Brash Ag

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive a 1970s tractor with an electric motor instead of an old diesel engine? Well this week the lads find out on a visit to Ben Bament of Somerset EV. With a degree in History, Ben didn’t follow a conventional route into engineering.

As a self taught engineer, Ben has completed some incredible electric conversion projects, from an MG F sports car with a Mitsubishi electric motor, BMW batteries and a 45mile range. Ben explains how this project landed him a job at Silent Classics working to electrify some of the coolest classic cars on the planet.

Alongside his work converting classic cars, Ben has also been building the business of Somerset EV, with his electric conversions for quadbikes and tractors and upgrades and maintenance on classic Landrovers. The British Leyland tractor converted to all electric is Ben's latest creation and he has some great stories of taking it out onto the open road and even taking it to an Octopus Energy fast charger to show the capability of his machine and his skill set.

Ray and Kit even get let loose around the fields of Somerset in the converted British Leyland tractor to put it through its paces.

This week Kit and Ray say Namaste to a whole year of being Brash. To celebrate a year of broadcasting, the pair meet up for a pint in a pub, fresh off the back of a trip to Somerset EV and discuss some of their standout episodes and guests. Including;

Is autonomy the silver bullet for farming - Why was this episode so popular? And what does the adoption of robotics in the UK look like now, have either of the hosts changed their minds?

Chris Laudando from L&Aser on his thoughts about Robotics adoption in and farmer perceptions for automation rather than autonomy.

Brian Matthew MP and his work to bring water sources to communities in Africa working with Wateraid and how engineering can intertwine with culture when delivering such life changing projects.

Matt Ryan CCO of Oxbury Bank, his journey into agriculture through deploying transformational technologies in New Zealand and then into agricultural banking and fintech.

Chris Chaveese of Muddy Machines and his “Assist, Reduce, Replicate” framework for robotics on farm. Kit and Ray also discuss the sad demise of Muddy Machines following their unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign.

Callum Chalmers of FarmScan Ag and his positivity about the UK as a country to be based in and the backing for agritech that is available to support innovators and entrepreneurs.

Doreen Abeysundra and her Bankable! Podcast, helping founders and entrepreneurs to discover what it takes to bankroll a project and how investing in a startup has to stand up against other options for allocating capital.

It goes without saying that the pair discuss Balespike-ology, how innovators can get started and build a business and how their approach applies to some of the individuals and businesses mentioned on the pod.

Of course Kit even manages to mention the love of his life FarmDroid.

This week Ray and Kit sit down with Tom Beach, founder of Autonomous Agri Solutions and CTO of Bare Acres. Tom shares his journey from growing up on his family’s Warwickshire farm and working in the farm shop at weekends, to navigating education and turning his dyslexia into a superpower on the path to agricultural engineering.

He tells the story of how a chance meeting at Agritechnica led to importing the Robotti robotic farming platform into the UK, and gives his take on the Robots as a Service model after rolling it out with UK farmers. He explains how he was able to grow out a service and support offering for new and emerging tech being imported under the A.A.S brand.

Tom also gives the co-hosts an exclusive look into his latest venture, Bare Acres – a dedicated launch pad, test space and hub for global ag-tech in the UK. Alongside Bertie Phillips and Archie Hawkins. Tom shares how this could provide the starting point for a technology adoption based venture fund!

A conversation full of grit, insight, and big visions for the future of farm automation. 🚜🤖

#AgTech #FarmInnovation #BaleSpikeology #Agritech #BrashAgPodcast #AgMachinery #FarmTech #SustainableAg #AgriculturePodcast #AgRobotics #Lasers #Nonchemicalweeding #farmer #Namaste #automation #Robotti #funding #VC

In this news feed episode Kit and Ray catch up on the latest developments in the L&Aser and Carbon Robotics legal battle following the interview with Laudando & Associates LLC in last week's episode. Did Chris follow through with his upload of the L&Aser IP to Github?

The pair also share news of the sad closure of Vapourmatic a well known agricultural spares retailer in the UK by its parent company John Deere.

The co-hosts also consider recent government support for the UK steel industry in support of national security and whether farming should be considered through the same lens, especially given that the raw materials for steel production are imported.

And in other news the pair get away from AgriTech to discuss the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, how it has been both hilarious and terrifying in equal measure and what this kind of technology could mean for agriculture and farm automation.

In other other news, Kit and Ray celebrate the 1st Birthday of Brash Ag and take some time to reminisce on the past 45 episodes.

#AgTech #FarmInnovation #BaleSpikeology #Agritech #BrashAgPodcast #AgMachinery #FarmTech #SustainableAg #AgriculturePodcast #AgRobotics #Lasers #Nonchemicalweeding #farmer #Namaste #automation #Britishsteel #1stbirthday

This week the pair journey (virtually) across the Atlantic to Chew the cud with Agritech pioneer and innovator Chris Laudando Founder of Laudando & Associates. Chris shares his background growing up as a “Rust belt kid”, finding social mobility training as a mechanical engineer at Purdue University. Chris explains how he was able to leverage his skills and experience from the food processing industry in the farming sector, delivering R&D and NRE projects for US based farmers and growers. Chris also gives Ray and Kit an update on the ongoing legal battle that Laudando & Associates has been going through in a fight over Laserweeding technology with Carbon robotics.

