Agtech - So What?

David Carter is the CEO of Austral Fisheries, one of Australia’s largest integrated commercial fishing companies. Austral Fisheries is notable for being the only commercial fishing company in the world to be certified Carbon Neutral, offsetting their emissions to zero since 2016.
In this episode we talk about:

• David's path from deckhand to CEO
• Austral's journey from commodity to branded, premium product
• The bold goals that Austral have set on issues like bycatch and carbon emissions
• How technology is helping Austral respond to consumer demands and address social license issues
• The 'unlikely alliances' powering Austral Fisheries’ market leading position

Companies: Austral Fisheries • Topics: carbon-markets, climate-risk, supply-chain, natural-capital

This episode, live from the 2020 evokeAG conference in Melbourne, features three innovative Aussie producers: Brad “Jonesy” Jones; Sue “Chilla” Middleton; and Mark “Mort” Mortimer.
We also cover:

• the different techs being used in their businesses today
• their tech wishlists for the future
• what’s driving adoption of agtech and what’s preventing it
• where to look for the best agtech solutions
• how they’re getting involved as more than customers of agtech

Companies: evokeAG • Topics: farm-machinery, ag-data, ag-tech-adoption, livestock-dairy

Today’s episode is all about corporate investments and acquisitions in agtech. Two guests, Derek Norman (VP at Leaps by Bayer) and Jim Chambers (President and General Manager of the Worldwide Agriculture Business at Trimble) cover different ways startups can engage with corporates, from early stage direct strategic investments, to channel partnerships, to acquisitions.
We also discuss:

• what Bayer and Trimble are looking for and tips for startup to get investment- and acquisition-ready
• how the M&A environment is changing with consolidation and coronavirus
• why we haven’t we seen more successful agtech exits
• what spaces are hot (and not), including how Bayer and Trimble are looking at autonomy, e-commerce, biologicals, indoor agriculture, and more

• Tim's interview with Derek: 2:00 to 26:18
• Sarah's interview with Jim: 26:18 to 49:48
• QnA with both Jim and Derek: 49:48 to end

Companies: Bayer, Trimble • Topics: corporates, finance-investing, agtech-ecosystem

Coming to you live from Australia's first national, virtual AgTech Meetup, this episode explores what alternative proteins are, how big they'll become, and whether this is a pending disruption or untapped opportunity for agriculture.
Panelists included:

• Catherine Tubb- chemistry PhD and Research Fellow at RethinkX
• Paul Wood- internationally recognized veterinary immunologist, inventor, and Chairman at AusBiotech
• George Peppou- chef and CEO/Co-founder at cellular ag company VOW Foods

• The different types of alternative proteins, from plant-based to cultured meat;
• What’s driving their cost, and when it will come down;
• When they'll hit the market, and how much market share they’ll get; and
• What all this means for farmers, investors, and consumers.

Companies: RethinkX, AusBiotech • Topics: alt-protein, meat-protein, agtech-ecosystem

This week Sarah is joined by a guest host, Cass Mao, Principal Advisor at AgThentic, to chat with Pete Nelson of AgLaunch about how growers and agtech companies can work together in a model that they call "farmer-centric innovation"
Pete Nelson, originally a farmer and an English major at University, has been actively involved in building the support ecosystem for new agricultural enterprises for over 15 years. He has worked with a variety of public and private sector partners and helped to launch multiple startup companies. More recently he's been working on sector-specific initiatives to fund, incubate, and accelerate agricultural companies with high growth potential.
AgLaunch, which includes accelerator programs, a fund, and more, is focused on commercializing early stage agricultural innovation by working with farmers.
Cass and Sarah wanted to speak with Pete after writing a report last year on innovation ecosystems, and how best practices in the US can be applied to Australia. Rather than just look at hotspots like Silicon Valley, the report explored ag-focused places, like St. Louis and Tennessee, where AgLaunch is located. The report, called Building a globally Recognised AgTech ecosystem in Australia, is available here: https://agthentic.com/reports
In this episode, Pete explains what “farmer-centric innovation” means, how AgLaunch is driving it, and how having growers at the table fundamentally changes outcomes for startups and regional communities.
For additional resources and info, check out our blog: www.agtechsowhat.com/agtechsowhatepisodes/2020/4/8/ep-64-pete-nelson-on-partnering-with-growers-to-build-better-agtech

Companies: AgLaunch, AgThentic • Topics: ag-tech-adoption, venture-startups, agtech-ecosystem

Evan Fraser is a food systems innovation expert, the Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph in Canada, and the Founder of Feeding9Billion.
Though he didn't grow up on a farm, he brings a multi-disciplinary and systems approach to his work, with degrees and work experience in various fields from anthropology to atmospheric chemistry to agriculture. His passion for agriculture comes from his love of good food and summers spent spent working on his grandfather’s farm (more on that in the episode).
In this episode, Evan and I cover two main topics:

1. Three big barriers to agtech adoption, and what’s being done to overcome them; and
2. The impact of COVID-19 on agricultural supply chains.

