At the end of April, AgriNovus CEO Mitch Frazier jumps on the podcast with Cayla Chiddister to recap the month gone by and events coming up, including:

• Recent travels and discussions around how the Midwest can add additional value to its commodities, an existing strength and something we've done time and again.
• Mitch recently spoke with AgFunder News' Elaine Watson on challenges meeting opportunities in this tough environment right now and how "pessimists might sound smart, but it's the optimists who will win. That story is here.
• Our next Quadrant event is coming up in Indianapolis focused on the evolution of food ingredients based on shifting consumer preferences, how food companies are responding and what that means for farmers. You can register for the free event here.
• Quadrant's discussion aligns nicely with a gigantic event -- The Sweets and Snacks Expo (learn more here).
• Field Atlas just closed its May Company Tour application window, but August is still open for college students to apply. Learn more here.
• Velocity Demo Day is coming up June 18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Register for the free event here.

The USDA calls biosecurity the cornerstone of animal livestock production and it’s one that’s taken center stage of late as farmers have battled disease. Dr. Kelli Werling, Director of Animal Health Programs at the Indiana Board of Animal Health, joins to talk biosecurity, how farmers are protecting the farm and how the spread of disease among animal production is ultimately impacting consumers. We get into:  

• The current state of biosecurity across the Midwest, avian flu’s impact three years into its reign and how farmers are working to attempt further spread on their operations 
• Consumer pressure being felt by avian flu and how egg prices are being impacted 
• The migration of the disease from birds to other species – from cattle to cats – and why it’s happening 
• As a regulatory body, IBOAH balancing the heightened state of alert, practicality of science and emotion 
• Where Kelli sees new innovations emerging on farms to combat the spread of disease 
• The best defense to avian flu – is a good offense 
• What IBOAH sees ahead with disease pressure and their call to action for farmers and industry alike  

Agbioscience was on-site at the Indiana Farm Bureau’s Ag Threats and Security Summit in March and had a chance to sit down with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Special Agent in Charge Herb Stapleton to talk all things biosecurity. We get into:  

• The complex labyrinth of threats and risks affecting agriculture in the Midwest and across the United States 
• How threats to agriculture are evolving and what that evolution means for farmers and agbioscience companies alike 
• As Special Agent in Charge, what Herb has witnessed as the most prevalent cyber threats to ag across the Midwest in recent years 
• Herb’s perspective on the relationship between food security and national security 
• What controls farmers and agbioscience companies can put in place to be prepared 
• Action items Herb hopes attendees take from the event – from the simple to the complex 

Pet ownership in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past three decades according to Forbes – showing 66% of households own a pet. That’s almost 87 million houses, up 58% from 1988. Staggering growth drives dramatic need for innovation in pet health...and pet food. Dr. Mahsa Vazin, CEO and founder of PawCo Foods, joins us fresh off a venture capital raise to talk innovation and what’s ahead, including: 

• The overall macro challenges in the pet health market, including obesity in dogs and cats 
• How the pet food market is responding to a consumer desire and demand for more nutrient-dense food for their companion animals 
• How plant-based brands are capturing market share in the pet health space 
• PawCo’s leveraging of AI in tandem with nutritionists to optimize recipe formulations 
• The company’s recent venture capital raise and what it will enable them to expand and do in the future 
• Investor feedback, questions and response to the PawCo model during the recent fundraise 
• Mahsa approach to driving sales for PawCo  
• What’s on the horizon for the company as it continues its growth trajectory 

With 2.4 million U.S. agriculture jobs to fill each year and an unemployment rate that still remains below 5%, leaders in agbioscience and farmers are facing a challenge. Like the rest of the economy, they’re in a battle for talent. One unique ally in agriculture is the cooperative system, a collective buying group and service provider network that’s serving American farmers. Phil Brewer, Vice President of Strategy at Keystone Cooperative, joins us to talk about the evolution of the cooperative from what it was – to what it is. We get into:  

• Keystone Cooperative’s footprint across Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan and the health of farmers heading into planting season 
• The evolution of the cooperative system over the last two decades – from service provider to business partner 
• How the farmer-led model of a cooperative ultimately drives adoption of new innovation and fills gaps for its members on their operations  
• Areas where Keystone needs to move quicker and capture market opportunities to deliver value to farmers 
• How they approach working with small companies and early-stage, venture-backed innovators 