Could the light at the end of the tunnel for the battle come from RFK Jnr and the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign or has lobbying from the chemical behemoths taken the sting out of the tail of the MAHA movement?

#AgTech #FarmInnovation #BaleSpikeology #Agritech #BrashAgPodcast #AgMachinery #FarmTech #SustainableAg #AgriculturePodcast #AgRobotics #Lasers #Nonchemicalweeding #farmer #Namaste #automation

Kit and a tired and delirious Ray catch up to hear about the new arrival in the King household. The pair also get the opportunity to chew the cud with Jonathan Gill to reflect on 10 years since the birth of Hand Free Hectare. Jonathan shares some fascinating insights into the development of drone tech and how his passion for this technology has shaped his career and helped to launch the Hands Free Hectare. The trio also speculate on what new technologies are going to be reframing farming in the future and how this could be showcased in a “Hectare project”...could this be the start of the “Hovering hectare”.

#AgTech #FarmInnovation #BaleSpikeology #AgEngineering #BrashAgPodcast #AgMachinery #FarmTech #SustainableAg #AgriculturePodcast #AgRobotics #HoveringHectare #Drones #Dronetech

This week Kit returns from his soul searching trip to Scotland to “find himself” (the jury is still out on whether this has worked). The pair also delve into the mail bag to hear about some “Bale spike” products that listeners have been found out in the wild, including some correspondence from Adam Keene from OnTrak and Number 1 podcast fan Kieran Walsh from Grounded Advice. The Co-hosts talk through some “Bale spike-ology” products that they have found, including Agri-steer from Solsteer. Will Flittner (the other number 1 podcast fan) shares his first sighting of an AgXeed robot working in the wild and his conversation with the proud new owner.

Ray and King also take some time to talk through some future ideas for the podcast as well as making some big personal announcements.

#AgTech #FarmInnovation #BaleSpikeology #AgEngineering #BrashAgPodcast #AgMachinery #FarmTech #SustainableAg #AgriculturePodcast #AgRobotics

This week Ray and Kit talk about funding and financing for Agtech and cleantech ventures, founder of Fresco CleanTech solutions as well as host of Bankable! Podcast, Doreen Abeysundra. Doreen describes herself as a “Recovering Banker” and she is now working with cutting edge technologies and businesses to become as she puts it…bankable! Doreen gives some really fascinating insights into the macro-economic forces at play driving investor sentiment, what investors look for when assessing opportunities and how start-ups can set themselves up for successful funding. This episode is a gold mine for anyone looking for funding in Agtech and cleantech.

Fesco CleanTech Solutions: https://frescocleantech.solutions/

Bankable podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/4vmaSZYB8XxYnVKTGFUhGc?si=5f87202c160441ab

This week Kit and Ray go transatlantic and chew the cud with Bill O’Neill of Agwise.io. The pair hear all about how Bill’s career and how he started and scaled businesses in the meat industry and how he took what he learned from the UK meat industry back to the USA to help him on his journey. Bill also tells the co-hosts all about his latest venture, Agwise.io, how he and his co-founder got started and the problems the business is looking to solve for small and mid-sized farmers in the US. Bill also gives some fascinating insights into how government policy in the USA is starting to change the direction of US farmers and how the UK and Europe have been able to lead the way. An episode not to be missed….

#AgTech #FarmData #BrashAgPodcast #SustainableAg #AgInnovation #USDA #USA #MAHA #regen

This week sees the return of the news feed. Ray and Kit get caught up on the latest developments in agtech, ag machinery and farming including:

🚜 TAFE vs AGCO - Have the two tractor manufacturing giants managed to resolve their differences, without legal intervention? And what does it mean for the future of the Massey Ferguson Brand?

🧑‍⚖️ L&Aser vs Carbon Robotics - Why is L&Aser open sourcing its technology by sharing the IP on Github? Who are Carbon Robotics big financial backers? and critically did Kit carryout similar research at Harper Adams University over 10 years ago?

🌱 USDA - Is agriculture more important than defence and should we consider farming a matter of national security

♟️UK Industrial Strategy - Does agtech get a mention in the recently published Industrial Strategy? What could the strategy hold for the future of the ag sector?

🤖AgXeed - Can robots match up to humans when it comes to record breaking and why is it so important show farmers what robots can do?

⚡Somerset EV - Can old tech become new tech? Why converting old tech could be better than buying new? What can a small firm in Somerset teach the agtech sector about electrification?

All this plus updates from Flynt Technology, IUK funding opportunities and you can have your say about the next deep dig episode. Don’t miss out.