This weekly podcast dives into agbioscience, where agriculture, life sciences and cutting-edge technology converge. Agbioscience is an in-depth conversation with leaders and entrepreneurs across food, animal health, plant science and agtech. This one-of-a-kind podcast offers updates on the latest advancements and future trends from those at the forefront of agbioscience innovation.
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354. TerraForce’s Mike Jacob on farmer-led innovation, solving for the labor gap + jobs to be done
16:46
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16:46The Economic Policy Institute estimates there are 2.4 million employees in U.S. agriculture and Purdue finds that 40% of new ag jobs go unfilled. One entrepreneur is turning to computer vision, artificial intelligence and robotics – maybe a little autonomy – to try to address these challenges facing farmers. Mike Jacob, founder and CEO of TerraForc…
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353. BONUS: Corteva’s Brook Cunningham and Kearney’s Rob Dongoski from World AgriTech in San Francisco
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24:08Stage content at events like World AgriTech is always of highest quality but there are conversations happening behind the scenes that give a sense of what’s happening in the industry. Brook Cunningham, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Corteva Agriscience, and Rob Dongoski, Food and Agribusiness Leader at Kearney, joined us for a …
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352. Beck’s Hybrids’ Brad Fruth on agbiosciences’ go-to market differentiation + the criticality of customer trust
26:45
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26:45Identifying customer needs – jobs to be done – it's the core of innovation. But what are the jobs that need to be done? What are those things left undone as we head into the 2025 growing season? And what does the current economy, trade environment and overall farm sentiment mean for innovators and the farmers they serve? Brad Fruth, Director of Inn…
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351. Akston Biosciences’ Todd Zion on animal health innovation, companion animals + collaborating with Purdue
19:12
19:12
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19:12Research estimates the global animal health market to be roughly $8 billion, a number analyst firm Grand View Research expects to grow at a 10% compounded annual growth rate through 2030. Much of that growth will be driven by biotechnology. Dr. Todd Zion, CEO and founder of Akston Biosciences, joins this week to help understand what is happening in…
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350. Elevate Ventures’ Matt Tyner on the cost of innovation + the role of the investor in this next era of venture capital
28:57
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28:57Pitchbook reports that of venture capital deals in 2024, roughly 30% of them were down rounds or flat, meaning their valuation of the companies either went backwards or were the same round to round. It’s a trend that will continue, so how can entrepreneurs break the cycle? Matt Tyner, managing partner of America’s most active venture capital firm –…
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349. Mitch Frazier recaps February, 2025 trends + investment news from Ingredion, Liberation Labs, Corteva Catalyst and TerraForce
21:37
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21:37Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap February by reviewing his three big trends in agbioscience for 2025, big investment news for Ingredion, Liberation Labs, Corteva Catalyst and TerraForce and look ahead to big events in March - including Quadrant on March 12. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/quadrant/ Learn more about the Indiana A…
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348. Ag Alumni Seed’s Jay Hulbert on biotechnology’s transformation in agbioscience + the industry's most important job to be done
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19:54Agbioscience is the only economy that touches every person on the planet. Over the past four decades, we’ve seen massive transformation, innovation and acceleration of output in this economy. Today we are joined by a leader who has had a front row seat to it all. Jay Hulbert, CEO of Ag Alumni Seed, joins us ahead of his retirement to talk: Seeing t…
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347. Farm Credit Mid-America's Natasha Cox on the speed of change + prioritizing smart bets for innovators and farmers alike
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26:30New data from USDA shares that net cash farm income decreased roughly 3.5% from 2023 into 2024 and we’re looking at inflation adjusted numbers. But here’s the piece of the silver lining that may be untold: that number – net cash farm income – is still above average when we look at the last 20 years from USDA data. This week, Natasha Cox, Senior Vic…
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346. Hoosier Ag Today’s Eric Pfeiffer on market turbulence, trade wars + the need for a Farm Bill to make plans for the future
24:38
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24:38The year 2025 is poised to be an interesting one for agbioscience. Venture capital inflows from 2023 to 2024 are roughly flat according to Crop Life, the production cost of corn and soybeans remains roughly in line or slightly below market price and the turbulence around global trade and what tariffs could mean leave an uncertain operating market f…
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345. Stumbling into agbioscience, forging your path in college + what young talent wants with Field Atlas’ Cameron Weber
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16:12
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16:12Making a difference in the world – it’s nearly a universal desire for all of us. But where do you fit in? And how best to you make an impact? One college student is making that impact and blazing their trail. Cameron Weber, a biology major at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a Field Atlas Ambassador, joins us today to talk their path to agbi…
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344. AgriNovus' Mitch Frazier recaps January, big wins for Gripp + Croft, Velocity's launch + reasons for optimism in 2025
11:36
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11:36As the first month of 2025 comes to a close, Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap a few of the biggest stories in agbioscience, reasons for optimism on net cash farm income and tease a few upcoming episodes of Agbioscience.By AgriNovus Indiana
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343. AgriNovus’ Dan Dawes on Indiana’s unfair advantage, biggest lessons in leadership + reflections on agbioscience innovation
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17:19Much has changed in agbioscience over the last three decades. We’ve seen the introduction of gene editing technologies, new digital capabilities, even autonomy. One leader has had a front-row seat to these innovations. He’ll soon retire, but joins us today to share perspective on where we’ve been and where we’re headed. Dan Dawes, Senior Director o…
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342. The Pantheon’s Nichole Like on growing a rural economy, creating an agtech hub in Vincennes + leaving things better than you found them
26:56
26:56
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26:56Keeping the heart of the heartland requires two key things when we think about growing small towns, cities and rural economies: big vision and lots of hard work. Today’s guest is no stranger to either and shares a great perspective on how one small community in the Midwest is reimagining itself into an epicenter of innovation. Nichole Like, CEO of …
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341. Corteva’s Wendy Srnic on gene editing, the Pairwise partnership and artificial intelligence adding speed to biotechnology
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20:41According to AgFunder News, gene editing startups have raised $2.7 billion since 2012 in pursuit of technologies that advance everything from crop performance to yield. Today we are joined by a pioneer in science at the largest pure play agriculture company in the world. Dr. Wendy Srnic, VP of Biotechnology at Corteva Agriscience, to talk gene edit…
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340. BioBond’s Marc McConnaughey on bioproducts, university partnerships and Indiana as a perfect storm of location, logistics + people
22:45
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22:45According to Zion Market Research, the ag biological products market is expected to grow to $320 billion over the next decade. With a huge connection to agbioscience, what does it mean for farmers? What does it mean for agbioscience innovators? Kicking off season 8 of Agbioscience is BioBond CEO Marc McConnaughey. We get into: What exactly is the b…
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339. Mitch Frazier recaps 2024 + looks ahead to three big forces of change in agbioscience
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30:26It’s the end of 2024 and it was a giant year across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture. This week, we recap big stories of the year based on Accelerate 2050 – AgriNovus’ study that showed that Indiana’s agbioscience economy grew by $6 billion in 36 months. The study also launched three forces of change and opportunities for …
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338. AGCO Ventures’ Alex Russomagno on agtech + a new wave of innovation for farmers
21:12
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21:12It’s been a tough couple of years in agriculture. Net cash farm income is expected to decrease nearly $6 billion in 2024; that follows a decrease in 2023 of nearly $58 billion. It’s a tough sled for many farmers and there’s companies who are working to bring innovation to farmers to overcome the headwinds that exist. Alex Russomagno, Senior Manager…
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337. Purdue University President Mung Chiang on the AI revolution + demand-driven education driving impact
22:29
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22:29Global market intelligence firm, IDC, estimates that artificial intelligence (AI) will contribute nearly $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and represent nearly 4% of global GDP. Today we are joined by an AI pioneer, tech diplomat and leader of Purdue University, President Mung Chiang. We discuss: His journey as a three-time entrepreneur tu…
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336. Doing something with your data + the ag equipment market with Gripp’s Tracey Wiedmeyer
18:19
18:19
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18:19Tough commodity markets and a challenging ag economy is putting pressure on all elements of the agbiosciences. One of those is equipment. New data from the Equipment Manufacturers Association shows that tractor sales in the U.S. were down nearly 20% in the most recent month reporting. That's year over year. One entrepreneur is bringing to market a …
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335. Make Hay’s Scott Nelson on the power of storytelling + closing the gaps between farms, food and people
