The Modern Acre

This month, Tim and Tyler talk with Ariel about her latest Topsoil edition - "After 40 harvests - A framework for succession planning in agriculture." Ariel Patton is the creator of Topsoil, a newsletter bringing you monthly frameworks to help make sense of agriculture, at just the right depth. Ariel has focused her career on driving digital transformation of agriculture to help farmers manage their businesses more profitably and sustainably at Monsanto, Granular, Corteva and Mineral. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links Topsoil - https://topsoil.substack.com Ariel on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielpatton/ Kevin Bearley on the Pod - https://themodernacre.com/344 Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com Subscribe to the Newsletter - https://themodernacre.substack.com

In 2000, Steve Brazeel founded SunTerra Produce, which has grown from a one-person produce brokerage firm into an industry-leading, full-service platform handling sales, marketing, farming, food safety, harvesting, storage, and distribution activities for specialty crop producers on over 5,000 acres throughout the US and Mexico. Born out of SunTerra‘s participation in the USDA’s ground-breaking Farmers to Families Food Box program, Project FoodBox was launched in 2020. Since the program’s inception, the SunTerra/Project FoodBox teams have delivered over 55 Million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to families in need through its network of food banks and other non-profits. Steve is also the Founder and CEO of Elevated Foods. Elevated Foods was founded with a vision to invigorate great brands and position them for sustainable long-term growth. In an industry facing increasing disruption, we see the opportunity to build a fresh produce company for a new age, one that brings together differentiated yet complementary brands and aims to make them stronger than they would be on their own. We’ve identified a common thread between our farms –the capacity to Elevate our food system. From land stewardship and nutritional quality to career development and community well-being, Elevated aims to increase the health of our planet and its people. In 2022, Elevated was awarded a $20,000,000 grant as part of USDA’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links SunTerra - https://sunterraproduce.com Project Food Box - https://projectfoodbox.org Elevated Foods - https://www.elevatedfoods.com Steve on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebrazeel/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com Subscribe to the Newsletter - https://themodernacre.substack.com

Scott Nelson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Make Hay. Launched in partnership with Purdue University and High Alpha Innovation, Make Hay is a SaaS marketing platform that enables brands to produce authentic and trusted agricultural-related content at scale, all while amplifying and empowering the voices of America's Agriculture Industry. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links Make Hay - https://www.gomakehay.com  Scott on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-nelson-aa8800a/  Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com Subscribe to the Newsletter - https://themodernacre.substack.com

Jack Richardson is kicking off a new and improved version of The Modern Acre newsletter. After starting his career in venture banking, Jack has spent the last five years in AgTech, first at a food waste startup and now in precision technology at an Ag OEM. He's spent most of his career in strategy roles where he's explored ways to make business models work. Outside of his specific roles, he's written about the space more broadly – you may have come across his prior writing on LinkedIn. In tandem with the contributing to the monthly newsletter, Jack will join us on the podcast every month to break down his latest research and dig into the strategy behind the company he's profiling. This month we dig into Thrive Market. Check out the newsletter here. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links Thrive Market - https://thrivemarket.com Jack on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-richardson-18527684/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com Subscribe to the Newsletter - https://themodernacre.substack.com

Grant Mulligan is a Director of the Investment Group at AlTi Tiedemann Global, a global wealth and alternatives manager. Grant focuses on the firm’s climate sustainability impact investments, specifically nature-based solutions and decarbonization technology. Prior to joining AlTi, Grant was a Project Director at NatureVest, the in-house impact investing team of The Nature Conservancy. He advised institutional-scale timber and agriculture/water funds on how to deliver durable conservation outcomes alongside financial returns. Grant began his career as a wildlife biologist. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links ALTi - https://alti-global.com Grant on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantmulligan/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com Subscribe to the Newsletter - https://themodernacre.substack.com

Matt Aronson is the Chief Revenue Officer of Verdant Technologies. Verdant is committed to reducing global waste and enhancing sustainability through their proprietary technology, HarvestHold, which extends the usable life of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Tune in to hear more about their approach to food waste and how Matt and the team are focused on scaling profitably. — This episode is presented by American AgCredit. Learn more HERE. Check out Matt Woolf's episode on the California ag market HERE. — Links Verdant - https://verdant-tech.com HarvestHold - https://harvesthold.com Matt on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewaronson/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com

Luiz Beling is the new CEO of Apeel Sciences, a leading company in supply chain innovation for the fresh produce industry. With over two decades of agriculture industry experience, Beling brings a wealth of knowledge and skills in driving innovation and fostering strategic partnerships. Beling most recently held leadership roles at Farmer's Business Network and Bayer Crop Science, where he led large teams across multiple geographies that accelerated business growth and increased customer satisfaction. Luiz joins the pod this week to share more about why he joined Apeel, how they are evolving the business, and their plan for growth. — This episode is presented by Pinion. Learn more HERE. — Links Apeel - https://www.apeel.com Luiz on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/luizbeling/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com

Kelly Damewood is the CEO of CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), one of the first organic certification agencies. Kelly has spent over a decade working towards a single goal: helping organic farmers thrive. After her own experience running a small farm, she went to law school determined to help farmers who farm in a better way. In her previous role as CCOF’s policy director, Kelly spearheaded key initiatives such as passage of state legislation to improve an outdated regulatory program for organic farmers and creating a groundbreaking project to drive organic production and consumption in California. She holds a Juris Doctor degree from Vermont Law School and a Master of Laws degree in agricultural and food law from the University of Arkansas School of Law. — This episode is presented by Pinion. Learn more HERE. — Links CCOF - https://ccof.org Kelly on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellydamewood/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com

Zac Ellis is the Sr. Director of Agronomy at Olam and oversees thousands of acres of almond production. The Olam Group is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fiber to 20,900 customers worldwide. Their value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5.0 million farmers. Zac spends a large portion of his time investigating and implementing agtech, while also focusing on how to farm sustainably. He joins the podcast to share more about his journey, what agtech is working for Olam, and his takes on regenerative and organic practices. — This episode is presented by Pinion. Learn more HERE. — Links Olam - https://www.olamgroup.com Zac on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-ellis-32100727/ Join the Co-op - https://themodernacre.supercast.com

David Friedberg, CEO of Ohalo Genetics and former CEO of The Climate Corporation, shares his expertise in agricultural technology and gene editing. He discusses innovative potato breeding techniques that could revolutionize farming for smallholders. Friedberg delves into the evolution of GMOs and the misconceptions surrounding them, emphasizing the benefits of gene editing. He also highlights the role of AI in enhancing agricultural productivity and the importance of data-driven approaches for the future of farming.