The month of June has passed -- and it was a busy one! AgriNovus Vice President, Libby Fritz, joins Cayla Chiddister in the studio to talk through a number of exciting things, including what's to come for the podcast with Mitch's departure from AgriNovus. Hint: we aren't going anywhere! We get into:

• Updates to what you can expect to hear and see on the podcast moving forward!
• What's going on with the CEO search -- and how you can apply to be our next fearless leader
• Velocity Demo Day, the three winners and our power outage networking party; watch our Directionally Speaking video series here
• Field Atlas Company Tours are coming 8/14-8/15 at Corteva and Ingredion; if you know a college student interested in learning more about agbioscience, have them apply by 7/13! Register here.
• Community of Practice webinar on AI in Agriculture coming on 7/23; Register here.
• Quadrant is back on 8/20 and we are talking leadership in action! Register here.

For over 230 episodes of Agbioscience, Mitch Frazier has helped share the stories of leaders and innovators across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture. One story we’ve not told, though, is that of the storyteller, himself. Today we close a chapter on this podcast and with all love, turn our pages forward to what lies next. But make no mistake, this is not a chapter we will soon forget. For his final time on Agbioscience, Mitch Frazier joins us. We get into:  

• A look back at the last five years of agbioscience innovation 
• Mitch’s vision as a leader and why he chose growth as a focus for AgriNovus 
• The importance of creating the conditions for industry to grow 
• Seizing the opportunity – and which of those opportunities agbioscience should be looking to in the years to come 
• The power of a small team to drive outcomes 
• His favorite part about hosting more than 230 episodes of the podcast 
• Learning from some of Indiana’s best and bright leaders while in agbioscience – and what lessons he plans to take with him 
• His favorite down to business – and unserious – moments at AgriNovus 
• Mitch’s personal signoff on Agbioscience 

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the food ag industry contributes roughly 1.5 trillion to the country’s GDP – that's a 5.5% share. It’s a market that continues to evolve as many factors – from consumers to regulatory challenges – create new opportunities for innovation and new products. This week we are joined by Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing CEO, Jason Kashman, to share perspective on food, health and what’s ahead. We dive into:  

• The overall landscape in the food manufacturing market, what Jason is seeing and what’s driving growth for brands 
• Popcorn is a commodity and a finished good – are the challenges and turbulence the same on both sides of the coin? 
• Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing’s history, how it became its own entity in 2019 and their overall innovation portfolio  
• The massive footprint that is Weaver Popcorn – from grocery brands to private label 
• Jason’s take on emerging trends on snack foods and where popcorn fits in the market 
• How food has changed over the last decade, including difficulty for startup innovation to grow in the space, better for you ingredients and automation on the manufacturing side 
• The supply chain lessons learned from COVID and how companies have maybe pivoted to vertical integration to eliminate uncertainty       
• If and how the regulatory challenges are affecting Weaver Popcorn Manufacturing’s business 
• What’s next for the company  

The USDA just reported that there are 243 veterinary shortage areas across 46 states nationwide – the highest number ever. It’s a challenging environment, particularly when you consider veterinarians are on the front lines of battling avian influenza and dealing with a massively growing companion animal population. Dr. Bret Marsh, Dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, joins this week to help understand the evolution that’s happening in this space and how this gap is being tackled. We get into:  

• What he’s hearing from veterinarians in the field and those he works alongside on research 
• How his past experience as Indiana’s State Veterinarian and now the Dean at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine has shaped a unique perspective on where this segment of the agbioscience industry needs to evolve 
• Balancing the need for veterinarians in the field with a deep need to continue innovation at Purdue University – and the need for veterinarians to do that, too 
• The latest updates of what’s happening at the Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital 
• Areas that have Bret most intrigued right now – from avian influenza vaccines to OneHealth 
• His optimism for the incoming class of veterinary students at Purdue and their insurmountable opportunities 
• The top challenges that will need to be overcome in the industry in the coming years 
• What’s on the horizon for Purdue’s College of Veterinary Science 

The global functional food ingredients market is expected to grow by $53 billion by 2028 according to Technavio. One pioneer, a scientist, is operating at the intersection of food and health and has become a functional food powerhouse. Dr. Nora Khaldi, CEO and Founder of Nuritas, joins us to talk ingredients, food and innovation. We get into:  

• What big companies are looking for right now when it comes to ingredient formulation, specifically around functional foods 
• What a peptide is, and how it works 
• Nuritas’ need product launch, PeptiSleep, and its ability to improve all four phases of sleep 
• How Nora’s conversations go with big food brands when they understand the power of peptides 
• The moments where she understood her own differentiation as an innovator 
• Data’s value and the duration it takes to accrue it – and AI as a tool to fuel the system 
• What’s ahead for Nuritas 

