Future of Agriculture

Sound Ag: https://www.sound.ag/ Ripe Robotics: https://www.riperobotics.com/ Today’s episode features Hunter Jay, CEO and cofounder of Ripe Robotics, a startup working on autonomous harvesting of fruit. The prototype is in small scale commercial trials, and will be ready to scale up in 2023 & 2024. The company has 2 commercial trial partners and another 30 companies on its waitlist, who spend a combined $85m USD on picking annually.Most of you have probably heard about robotic apple picking startups in the past, some that are still going and others that have failed. But one thing I really appreciate about today’s episode is Ripe’s commitment to keeping costs low and iterating fast. I think this is what it’s going to take to find automation that works for specialty crops like stone fruit. Hunter is a software engineer, and has a particular focus on artificial intelligence. He previously founded a mobile game startup, and whenI asked him about that company is where i’ll drop you into today’s conversation with Hunter Jay of Ripe Robotics.

Sound Agriculture: https://www.sound.ag/Neutral Foods: https://www.eatneutral.com/Jennifer Barney's "The Business of Food" newsletter: https://jenniferbarney.substack.com/When I first read about Neutral Foods, I thought “that’s really smart branding”, but can they really back it up? And if so, how? And what’s in it for the farmer to incentivize them to make changes that benefit society, but may or may not benefit them? That’s really what today’s episode is all about. We’re about to bring on Jim Jarman, =vice president of product and commercialization at Neutral, and Ann Radil, head of carbon removal to answer these questions.Neutral Foods was founded by Matt Plitch, whose mission is to build the world’s first carbon neutral food company. He gained early investment from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Ventures and other celebrity investors like Mark Cuban and LeBron James. Matt wanted to start with milk, which has 93% household penetration. The product, Neutral Milk is organic milk that strives to reduce carbon emissions within the whole supply chain, to become carbon neutral. The way they are going about their mission is by working directly with farmers. A typical dairy they work with is ~75 - 250 head, and what they do is provide financial support and subject matter expertise on things like manure management, feed, feed production, waste water management and more. They work with the farmer’s goals, and have 3rd party monitoring and measurement that quantifies the changes being made, and verifies the emissions reductions. Neutral Foods, as a consumer facing brand is already well on their way with nationwide distribution at Spouts, Whole Foods and Target. You can find their products in the organic milk section, and their retail price is in line with the set. They are very clear on their packaging that they are working towards operational carbon neutrality but that they purchase offsets today as a starting point. 

Visit Sound Agriculture: https://www.sound.ag/Do Good Foods: https://dogoodfoods.com/Harborview Farms: https://www.harborviewfarms.net/Trey Hill Interview: https://youtu.be/FRC1Ca9klGA Future of Agriculture YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClJpE4tdH2NN6Plj1UIWNwA Justin Kamine co-founded Do Good Foods with his brother Matthew to combat climate change by fighting food waste. They’ve created a closed-loop system with state-of-the-art infrastructure designed to upcycle surplus grocery food (after community donations occur) into nutritious animal feed. Do Good Foods first product, Do Good Chicken, is raised using this healthy feed can be purchased locally, giving consumers an opportunity to make an immediate environmental impact and Do Good...for Plate & Planet.™ The Kamine brothers’ company builds on the family’s 40-year heritage of over $3.5B of infrastructure of solving macro environmental problems. And stay tuned to the last half of today’s episode where you’ll hear directly from farmer and Harvorview Farms CEO, Trey Hill who has been using Sound Agriculture's SOURCE on his 10,000 acre farm in Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. 

