Future of Agriculture

Ambrook: https://ambrook.com/Offrange: https://ambrook.com/offrange"Not Boring" Founder's Letter: https://www.notboring.co/p/america-the-beautifulMackenzie Burnett: On Agriculture and American Progress on Rhishi Pethe's "Software is Feeding the World" Today’s episode features a pretty intriguing startup, Ambrook. I say intriguing not just because they recently announced a $26.1M series A round in this tough environment to raise capital. But they are focused on what I would consider a not very flashy part of the industry, accounting software. Not a new concept. On the surface, it doesn’t sound like one of those moonshot problems startups like to spin a narrative around like mitigating climate change or feeding the billions. But those of us who have spent time on farms or ranches know there are still plenty of opportunities for improvement in this area. And in just over 18 months of commercialization Ambrook already claims to have over 2,500 operations using their software. Another interesting part of their business is as they were building their financial management tool, they also launched their own media venture called Ambrook Research. They have since rebranded it to Off Range, but it boasts more than 150,000 newsletter subscribers to read stories about agriculture and food. But will all this lead to better outcomes for producers, a successful business for Ambrook and a more resilient agriculture in the future? That’s what I wanted to know from Ambrook co-founder and CEO Mackenzie Burnett. Before starting this financial management software company, Mackenzie’s prior experience was working in community nonprofits, water asset management, and open source software infrastructure. She holds an M.A. in international policy and climate security from Stanford University.

Vance Crowe, a communications strategist and founder of Legacy Interviews, shares his insights on technology's impact on agriculture. He argues that Bitcoin may demonetize farmland by changing how it's valued, as more people seek alternatives to traditional investments. Crowe emphasizes the necessity of adapting to technological advances while maintaining personal values. He also discusses the ethical use of AI, the evolving nature of social media, and the importance of healthy conflict in relationships, detailing practical advice for those looking to delve into cryptocurrency.

This episode was produced in partnership With AgVend: https://www.agvend.com/MFA, Inc: https://mfa-inc.com/ FoA 269: [Tech-Enabled Advisor Series] Cooperatives Embrace Digital Tools with KC Graner of Central Farm ServiceI'm bringing back the Tech-Enabled Advisor Series to better understand agtech through the lens of the BUYER of that technology rather than just the entrepreneurs or investors. By talking to the buyers rather than the sellers of the tech, we got an unfiltered introduction to the technology and more importantly got to see how its used and the VALUE that it provides users. To do this, I partner with a company and together we invite one of their customers onto the show. The catch is that they’re not allowed to script these individuals or dictate what to say or edit it after it is recorded - it has to be real and unfiltered. So today’s episode featuring Jason Weirich of MFA was produced in partnership with AgVend. Since launching their first platform in 2020, AgVend’s technology is used by more than 35% of the North American ag retail market. Today you’ll hear how one of those retailers, MFA, launched a digital platform called MFA Connect with AgVend.Jason Weirich is the executive vice president of operations at MFA, which has around 45,000 member owners. They are one of the largest ag retailers in the country, consistently in the top 10 of the CropLife 100. Jason oversees the retail operations located throughout Missouri and surrounding states including Southern IA, Eastern KS, Northeast AR and Northwest Oklahoma. He also oversees the wholesale operations which span the entire midwest from the rocky mountains to Ohio. Prior to joining MFA 15 years ago, Jason was the state extension weed specialist with the University of Missouri. He joined the cooperative as the director of agronomy and says he walked a lot of fields for nine years before eventually moving into his current role. Our conversation today touches on the the relevance of the cooperative model, how he’s making difficult decisions in this tough farm economy, why they implemented MFA Connect and the results they are seeing from this digital platform and customer portal, the role of the ag retailer in the changing farmer demographic, and how he goes about implementing change in a big industry and a large organization. About AgVend:AgVend is the leading provider of digital enablement solutions that transform the way agribusinesses operate their organizations and engage with their customers. AgVend’s white-labeled system of action streamlines workflows from field to office, enabling frontline teams to offer more efficient and differentiated customer interactions. Since launching their first platform in 2020, AgVend’s technology is used by more than 35% of the North American ag retail market.

Clayton Farms: https://claytonfarms.com/Clayton Mooney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claytonmooney/ FoA 53: Millennials Solving World Problems Through Agricultural Technology with MiKayla Sullivan of KinosolClayton Mooney is the co-founder and chief farmer at Clayton Farms based in Ames, Iowa. They build direct-to-consumer indoor farms and claim to serve the world's freshest salads. They were also part of Y Combinator in the winter of 2019. Clayton is fearlessly building his vision for a farm that grows local, healthy, accessible food and provides a real connection with customers in the community through a quick service restaurant. That’s right, it’s a restaurant with a drive through that grows hydroponic produce inside of it. Clayton will provide a lot more details in this episode, and I think it will be abundantly clear why his story is so interesting, relevant and inspiring for anyone thinking about the future of agriculture. But just for some brief background, Clayton grew up on a farm in Iowa and played professional poker before returning to his home state and starting Kinosol. In fact, his now wife Mikayla was one of his co-founders at Kinosol was on this show WAY back on episode 53 in May of 2017. I’ll drop you into the conversation here where Clayton is giving more of his background and describing the early days of what was first called Nebulum, but was eventually re-branded into Clayton Farms. 

