FOCUS on Agriculture

This episode is the second part of our interview with Rob Saik about his latest book, Food 5.0 - How We Feed the Future.  It it he explains how bioengineering, precision agriculture, automation, and big data are converging to make farmers more effective at producing food than ever before.  Rob has forty years of experience as a professional Agrologist and an international consultant who's worked with everyone from Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture to Bill Gates.  He has been hailed as an agriculture futurist with unparalleled insight into where the industry is headed.  He is the founder of AGvisorPRO, a platform that "uberizes" knowledge and wisdom., enabling farmers to instantaneously connect with agriculture experts worldwide.  You can learn more about Rob at robertsaik.com and follow him on Twitter @RSaik.  Pick up Food 5.0 on Amazon or at your local bookseller.

In this episode, we chat with Rob Saik about his latest book, Food 5.0 - How We Feed the Future, in which he describes the history and future of agriculture.  Rob has forty years of experience as a professional Agrologist and an international consultant who's worked with everyone from Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture to Bill Gates.  He has been hailed as an agriculture futurist with unparalleled insight into where the industry is headed.  He is the founder of AGvisorPRO, a platform that "uberizes" knowledge and wisdom., enabling farmers to instantaneously connect with agriculture experts worldwide.  You can learn more about Rob at robertsaik.com and follow him on Twitter @RSaik.  Pick up Food 5.0 on Amazon or at your local bookseller.

In this episode we explore digital agriculture, and how its adoption benefits farmers and the environment.  Our guest is Tom Eickhoff, a Nebraska farm boy who is now director of implementation for the Climate Corporation.  You can find additional information on digital ag and the Climate Corporation at Climate.com

This episode was a discussion with David Zaruk. David is a professor at Odisee University and is most widely known as the “Risk-Monger.” He has been an EU risk and science communications specialist since 2000, active in EU policy events from REACH and SCALE to the Pesticides Directive, from Science in Society questions to the use of Precautionary Principle. You can find his Risk Monger blog at: https://risk-monger.com/ and be sure to follow him on Twitter at: @zaruk

This is the third episode in our exploration of the history of plant breeding.  Here we discuss the current state of corn breeding, including how technologies such as Genome Editing (CRISPR) and Genome Wide Selection are being utilized to bring better products to the marketplace.  Devin Nichols is a University of Illinois graduate and corn breeder with Bayer Crop Science.  Devin uses his brains at work, but brawn in his spare time and recently appeared on an episode of NBC's American Ninja Warrior: https://www.nbc.com/american-ninja-warrior/video/cincinnati-city-qualifiers/3983200.  You can interact with Devin on Twitter by following @kiltedbreeder.

Today we continue our exploration of the history of plant breeding.  In this episode we discuss the biotech revolution, and how molecular markers and genetic modification increased the speed and efficiency by which scientists have been able to improve crops.  Tom Floyd is a retired plant breeder who developed hundreds of commercially successful soybean varieties in a career that spanned parts of 5 decades.

In this episode, we explore the history of genetic improvement of plants, beginning with the earliest days of farmers saving seed from the best plants through the discoveries of Gregor Mendel, Rosalind Franklin, Norman Borlaug, and others.  In upcoming episodes in this series, we will discuss molecular markers, the biotech revolution, and the future of plant breeding.  Tom Floyd is a retired plant breeder who developed hundreds of commercially successful soybean varieties in a career that spanned parts of 5 decades.

In this episode, we discuss the benefits of GMO crops to the environment, consumers, and farmers with Dr. Stuart Smyth, professor in Ag and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan.  As an economist, Dr. Smith researches the socioeconomic impacts of innovation in agriculture.  You can learn more about his research through his blog, SAIFood (Sustainable Agricultural Innovations and Food) at saifood.ca.  Dr. Smyth also advocates for modern ag on Twitter (@stuartsmyth66)

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and look forward to reconnecting with you in January.  We have an exciting slate of topics to discuss in 2020, including the evolution of plant breeding, food and pollinator safety, and digital agriculture, along with many others.  Look for our upcoming episodes starting in early January.

Today we discuss the current and future state of precision agriculture with Brad Stoller, global supply chain manager at Precision Planting.  Learn how advances in precision agriculture benefit farmers, consumers, and the environment.  You can investigate Precision Planting products at www.precisionplanting.com.