Fresh Takes On Tech

Understanding where investors put their money in 2020 will help guide predictions for 2021. In this session Ingrid Fung, an Investment Director with Finistere Ventures, will discuss what areas of agricultural technology venture capitalists invested in in 2020. We will also hear from AgTech companies about what it took to weather COVID-19 and fundraise during such a difficult year.

Join the conversation with Nate Storey of Plenty and Scott Komar of Driscoll’s about their R&D collaboration. Driscoll’s and Plenty are partnering to bring berries with superior flavor to all regions of the world.  Plenty will incorporate Driscoll’s proprietary genetics and berry expertise into its advanced, indoor farming technology using its plant science, data science, and robotics expertise. Through this controlled environment, Plenty can consistently deliver great flavors from Driscoll’s varieties, while also optimizing for texture and size. The indoor environment allows companies to meet the future needs of consumers worldwide, including geographical locations that are not hospitable to growing strawberries.

In this episode, we continue our virtual tour to Brazil to explore the AgTech explosion. We discuss the flourishing tech and innovation ecosystem developing in the country. Startups in Brazil have access to a market with one of the highest levels of mobile saturation, a wide range of investment options from local and international Brazil-centric funds, and support from a government that has made driving business growth one of its key priorities. In agriculture specifically, Brazil has transformed itself from food importer into one of the world’s leading producers in less than 30 years. Brazil is the first tropical country to be among the world’s leading food exporters. It is now the leading producer and exporter of sugar, coffee and orange juice, and the second largest for beef, soybeans, tobacco and ethanol. With such growth in tech, innovation, and access to capital and talent in an Ag powerhouse, the AgTech sector is thriving. Listen to our discussion with the top people in Brazil making it happen.

We would all like to know what exactly we should eat to make and keep us healthy and to support maximum performance. And some of us would follow the advice! This would require knowing our genetics, immediate environmental factors, and the nutrient make up of the exact food you’re are eating. This requires data from your body and the food. I would love to open an app and have it all there for me. Listen to this episode to find out where we are in the that process. We hear from Dr. Sarah Laskey, a data scientist, Dr. Haven Baker from Pairwise and Greg Shewmaker from Teak Origin talk about what their companies are doing to make and keep us healthy.

PMA Takes on Tech hits the virtual road to explore what is happening in other regions. Agriculture is an important and growing industry in Australia. The country has thriving agtech clusters and world-class life sciences institutions that support industry, investment, academia and government to commercialize new products and processes. However like most regions, global warming and diminishing natural resources present challenges to agriculture along with the rising cost of energy, labor, fertilizer, seeds and herbicides. Searching for solutions to these challenges with in-country support has created a good environment for Agtech to grow and prosper. We talk to Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor who are center stage for this growth. And also two entrepreneurs: Dr. Nancy Schellhorn from RapidAIM using the Internet of Things sensor technology to take the guess-work out of pest management and Andrew Bate from SwarmFarm Robotics, whot has developed and delivered autonomous robots to commercial farmers. Here is the video mentioned of work in the apple orchard.

Controlled Environment Agriculture, including indoor and greenhouse production, is a small but high-potential, rapidly growing part of the food system. CEA can play a role to ensure food security and supply chain resilience. And also meet consumer demands around transparency, traceability, and sustainability while supplying nutritious, high-quality products that taste good. CEA requires a fraction of the water of other types of production, often up to 90-95% less. In this episode we talk to Dr. Alexa Lamm about water conservation technology in CEA and then two giants in CEA: AppHarvest and Plenty about how they manage their water use.

Join this conversation originally recorded at Crusonia on the Delta: Food is Health Digital Forum in November. We dig into three areas: the consumer, the modern food system and action for progress. We come at these topics from different perspectives and experiences but all with an eye to make food healthier and more accessible for a healthier planet.

Regenerative Agriculture is one of the most talked about trends in the food supply chain – from producers to consumers and large food brands. In some circles it has a emotional following based on strong beliefs, not science. Having to adapt has become the norm for many farmers across the world. Changes to weather patterns, climate unpredictability and the need to protect our natural environment means that producers are now looking for new ways to enhance the resiliency of farms, boosting sustainability and biodiversity in the process. Regen Ag is farming for outcomes in a specific location considering the entire ecosystem, not using the same playbook across all systems. In this episode, we talk to two brothers working with their family farm to transition to regenerative agriculture. We get a real life understanding of strengths and weaknesses and the need for more technology, not less. We also talk to the CEO of Monarch Tractor, a “tractor as platform” company that is a great tool for companies transitioning to Regen Ag.

Pollinators are essential to the production of many of the micronutrient rich fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and oils we eat. In fact, 5-8% of global crop production depends on animal pollination for sustained production, yield and quality. In this episode we will talk to 3 experts in the field. We will first hear from Dr. Christian Maus- Entomology & Pollination Science Lead at Bayer Crop Science.  He has been studying pollination globally for over 20 years and will talk to us about the importance of pollination and some of the challenges. We will also hear from two startups, Omer Davidi, CEO & Co-Founder of BeeHero https://www.beehero.io/ and Ellie Symes CEO of Bee Corp https://www.thebeecorp.com/ about their two different high tech solutions to monitor and improve the health and lives of bees.

This episode is a rebroadcast of a live PMA Virtual Town Hall held in September. In this episode we talk about the Last Mile for fresh produce and meal delivery. It is a truism in the on-demand industry today that the very last step of the supply chain is the most crucial, as well as the most problematic. Owing to its place in the end of the chain, it is often referred to as the ‘Last-Mile Delivery’. Distributing produce and prepared food direct to consumer was gaining traction prior to the pandemic and we have seen more mainstream acceptance as a result of it. We hear from Ashley Tyrner CEO and founder of FarmBox Direct https://www.farmboxdirect.com/, Manoel Coelho CEO and founder of Speedbird Aero https://speedbird.aero/ and Bobby Healy CEO and founder of Manna Drone Delivery https://www.manna.aero/.  Here are the videos mentioned in the podcast: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HouJtmM0cIv0UfDu3pQjcQgu2QrzwGjR/view?usp=sharing and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UyBUdgy2krxXqU7VTaP2ZslVdUwrQ26P/view.  Lots of cool drone talk in this episode!