The Modern Acre

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