Visit Sound Agriculture's website: https://www.sound.ag/ Our featured guests today are Sound Agriculture's CEO Adam Litle, as well as co-founder and CTO Travis Bayer. If you’re thinking you’ve heard all about Sound from previous episodes of this podcast, that’s great! But I will assure you there is a lot more you haven’t heard yet and this episode is well worth your time. Adam and Travis really do a great job of capturing a huge trend for the future of agriculture:  the convergence of biology and data science and other modern technologies to create innovative products that work with nature. But, their products are commercialized with the farmer customer in mind. There are some real nuggets in here that you definitely don’t want to miss.Some quick background: As CEO, Adam Litle leads the Sound Agriculture’s strategy and overall company execution. He joined Sound to help serve both producers and consumers with more sustainable, differentiated crops. Prior to Sound, Adam was on the founding team and served as Chief Revenue Officer of Granular, the leading farm management software company acquired by Corteva in 2017.Before that he was General Manager of the cellulase enzyme business at Codexis, a publicly-traded industrial biotech company serving the healthcare and agriculture industries. He began his career as an investment banker at Barclays Capital. Adam has a JD/MBA from the University of Michigan and BA from Yale University.Travis Bayer co-founded Sound Agriculture in 2013 to identify science-based solutions to today’s complex agricultural challenges. Travis’ career has focused on understanding how to harness the diversity of the earth’s natural systems to enable a more sustainable world. His approach to discovery combines a deep knowledge of molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics with an innately creative spirit. He has authored and invented more than 50 research publications and patents, and spent five years at Imperial College London and University of Oxford as a lecturer and associate professor, respectively.He received a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from Caltech, and a B.S. in molecular biology from University of Texas at Austin.We spend the first part of today’s episode talking about the SOURCE product, its significance, and where it fits into the marketplace. Then we shift gears into talking about their approach to data and technology and what this blend of biology and software means for the future of agriculture. First though, I asked Travis how all of this got started when he co-founded Sound Agriculture with Eric Davidson back in 2013. 

Sound Agriculture: https://www.sound.ag/Farmers Risk: https://farmersrisk.ag/ Today’s episode features Dakota Hoben, co-founder and CEO of Farmers Risk. This is an interesting look at a new startup that is taking on a complicated topic: grain marketing. As many of you know, buying and selling grain is where I started my career, so I’m always curious about companies in this space, but frankly, always a little skeptical as well. Just knowing how many variables are at play in these decisions, not least of which being the farmer’s emotions. But that said, I am impressed by Dakota, and the approach they are taking, and I think he makes some really strong points in this interview. Dakota knew from a young age that the only industry he was truly passionate about was agriculture. Growing up on a grain and livestock farm in Southeast Iowa before heading to Iowa State to study Agricultural Business and International Agriculture, he watched family, neighbors, and other farmers ride the marketing roller coaster, but didn’t know he would become an integral part of the solution to this problem. Before Farmers Risk, Dakota and co-founder Eric Barnard were co-workers at Granular.

Visit Sound Agriculture: https://www.sound.ag/The Breakthrough Institute: https://thebreakthrough.org/ Alex Smith Bio & Articles: https://thebreakthrough.org/people/alex-smith"To Decarbonize Food Production, Washington Must Invest" https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/to-decarbonize-food-production-washington-must-invest "The Problem With Alice Waters and the 'Slow Food' Movement" https://jacobin.com/2021/12/organic-local-industrial-agriculture-farm-to-table/ "Fraudulent Foods" https://thebreakthrough.org/journal/no-17-summer-2022/fraudulent-foods I’m very pleased to be joined today by Alex Smith, senior food and agriculture analyst at The Breakthrough Institute, which is a global research center that identifies and promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges.Today’s episode might challenge you a little bit. Before I interview guests I ask them to fill out a brief pre-interview form to help me dig into the right areas during the conversation. One way I can tell if I’m going how much I’m going to enjoy an interview is based on how they approach one question in particular. That question is: “What are the top arguments of the critics of the work you do?”. Many times that will be left blank or answered very generically, but it’s when someone gives a thoughtful answer to this question that I really get excited to dig in. Alex gave one of the most comprehensive questions I’ve ever had to this question. And I think I’ll just read this to you, as both a trigger warning for some of you, and way to intrigue most of you. Here is Alex’s answer: “I think a relatively common critique that I give real weight to is that my work (and Breakthrough's more broadly) has tunnel vision for GHG/land-use and not other enviro/ecological or animal welfare/ethics issues.Another important critique is that by supporting the technologies and practices of large-scale agricultural production, I effectively justify the expropriation of land and concentration of power into the hands of the largest agricultural corporations, landowners, and interest groups.By advocating for mass-production of food (see my and Ted Nordhaus's essay in Jacobin Magazine), I miss out on the problems of nutrition and diet-related diseases.A critique from the right is that the focus on industrial policy and even public R&D is significantly less important that getting the government out of the way of the ag sector and letting private entities be successful.Finally, in arguing for sustainable intensification and productivity growth, how do you limit the expansion of agricultural production due to rebound effects? Basically, given jevons paradox, do we need to have very strong conservation policy that will likely run counter to the interests of ag producers/businesses who want to expand production due to more productive practices?”Talk about doing an interviewer's work for him! What a great answer by Alex. With that, let’s dive into the conversation. Alex joined Breakthrough as a research analyst in the food and agriculture program in 2019 after completing a dual MA/MSc in International and World History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics and Political Science. In his masters, Alex studied and wrote about American foreign policy, French colonialism, and environmental history. Alex is interested in the entangled nature of politics, power, and geography and the central role that food and agriculture have played across time and space.