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21:29Food is the only economy in the world that touches every person on the planet. We are all connected to food, and one of the world's top marketers turned entrepreneur is now making the connection between farms, food, and people. Scott Nelson, CEO of Make Hay, joins us to talk all things consumers and connecting to the meaningful world of agriculture…
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334. Mitch Frazier recaps November, the election's impact on agbioscience innovation + big investment announcement from Bain Capital
11:51
11:51
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11:51It's almost Thanksgiving! Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister sit down to recap November and get into: - The election's impact on farmers and agbioscience innovation. - Creating certainty for farmers in this new environment to plan for their operations. - Bain Capital investment into a merger of Biodyne USA, BW Fusion and Agronomy 365. - Entrepreneu…
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333. DPH Biologicals’ Alex Cochran on a maturing ag biologics market + the importance of clearly stated ROI for growers
19:20
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19:20New data from AgFunder News shows that ag biologics are used by just under half of U.S. farmers. Dr. Alex Cochran, CTO of DPH Biologicals, joins today to share his unique perspective on this growing market. We discuss: What are ag biologicals and their role in modern production agriculture. Biologicals as an important piece for growers as they mana…
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332. How policy will shape opportunities for innovation in agbioscience with Agri-Pulse's Sara Wyant
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23:49America just elected a new president and many states just elected new chief executives and legislators. What does this time of transition mean for ag, for agbioscience and for entrepreneurs? Sara Wyant, farmer, editor and publisher of Agri-Pulse, joins today to help us understand what’s ahead. Sarah gets into regulatory topics – from immigration to…
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331. Field Atlas’ Rilynne Puckett on striving for purpose + the growing interest in agbioscience careers among college students
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15:11Workforce development is a topic that tops the list of policymakers and business leaders across the country; but true change in workforce development requires more than policy or curriculum. Field Atlas is an online career exploration platform, coupled with the power of on-campus peer ambassadors, to connect the future workforce to careers across f…
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330. Decision science, optimizing data + uniquely solving problems with Sensix Ag’s Carlos Ribeiro
23:19
23:19
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23:19A new survey of agribusiness professionals found that more than 70% spend more than 11 hours a week collecting, collating and analyzing data. It’s a challenge being tackled by Brazilian company, Sensix, and CEO Carlos Ribeiro joins us today to talk data as a huge task on-farm and their role in optimizing decisions for farmers. Tremendous troves of …
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329. Mitch Frazier recaps a gigantic October for bioinnovation + long-term implications for farmers
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14:05From the grand opening of BioBond's new Indiana location to the announcement of Sustainea and Primient's $400 million announcement, it's been a massive month for bioinnovation news. Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap the month and look ahead to the rest of 2024 -- including AgriNovus' last QUADRANT of the year.…
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328. Anu’s Scott Massey on uniting technology + health, closing the gap on nutrition access
18:34
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18:34The total healthcare spend relating to poor diet is quickly approaching $4 trillion annually according to the American Heart Association. This doesn't even include lost worker productivity. One of the key contributing factors to that is access to healthy foods. Scott Massey, founder and CEO of Anu, is an entrepreneur that unites the power of techno…
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327. Beck's Hybrids' Bethany Gremel on defining company culture + its critical link to brand
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22:57Company culture is often referred to in business books and board rooms, but is hard to define. Beck’s Hybrids’ Bethany Gremel, Director of Brand Experience and Culture, joins today to answer a few big questions: what is company culture? How do you define it for impact? Bethany gets into culture as a living organism that needs fed and its foundation…
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326. Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures’ Anthony Gregory on growing + scaling the sustainable aviation fuel market
21:44
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21:44About 1.6 million barrels per day of petroleum jet fuel were consumed in the United States in 2023. That number is expected to increase to nearly 2 million barrels daily by 2050. Southwest Airlines is taking a bold move, migrating away from petroleum to sustainable fuels. Anthony Gregory, COO of Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, joins today to…
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325. Intelinair’s Tim Hassinger on agtech’s impact on net farm income + managing today for less turbulent times
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20:44Corn prices hit a 4-year low in Q3, on the prospect of a record harvest. That data follows research and insights from USDA that expects net farm income to be down 25% year over year. One solution to this challenge is innovation. Tim Hassinger, CEO of Intelinair, joins today to share perspective on the market and innovation’s role in driving net far…