There are roughly 86 million head of cattle and 74 million head of hogs in the US. That’s according to USDA – those numbers flat year over year in a market where the demand for animal protein is expected to be up 5% by 2033. It’s a math equation that creates a challenge but also creates an opportunity for innovation. Liane Hart, co-founder and CEO, of Verility joins us to talk animal health. She gets into:  

• The overall animal health market from both the veterinarian and producer perspective 
• Animal fertility challenges and how Verility seeks to innovate in this area 
• How farmers and ranchers currently manage a lack of fertility in production agriculture 
• Verility’s platform, Fertile-Eyez, the first true AI fertility device in the animal health industry and its ability to remove all subjectivity of sperm analysis and ovulation detection 
• How artificial intelligence is being leveraged to create accuracy and profitability for the producer 
• Liane’s leap from Purdue student to Elanco employee to entrepreneur – including a stop to observe a technology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital 
• Lessons she’s learned as an entrepreneur along the way and advice she’d share with those who might have an innovative idea in agbioscience 
• What’s ahead for Verility 

As Indiana's famous Month of May comes to a close, Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap big news for Mark Warner and LIberation Labs, look ahead to exciting new for AgriNovus' Velocity Demo Day and Indiana's hosting of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress next week. Mitch and Cayla also look ahead to his next career journey and talk about what's next for the podcast:

• Mark Warner talks Vivici partnership on the podcast: https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/50e60709
• Velocity Demo Day is coming on 6/18. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/velocity/
• The Global Entrepreneurship Congress kicks off in Indianapolis next week! Agbioscience listeners can use the code ECOSYSTEM50

The USDA estimates that between 30-40% of the US food supply is wasted every year – that’s over 133 BILLION pounds. One farmer, turned soldier, turned entrepreneur is tackling that market. Ben Moore, founder of The Ugly Company, joins us to talk to fruit. We get into:  

• Ben’s connection to Indiana and how a farmer went on to create a trucking company that became The Ugly Company as it is today 
• How damaged fruit with scars or other cosmetic issues because big business for Ben – The Ugly Company can now be found on store shelves of Target, Sam’s Club, Walmart and Whole Foods 
• The Ugly Company’s goal to prevent food waste, where they are at in that target and how they hope to accelerate that goal in the future 
• How the fruit becomes the product on shelves – The Ugly Process, if you will 
• Ben’s advice for aspiring farmers, business owners and entrepreneurs and lessons he’s learned from leading his business and his time serving in the US Army 
• What service looks like to him versus what it maybe looked like as a 22-year-old soldier 
• What’s ahead for The Ugly Company – including further distribution and availability in schools 

Global Market Insights predicts the precision fermentation market for food and beverage will grow from just about two billion in 2024 to 70 billion globally by 2034. That’s a staggering combined annual growth rate of nearly 40%. Liberation Labs is pioneering a new approach to precision fermentation at scale that borrows a page from the pharmaceutical industries playbook. Co-founder and CEO, Mark Warner, joins us to get into:  

• What exactly is precision fermentation? 
• The challenge facing companies, particularly early-stage innovators, that Liberation Labs saw an opportunity to solve for with contract precision fermentation 
• The company’s recent announcement of its first customer for the Indiana facility, Vivici, what they will do for them and what’s exciting about the partnership 
• How Mark saw an opportunity in the pharmaceutical space that could be replicated in fermentation for agbioscience innovation 
• Mark’s journey to fundraise for Liberation Labs 
• Reflecting on the decision to put their facility in Indiana for access to talent, corn and transportation 
• The biggest opportunities for growth – not just for Liberation Labs – but for precision fermentation as an industry 
• Biomanufacturing’s importance to economic growth, but in urban and rural America 
• What’s ahead for Liberation Labs 

The U.S. Economic Policy Institute estimates there are 2.4 million ag jobs in the United States and Purdue University believes that 40% of ag jobs – new jobs – go unfilled. One entrepreneur is turning to the power of digital to transform ag labor. Scott Prince, CEO of Croft, gives us perspective on the current labor market and what he’s solving for using agtech. We get into:  

• The complexity and challenges of the ag labor market – from seasonality to workforce shortages 
• How the Department of Labor’s H-2A program is designed to help farmers overcome labor challenges, but the administrative hurdles they face in the process 
• What the process looks like for farmers to participate in the H-2A program and why Croft was developed as a streamlined solution 
• Identifying this as a critical need to automate for the farmer 
• What Scott is hearing from customers using the platform 
• What’s ahead for Croft – hint: it includes expanding their analytical intensity capacity