Visit our sponsor: https://www.sound.ag/EFC Systems by Ever.Ag: https://www.efcsystems.com/ CropLife, "Top 6 Questions (and Answers) Every Agribusiness Should Be Asking About Cyberattacks and Data Security": https://www.croplife.com/iron/software/top-6-questions-and-answers-every-agribusiness-should-be-asking-about-cyberattacks-and-data-security/ Farm Progress, "Protect your farm from cyberattack": https://www.farmprogress.com/management/protect-your-farm-cyberattack I’ve been wanting to do something on cybersecurity for a while, but just hadn’t really happened upon the right guest. Then last month I read an article on CropLife called “The Top 6 Questions Every Agribusiness Should Be Asking About Cyberattacks and Data Security”. As a read the six questions I thought “those are just about exactly the six questions I would want to ask a cybersecurity expert on my podcast. And the author was Mike Moore who you’re about to hear from. Mike is the Senior Vice President of the agribusiness division at Ever.Ag and has been serving as such since 1997 under the EFC Systems brand. At the start of his tenure, his initial focus was developing the technology and infrastructure services division to help guide and direct the technology needs for client partners. Although his responsibilities have broadened, he is still passionate about helping ag retailers better serve their customers in a secure and efficient way. Before we dive in, some context: the most common type of cyber attack is what’s called a ransomware attack. In this case the criminal inserts malware on your system, and is able to essentially lock it down until they are paid a ransom. The second common type of attack involves extracting data that can be sold. There’s been some notable examples in recent years including JBS, which reportedly paid hackers an $11 million ransom last year. Speaking at Husker Harvest Days last month, FBI agent Eugene Kowel said an attack on a farm in January 2021 contributed to the loss of nearly $9 million. This is a real issue that everyone in ag should be vigilant about, and it seems to be getting worse. Mike and I talk about how these attacks happen, what to watch out for, and some important tips for reducing your vulnerability.