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324. Mitch Frazier recaps September, Corteva + Pairwise collaboration, NASDA and more
47:32
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47:32Happy International Podcast Day! Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap the agbiosciences in September and look ahead to upcoming events. Key takeaways include: - Artificial intelligence (AI) moving from hype to help + the recent conversation at AgriNovus' QUADRANT with Kristen Owen (Oppenheimer + Co.), Aaron Schacht (BiomEdit) and Brad Fruth (Be…
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323. Insignum AgTech’s Kyle Mohler on early disease detection in crops + the value of farmer feedback
16:51
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16:51It’s estimated that disease could cost the global food system up to 20% of production and one scientist is turning to the plant itself to change that. Dr. Kyle Mohler joins us today to talk his recent win at the Rally In-Prize Pitch Competition, his work to detect disease in plants much earlier and the Insignum AgTech’s startup journey in 2024. Ins…
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322. Land O’Lakes' Leah Anderson on the farmer perspective, emerging innovations and data as a differentiator to drive net farm income
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24:43The cornerstone of the agbioscience economy is production agriculture. Without farmers, no amount of agtech, animal health, or plant science would ever be applicable to feed and fuel this world. Today we are joined by Leah Anderson, SVP of Land O’Lakes and president of WinField United, to talk about her drive and motivation to help the farmer – and…
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321. The Directions Group’s Mark Purdy on farmers of the future + their identified opportunities for innovation in agbioscience
22:23
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22:23Innovation in agbioscience has never been more critical. In today’s tough economy, farmers are looking for new ways to generate margin and with geopolitical instability around the world, food’s stabilizing force around the world is taking center stage. Former Army Colonel and Executive Vice President of The Directions Group (Aimpoint Research) join…
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320. Rumin8’s Dr. Lucas Huntimer on durability, sustainability + the decarbonization of 100 million cows by 2030
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18:21Sustainability in agbioscience requires two key inputs: environment and economics. Today we are joined by Rumin8’s head of research and development, Dr. Lucas Huntimer, to talk economic durability, sustainability and how his team aims to decarbonize 100 million cows by 2030. Lucas dives into the challenge at hand – methane – and Rumin8’s differenti…
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319. IEDC’s Salena Scardina on For the Bold, the customer experience + knowing when to automate vs. innovate
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25:17Discover the journey of Salena Scardina, from her start at McDonald's Corporation to becoming the Chief Marketing Officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and her mission to redefine Indiana's global brand. In this episode of Agbioscience, Salena shares her insights on the customer experience, the power of understanding your audienc…
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318. Mitch Frazier recaps the Rally Innovation Conference, talks Producer-Led Innovation Challenge and more
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15:53AgriNovus CEO, Mitch Frazier, recaps August with highlights from the Rally Innovation Conference, the upcoming Producer-Led Innovation Challenge, Field Atlas hitting college campuses across Indiana and events coming up for you to join!By AgriNovus Indiana
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317. Toph Day on the Rally Innovation Conference + the disparate stakeholder driving creative collisions
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22:41Venture capital has become synonymous with innovation. And one firm is turning to an event featuring world renowned artists, actors, athletes and innovators (plus a multi-million-dollar pitch competition) to drive new creative collisions. Toph Day, CEO of Elevate Ventures and mastermind of the Rally Innovation Conference, joins today to talk the st…
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316. Elanco’s Tim Bettington on the evolution of animal health, the barriers of bringing innovation to market
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31:39The animal health market – estimated by many sources to be $60 billion globally – spans everything from pet health to livestock and holds applications for innovations in feeds, vaccines, therapeutics and beyond. Joining us this week to talk about this evolving market is Tim Bettington, EVP of Corporate Strategy and Market Development at Elanco, to …
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315. Corteva Agriscience’s Christy Wright on the convergence of ag, food and health + bringing innovation to market
19:13
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19:13Food: it’s the only economy that touches every person the planet and ideally, we have a relationship with it three times a day. Despite that, many don’t know where their food comes from or its connection to the farm. Christy Wright, Director of Global Food at Corteva Agriscience, joins us today to connect the farmgate to the dinnerplate, the global…
