also the company's first employee. Nick has grown within the company as it has scaled into restaurants, food service, and now retail. Impossible Foods is a plant-based meat company that is committed to products that look, feel, and taste like animal meat, but with less environmental impact. Tune in to learn about this innovative area of alternative agriculture! Connect with Impossible Foods Website | Instagram | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Nike Neal is the founder and CEO of DecisionNext. DecisionNext helps companies improve their market performance through machine learning and prescriptive analytics. Mike talks with us about founding the company and how it has scaled over time, including the focus on agricultural commodities. Tune in and learn more! Connect with DecisionNext Website Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Finally The Modern Acre podcast discusses hemp and CBD! The introduction of the new Farm Bill opened the floodgates to a new business opportunity. This week we talk with the founder of Nikkal Farms, Paul Clift, who talks all things hemp and CBD. He farms 7 acres of industrial hemp and is currently focusing on launching a retail line of CBD products. Learn more about his approach to this fast-paced industry on this episode! Connect with Nikkal Farms Website Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Sign up for Acre Insights HERE 2018 Forbes Ag Tech Episode We had the pleasure of participating in the 5th annual Forbes AgTech Summit this year in Salinas, California. To learn more about what we learned at the show, sign up for Acre Insights. Aerobotics focuses on early pest and disease detection enabled by drone imagery and artificial intelligence. We talked with Aerobotics Chief Commerical Officer, Andrew Burdock, who is working to scale up their U.S. operation. Andrew talks more about the origins of the company, how they were successful in South Africa, and how they are approaching entering a new market. This episode is jam packed, don't miss it! Connect with Aerobotics Website | #Trees&Tech | YouTube Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Molly Toot is the Director of Sustainability at Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN. Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN is a leading conservation solutions provider, advancing and connecting stewardship efforts throughout the food system with scale – from farmers to ag retailers to partners like food companies. Molly talks about her background in the industry and how SUSTAIN originated as a merger with Land O'Lakes and United Suppliers. We get into all things sustainability and learn more about how SUSTAIN is pushing the industry forward. Connect with Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN Website | Twitter | Molly's Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Interested in direct-to-consumer business? We are re-airing one of our most popular episodes to-date featuring the Farmer's Dog. Brett Podolskyjoins 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! Connect with The Farmer's Dog Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter

Sign up for Acre Insights HERE Want to learn more about our plans for The Modern Acre? For the first time, we sit on the other side of the mic and join The Farm Traveler Podcast for an interview! The host, Trevor Williams, asks us about how The Modern Acre started and what our vision for it is. We also discuss our take on the industry. We really appreciated the opportunity to be on The Farm Traveler Podcast and share a little more with the community! Connect with The Farm Traveler Website | Podcast Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Sign up for Acre Insights HERE This week we are talking regenerative agriculture with Sara Harper, founder and CEO of Grounded Growth. Sara discusses her career on Capitol Hill working to implement policy change within agriculture and how that led her to the private sector to continue the effort. Grounded Growth is a network that enables, supports and grows business-enhancing relationships between food companies and farmers who are expanding regenerative agriculture. Tune in to learn more about this popular topic and how Sara has scaled her business! Connect with Grounded Growth Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Sign up for Acre Insights HERE 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, 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! Connect with Agworld Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

We're happy to continue to partner with the International Agri-Center, which is set to hold the 53rd World Ag Expo February 11-13, 2020. Listen to Jennifer's episode HERE Fieldin was recently awarded the AgFunder Innovation Award for Farm Tech category for its smart harvesting and spraying technology! We had the great opportunity to sit down with Neil Knaak to learn more about Fieldin. Neil shares more about the exciting technology that Fieldin has developed, how the team has grown the business, and what priorities are for the next year. You won't want to miss this episode with one of the hottest agtech startups around! Connect with Fieldin Website | LinkedIn Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Gary Loh is the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Capital, a private equity group focusing primarily in Asian oriented opportunities. He also serves as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SunMoon Food Company. Gary led the turnaround of SunMoon Food after taking control of the business in 2007 and implementing a new business model. Recently, Gary founded a tech startup, DiMuto, focused on global trade that leverages blockchain technology to instill transparency in the food chain. On this episode, we get in to Gary's background with SunMoon and how he led the turnaround. Gary discusses his new venture, DiMuto, and how he has begun building the business in Asia and the US. Gary is a wealth of knowledge and experience and you won't want to miss this one! Connect with DiMuto Website | LinkedIn Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

David Jones came back to the family dairy and led the adoption and integration of robotic technology to help address the increasing labor challenges in the US. Learn more about his thoughts on robotics and the farm's transition. David is an advocate for technology and the dairy industry and recently started a position at DeLaval, who provides integrated, automated equipment solutions for dairies. Don't miss this episode! Connect with David Jones DeLaval Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Tune in to hear about ag entrepreneurship! Danny Royer started his career working for several successful farms, focusing on improving operation's efficiencies using technology. He recently ventured out on his own to start his own consulting firm that works with both farmers and ag tech companies. We discuss the vision for the business, what his first steps have been, and how he is thinking differently about marketing. Connect with Great Valley Oak Website | Instagram Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE

Tillable is an online ag marketplace focused on changing the way farmland is rented, making it easier than ever for landowners and farmers to grow. We talk this week with the Founder and CEO of Tillable, Corbett Kullwho has an impressive background in technology and ag startups. Tune in to learn how he has navigated building a marketplace for farmers and landowners, as well as his take on the ag industry! Connect with Tillable Website | Twitter Connect with The Modern Acre Website | Instagram | Twitter Join our Closed Facebook Group HERE