Thank you all for sticking with me through this break, and especially for those of you who reached out! I'm going to keep the FoA Feedback invitation open for the foreseeable future. If you'd like to book a call you can do so here: https://www.calendly.com/hammerich/foa.

I would love your feedback about the show: what should I start/stop/continue? Email: tim@aggrad.comSchedule a quick call: https://www.calendly.com/hammerich/foaOr DM me on LinkedIn or X (Twitter) Otherwise, see you in July!

Subscribe to Agriscience Explained: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qvFYYLq1dZM1KUiN6nz6H?si=6a6dd6193eea47a1Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agriscience-explained/id1789150766Web: https://www.corteva.com/our-impact/innovation/agriscience-explained.htmlOver the past eight years, I have learned so much from this podcast and it’s opened up a lot of cool opportunities. Some of those opportunities have been to help others launch their own shows. In fact a big part of my consulting work is helping commodity groups and companies reach agricultural audiences through digital communication like podcasts. What you’re about to hear is an episode from one of those projects. Earlier this year, I helped Corteva Agriscience launch a new show called Agriscience Explained. Each episode includes voices from a scientist and a farmer to understand how innovations are developed and where they fit into a modern farm business. I’ve really enjoyed working with Corteva on this, and we’ve already posted 10 episodes with an 11th coming this week on topics ranging from seed to nematodes to cover crops to gene editing to reduced stature corn. It really is a cool format to explore the various aspects of agriscience. So here’s episode one, if you like it, make sure you find their show and subscribe for more. 

The Modern Acre PodcastAgListPolaris Energy ServicesNuss FarmsFor today’s episode, I sit down with Tim and Tyler Nuss. Some of you may recognize their voices from their podcast, The Modern Acre. After growing up on the family farm and finding out in adulthood that they both were really interested in business, they started brainstorming ideas of how they could build something in the ag industry. Tyler said they were big fans of the real estate media brand “Bigger Pockets” which had a podcast and built a community and several adjacent businesses around it. They set out to do something similar in agriculture, and in their own way they have. I wanted to bring them onto the show because in the past year, Tyler announced he would be assuming the role of CEO for Polaris Energy Services and they both launched what they’re calling the Yelp for agriculture which is called AgList. So they wear a lot of hats between these businesses, the podcast, and the farm. 

"Tractor Wars" by Neil Dahlstrom: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1953295746/Software is Feeding the World (Rhishi's newsletter): https://www.rhishipethe.com/sftw[History of Agriculture] Cyrus McCormick And The Birth Of Mechanical Harvesting It's impossible to picture the modern food system we have today without the invention of the tractor. And it happened really not that long ago, just over a hundred years ago.Today we're gonna be talking about this book, "Tractor Wars" by Neil Dahlstrom. Neil is the manager of archives and history at John Deere and tackling this book with me is my good friend and repeat host on the podcast, Rhishi Pethe.An excerpt from the epilogue of "Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester and the Birth of Modern Agriculture": " Fortune magazine called the 1920s the decade of the Fordson. Not everyone agreed, but the fact that the Fordson accelerated adoption of the farm tractor and forever altered the competitive landscape is undeniable. Ford was right about the insatiable appetite for automobiles and in time for farm tractors. There were now 17 million passenger cars and nearly two and a half million trucks traveling on more than 521,000 miles of surfaced roads. But he had miscalculated the connection between farmers and their land and their constantly evolving needs. Most importantly, farmers wanted to fortify that relationship, not end it. Only 33 American farm tractor manufacturers remained in 1929 as mergers, consolidations and bankruptcies continued to narrow the field. In its overview of the tractor industry in early 1928 the Tractor Field book surmised that large numbers of inefficient machines were discarded during the five-year period from 1920 to 1924. As many were built by companies whose efforts were largely experimental."So it's that process of like explosion in consolidation that we're gonna be talking about here today from Neil Dahlstrom's book.

The Almond Doctor: https://www.thealmonddoctor.com/David's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheAlmondDoctorFoA 249: A Global Perspective on Tree Nuts with The Almond DoctorDavid Doll was raised in a rural area growing apples and peaches. After attending Purdue University for his B.S. in Plant Biology, he attended graduate school at UC Davis, completing his M.S. in Plant Pathology. Shortly after completion, he started to work as a Farm Advisor the University of California.After ten years of working as a Farm Advisor, David moved to Portugal in November 2018 to work as the lead developer for Rota Unica Almonds. His task is to develop California styled almond plantations within Alentejo. Through this process, he has become familiar with some of the various challenges associated with growing almonds in Portugal and Europe.Prior to his move, David worked with farmers in the Central Valley of California in troubleshooting problems and conducting on farm research within almonds, walnuts and pistachios. In this position, he would visit nearly 200 operations and deliver 35 presentations annually. He has published over 35 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. Currently, he works with almond operations across the world, including California, Africa, and Australia. Many of his observations and lessons learned have been shared within his online platform, “The Almond Doctor,” where he shares research, experiences and opinions of better farm management practices for almond orchards.