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314. Kevin Still on a hot start for Keystone Cooperative, being a conduit between tech + the farmer amidst a new speed of change
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19:33Cooperatives and retailers have been critical infrastructure for agriculture for generations. Keystone Cooperative CEO, Kevin Still, joins today to discuss their key role on farming operations and how ag retail has evolved since its inception. As on-farm technologies continue to advance so does its role in cooperatives’ product portfolio. Kevin div…
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313. Mitch Frazier on AgriNovus’ newly released study, Heartland BioWorks’ $51M grant, Vital Farms coming to Indiana and more
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20:36July was a month of momentum for the agbiosciences, including the release of new research that revealed Indiana agbioscience contributes nearly $70B to the state’s economy. We are here to recap the month: Accelerate 2050 – a new study that highlights three priority opportunities for the agbiosciences including Food is Health, Farmer-Focused Innovat…
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312. Dr. Kofi Essel on food is health, nutrition security, innovative collisions with agbioscience + making sure to measure outcomes
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25:06Food – it's the only economy in the world that touches every person on the planet and it’s foundational to human health. So much so that leaders across the economy are uniting the power of food to drive health. It’s a new category of innovation called Food is Health and the nation’s 2nd largest health insurer, Elevance Health, is investing in this …
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311. RTI International’s Amanda Rose on Indiana’s $69.6B agbioscience economy, three defined priorities for the future
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23:21A team of researchers recently dug in to Indiana’s $69.6 agbioscience economy and its opportunities for growth well into the future – 2050, to be exact. Amanda Rose, agri-food systems lead for RTI International, joins us to elaborate on the newly released study, Accelerate 2050: A Vision for Indiana Agbioscience, and three defined opportunities for…
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309. Traction Ag’s Dustin Sapp on farm accounting technology, responsible growth + enabling economic prosperity for farmers
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22:14Artificial Intelligence (AI) has projected to move from hype to help in 2024, generated by a shift in the global economy. There are tech companies taking that ambition and turning it into a reality and one of them joins us today. Dustin Sapp, CEO of Traction Ag, addresses farm accounting through technology, the sophistication of farming operations …
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310. Dr. Jaleh Daie on investing for humanity, emerging trends in agbioscience + farmer needs as the priority for the future
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26:25Capital and science – two key ingredients that are shaping the future of the agbioscience economy. Dr. Jaleh Daie, Managing Partner of Aurora Equity, joins us today to talk about the state of risk capital in agbioscience, the round trip we’ve taken in the last six years and how it compares to other areas of investment. With Jaleh’s rich background …
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308. Biodyne USA’s Bodie Kitchel on the economics of biologicals, the pursuit of answers + innovating with urgency
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19:47Biologicals – the broad category of ag input products derived from living organisms – have experienced significant growth in terms of adoption and investment. An analysis of Pitchbook data reveals there have been more than 6,000 deals in the global ag biotech market over the past decade. One of those companies driving growth is Biodyne USA. This we…
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307. Mitch Frazier recaps June, talks Animal Health Boston, Elanco’s FDA approval of Bovaer, opportunities to join us + a big announcement!
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21:31June was a busy one! From a trip to the Animal Health Nutrition Technology and Innovation Conference in Boston to hosting college students at agbioscience companies across Indiana, Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister look back at the past month, what’s happening and what’s ahead. Hear from animal health innovators including Dr. Johanna Majamaa of Ge…
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306. Ruminant BioTech’s Mark Weldon on methane knockdown, the link between environmental + economic sustainability
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19:06There are over one billion cattle globally, emitting methane through a natural process called enteric fermentation. Reducing emissions have become a top target of innovators across animal health and one company out of New Zealand is tackling the challenge from inside the cow. This week, we are joined by Mark Weldon, chairman of Ruminant BioTech, to…
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305. Eve Hanks of MI:RNA Diagnostics on early disease identification, transforming the future of animal health
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19:20Early identification of diseases in animals is critical to the future of the food system, national security and our ability to care for our pets. One company is harnessing the power of biology to accelerate identification and joined us from the Agbioscience Podcast Corner at the Animal Health, Nutrition, Innovation and Technology Conference in Bost…
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