Visit our sponsor: https://www.sound.ag/April Clayton Twitter: https://twitter.com/AppleApril111April the Apple Gal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DOJG_0BOYGv00KAw-CuxQ/videosApril on “Real Food, Real People”: https://realfoodrealpeople.org/april-clayton-002/April on “The Farm Traveler”: https://thefarmtraveler.com/2020/04/22/podcast-episode-53/April on “What The Farm”: https://farmercitygirl.libsyn.com/144-april-clayton-organic-orchardist I’ve been following April Clayton on Twitter for a while, she is @AppleApril111, and she puts out some great content about their life and work at Red Apple Orchard, where they grow organic apples and conventional cherries. She also has a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from my alma mater UC Davis, so she’s actually Dr. April Clayton farm. Her and her husband are the second generation on their Washington fruit orchard. A recent exchange on Twitter with April prompted me to reach out to her for this interview. She shared a video of a block of organic apples that she said they were considering not harvesting, due, in part to the labor situation. I wondered, just how expensive does labor have to be to make it not worth it to harvest certified organic fruit? Or was it that the labor was simply non-existent? Or were there other factors at play here I wasn’t aware of? I also wondered if this meant the futuristic looking robotic apple pickers that I always see demo videos of might just be close to being an option for farmers like the Claytons. These are the types of questions you’re going to get some answers on today. I really enjoyed this conversation with April and Mike. These are the types of conversations that really help to provide the depth and nuance and complexity of an issue like farm labor.

Visit our sponsor: https://www.sound.ag/LandScan: https://landscan.ai/Today’s episode with LandScan founder and CEO, Dan Rooney. We could spend the entire episode going through Dan’s background and expertise in this field, but I wanted to get right to the interesting work he’s doing at LandScan, a company they’ve been working on quietly since 2019. They’ve developed what they call “the most advanced and practical site characterization and analysis technology. These multiple layers are a series of digitally synchronized tools and techniques that create a unique understanding of the relationship between crop performance and the growing environment”. Dan will tell us all about this in today’s episode and makes a compelling case for why this is a critical missing piece in digital agriculture. Just a little bit on Dan’s impressive background: He is a scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur who has a PhD in Environmental Monitoring with an emphasis on remote sensing and spatial information analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s in Soil Physics from Texas A&M. Following his master’s Dan’s early career with with a geotechnical firm where he built sensors for deep subsurface characterization. He was drawn to apply his discoveries from that field to near-surface applications which of course led him to agriculture. After his PhD, he dove right into entrepreneurship. And that is where today's episode begins.

Visit our sponsor: https://www.sound.ag/Seal the Seasons: https://sealtheseasons.com/The Business of Food Newsletter: https://jenniferbarney.substack.com/Today’s episode features Alex Piasecki, co-founder and COO of Seal the Seasons, a retail consumer brand of packaged frozen fruit and vegetables. Seal The Seasons is aptly named as its mission is to bring locally grown produce to your grocery store 12 months a year. They do this by sourcing high quality fruit and vegetable varieties from local growers and leveraging grower hubs for processing, packaging and distribution within the local region. It’s a different model than the bigger frozen companies where some of the competition is sourcing from outside the US.The business idea started at the Farmers Market in North Carolina where as a college student Alex’s partner and Seal the Seasons founder Patrick Mateer, was working for a non-profit that donated unsold produce to the local community. When there would be excess produce either because of a rainstorm or by not selling out, the vendors would be stuck with all this produce so the idea of freezing for distribution year around came about.So, these college students got together to form a business case, and won an entrepreneurship award at UNC and then launched the business in 2016. Since then a lot has happened.Today, Seal the Seasons operates in 6 regional markets across the country and offers a way for local growers to diversify their customer base. We get into what types of produce Seal the Seasons sources, what they look for in grower-partners they work with, and the goal behind the operation which is to rebuild connections among American consumers and the growers that feed them.This story was put together by my guest co-host for today’s episode, Jennifer Barney. Jennifer is back after she first co-hosted with me for the episode we did in August where she featured Teffola. To refresh your memory, Jennifer is a consumer-packaged goods (CPG) expert. She lives in the Central Valley of California and got her start in the food industry 16 years ago when she founded the almond butter brand Barney Butter. She successfully grew the brand to nationwide retail distribution and then sold the company. After exiting Barney Butter, Jennifer has since become an advisor and consultant to startups and ag leaders who want to get closer to the consumer with their own brands and innovations. She writes an email newsletter that I recommend called The Business of Food where she shares food industry knowledge including business modeling, growth tips, and what to focus on at the early stages of business. You can subscribe to that for free at jenniferbarney.substack.com.