The power of experience is undeniable. The context it creates, the insight that it develops is far more than could be accomplished than by simply reading. Benjamin Franklin, one of our nation’s founding fathers, I think, said it best. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll learn.”  Dr. Ronda Hamm, Director of Food, Farm and Energy Experience and Conner Prairie, joins this week to talk experiential learning and what lies ahead for the National Register of Historic Places in the coming years. We get into:  

• Ronda’s scientific background and how she’s seen biology accelerate innovation over the last two decades 
• Her love for entomology – that’s it – she loves bugs 
• The exciting idea that science is continuing to educate itself, always evolving – and the endless career possibilities that it can present  
• The Food, Farm and Energy Experience at Conner Prairie – what it is, what it’s designed to bring to consumers and industry alike – from grower to grocer 
• How she hopes this new addition to Conner Prairie engages a new generation of agbioscience workforce – and to understand that it expands well beyond farmers to supply chain, food scientists, data analysts and more 
• Her ambition for this site to become The Smithsonian of the Midwest focused on food and agriculture 
• A call to action for industry wanting to be involved in this project and timelines for when to expect this to be rolled out at Conner Prairie 

Agbioscience comes to you from the first ever Indiana Farm Bureau Indiana Ag Threats and Security Summit hosted in partnership with Beck’s Hybrids, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. We had the opportunity to speak with Megan Ritter (Indiana Farm Bureau), Herb Stapleton (FBI) and Aaron Pierce (Pierce Aerospace) on the breadth, timeliness and criticality of keeping farming operations secure to maintain a safe, abundant food supply.  

We also cover:  

• A March Quadrant recap and a look ahead to our May 14 event. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/quadrant/ 
• Big pre-seed funding news for startup Gripp. Listen to their recent episode of Agbioscience here: https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/f0137c47 
• ReproHealth Technologies as the winner of the first-ever Agbioscience Innovator Award at the TechPoint Mira Awards 

Gene editing in plants – it's been heralded as the next step-function change in the advancement of agriculture. One Indiana company is advancing the technology fresh off a $144 million venture capital raise. Claudia Nari, Chief Product Officer of Inari, joins today to talk through this historic time for gene editing and biotechnology at large. They get into:  

• From speed to precision, Claudia lays out the differentiation of gene editing to other types of plant breeding 
• Crops of focus for Inari right now and stresses they’re focused on to enable farmer success 
• The company’s recent venture capital raise, their value proposition and educating investors 
• Inari’s unique advantage (knowing what to do, having the tools to do it and being able to do those at the same time) 
• The status of field trials and what commercialization will look like for Inari 
• Biggest problems in-field to be solved through gene editing – from yield to resource efficiencies 
• Regulatory hurdles and Claudia’s perspective on the acceptance of gene editing as a technology 
• When will Inari technology be in customer fields? And what’s next? 

The 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 TerraForce, joins to talk farmer-led innovation, solving for the labor gap and jobs to be done. We get into:  

• The overview of the farm labor market, its challenges and where TerraForce specifically focuses right now in the specialty melon crop market 
• What challenges face melon producers when it comes to harvest 
• How Mike sees this new era of AI and computer vision shaping precision in agbioscience innovation 
• What TerraForce does, solving labor challenges and how they plan to tackle a real problem facing farmers 
• Mike gets into seeing his first melon harvest, identifying the problem to be solved and innovating from there 
• The criticality of melons – yes melons – to make an impact on his community as an entrepreneur 
• Where the TerraForce product sits today and how regional producers are the critical testbed to the company’s success 
• TerraForce’s recent fundraise and what it will enable them to do 
• Mike’s take on the ag’s jobs to be done: ag becoming less optimized and finding ways to become more resilient to big changes 

Stage 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 conversation at World AgriTech to get perspective on many topics, including:  

• A volatile market – and the reminder that it’s also cyclical 
• The tipping point for investors and the critical questions they have beyond just yield at this point in time 
• Corteva’s balanced approach between internal and external innovation and the company’s areas of focus when it comes to investment and partnership 
• How Kearney is advising companies seeking investment – of all sizes – in this volatile time (hint: don’t go it alone) 
• Areas of innovation that are seeing traction from investors 
• The importance of creating certainty around the noise – from regulatory to policy and beyond 
• How they both see this market cycle differently than past cycles 
• The role of food and consumers in this next evolution of food and agriculture 
• Crystal ball: what are the conversations at World AgriTech like five years from now?