• Arrell Food Institute (check out the videos and card game!)
• Feeding9Billion
• Evan on Twitter
• Evan on LinkedIn
• More thoughts from Evan on COVID-19
• Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations (Evan’s book)
• Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN)

Companies: Arrell Food Institute, Feeding9Billion • Topics: ag-tech-adoption, agtech-ecosystem, food-consumer, research

We hear all the time that we need to "feed the world" and that "agtech can help" But what role will indoor farming play? How do these systems work, what can they grow, and how do they make money?
Today’s guest, Allison Kopf, is an agtech entrepreneur and indoor ag expert. Her company, Artemis, builds software for indoor farms and specialty crops. In this episode, rebroadcast (with updates and edits) from a couple years ago, Allison shares an indoor ag 101.
We also cover the challenges for women in agtech, and how we can increase gender diversity in big and small ways. Happy (belated) International Women's Day to all our female listeners.
Resources and Links

• Artemis (formerly Agrilyst)
• Allison’s Forbes 30 under 30 interview
• 2017 State of Indoor Ag Report
• List of women in agtech that Allison started (and some press on it here)
• Allison and Artemis on twitter

Companies: Artemis • Topics: crops-horticulture, venture-startups, women-agtech, agtech-ecosystem

evokeAG, Asia Pacific's largest agrifood tech event, brought together 1300 innovators earlier in February this year in Melbourne, Australia. The jam-packed event featured international experts, innovative farmers, dozens of startups, and much more, showcasing what the region has to offer in agrifood tech innovation.
This bonus episode gives a taste of evokeAG and a live recording of the first panel on the main stage: The Asia-Pacific region and how we are rising. Panelists included:

• Andrew Coppin - Farmbot
• David Downs - NZTE
• John Hartnett - SVG Ventures/THRIVE
• Liza Noonan - CSIRO
• Sarah Nolet - Tenacious Ventures and host of AgTech...So What?

Companies: evokeAG, AgriFutures • Topics: agtech-ecosystem, finance-investing, government-policy

Agriculture is often vilified for its environmental impact. But what if agriculture could be carbon neutral? Is that even possible? And what would it cost?
Alisdair Tulloch, a fourth generation grape grower, believes it’s not only possible but also profitable.In this episode, Alisdair shares his family's journey to carbon neutral. Why did they decide to take action? How are they measuring? What improvements have they made, and how did they prioritize?
We also cover:

• The practices and management decisions Alisdair has made, and what’s working (or not);
• Why there’s a first-mover advantage of going carbon neutral;
• The ROI of carbon neutrality; and
• The potential of policies and carbon markets to unlock value for farmers.

• Instagram @keithtullochwine and @alisdairtulloch
• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KeithTullochWine/

• https://keithtullochwine.com.au/
• info@keithtullochwine
• The Fine Wine Specialist, their national distributor: https://www.tfws.com.au

Topics: carbon-markets, climate-risk, farm-economics, crops-horticulture

Mark “Ferg” Ferguson is a sheep geneticist who’s paying attention to how both consumer demands and emerging technologies are impacting growers. Drawing on his experience with dozens of clients around Australia and New Zealand, Ferg shares:

• insights for agtech companies, like the importance of personas and how to build relationships in a digital world;
• what the future of extension and consulting in livestock looks like;
• the role of cutting edge technologies in the sheep industry; and
• a vision for the future where consumers expectations are met and growers are profitable.

• https://www.nextgenagri.com/
• https://twitter.com/neXtgenAgri and https://twitter.com/Fergenetics
• https://www.nextgenagri.com/articles/farmer-people-that-farm-article-1
• Artificial Intelligence work: https://www.nextgenagri.com/articles/seen-one-seen-them-all
• NZ Merino: https://www.nzmerino.co.nz/

Companies: neXtgen Agri, Genesmith • Topics: genetics-breeding, livestock-dairy, ag-data, ag-tech-adoption