This episode gets into the weeds with James Westwood a professor at Virginia Tech whose research focuses on parasitic plants, plant communication, and weed evolution. He’s also the lead author of “Weed Management in 2050: Perspectives on the Future of Weed Science.” 

This episode we’re joined by Rachel Konrad, former Chief Communications Officer at Impossible Foods, who chats with Shely about the challenges facing today’s food system and what consumers really want from their food. 

Dana Worth, senior vice president of commercial for vertical farming company Plenty and former Impossible Foods VP, joins this episode to talk about indoor farming and connecting consumers to the future of agriculture. 

In this episode, Shely talks about regenerative farming, soil health, and agtech with Mitchell Hora a 7th generation Iowa farmer and founder/CEO of soil health data company Continuum Ag.

Matt Carstens, President and CEO of Landus Cooperative, Iowa’s largest farmer-owned cooperative focusing on soy and corn, joins the show this week to talk about innovation in agriculture and putting farmers at the center of agtech development. 

Benjamin Riensche, a sixth-generation Iowa farmer and chair of the strategic advisory board of Indigo Research Partners, joins Croptastic to talk about agtech, regenerative farming, and his recent trip to the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL.