The words talent and shortage come packaged together in nearly every sentence across almost every industry these days. It's a widespread challenge that raises a bigger question for agbioscience companies. Do our hurdles look like the same as other industries? If not, what do we do next? This week, we are joined by Vivayic’s Agriculture Practice Lead, Blaze Currie. We get into:  

• His high-level take on the current market overview for talent relative to the workforce needs of other industries 
• The headwinds facing the agbioscience industry that are uniquely their own when it comes to talent and leadership 
• A history lesson on how agbioscience got here – and the generational waves that have created the talent disparity we are facing today 
• How companies will need to adapt in the future to fill their talent needs 
• Executive and senior leadership positions aging out of the workforce, how those positions will need to be developed and what organizations need to do today to prepare for tomorrow 
• How Blaze sees the next 10-15 years of talent evolution shaking out in agbioscience – and it looks a lot different than is has in the past 
• What’s ahead for Vivayic

The food ingredients market is expected to grow to $97 billion by 2029. That's an annual growth rate of just over 6.5%. Central to that growth is the voice of the consumer seeking options to improve their health and ingredients that contribute to their overall wellness. One company has been innovating in this space for generations. Ed Fish, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Varietal Solutions at Bay State Milling, joins guest host Jarrod Sutton from Purdue DIAL Ventures to discuss the market's rapid change -- from consumer demands to regulatory pressures and beyond. We get into:  

• The overall ingredients market and the perspective on how consumer health is creating new opportunities 
• Who Bay State Milling aims to serve through innovation, the company’s 125-year family-owned legacy and its growing portfolio 
• Unique differentiation, being nimble and knowing how to connect food to agriculture 
• Leveraging their Rothwell Grain Essential Center to work with customers on refining and troubleshooting products – and how their customers participate in the process 
• New products being rolled out by Bay State Milling in the food is health space, including HealthSense™ (a high-fiber wheat flour) and SowNaked Oats™ (a higher-protein oat) 
• How the relationships work for Bay State Milling across the value chain – farmers to food companies 
• How Ed believes the winners of tomorrow are innovating today 
• What’s ahead for Bay State Milling 

The market for ag biologicals is projected to grow significantly according to Grandview Research – making the leap from $11B market in 2024 to a $16.8B in 2030. One Indiana company has recently created a strategic alliance to drive biological innovation at every stage of the crop nutrition cycle. Dr. Tanya Soule, Vice President of Microbiology at BW Fusion, joins us to talk science, producers and the farm. We get into:  

• What biologicals are and how they benefit farmers 
• How they work in tandem with other fertilizers and modes of crop protection to drive yield 
• BW Fusion’s approach to scientific discovery and innovation 
• How the company got into the agbioscience industry – it wasn’t its first vertical 
• Bain Capital Double Impact’s support that led to the strategic alliance between BW Fusion, Biodyne USA and Agronomy 365 and what that has allowed them to do from an innovation perspective 
• The farmers’ role in advancing innovation at BW Fusion 
• Why Tanya, a career academic, made the switch to working with the BW Fusion team and coming to the agbiosciences 
• Her advice for young scientists 
• What’s ahead for BW Fusion 

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