"Tractor Wars" by Neil Dahlstrom: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1953295746/

Software is Feeding the World (Rhishi's newsletter): https://www.rhishipethe.com/sftw

[History of Agriculture] Cyrus McCormick And The Birth Of Mechanical Harvesting

 It's impossible to picture the modern food system we have today without the invention of the tractor. And it happened really not that long ago, just over a hundred years ago.

Today we're gonna be talking about this book, "Tractor Wars" by Neil Dahlstrom. Neil is the manager of archives and history at John Deere and tackling this book with me is my good friend and repeat host on the podcast, Rhishi Pethe.

An excerpt from the epilogue of "Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester and the Birth of Modern Agriculture":

" Fortune magazine called the 1920s the decade of the Fordson. Not everyone agreed, but the fact that the Fordson accelerated adoption of the farm tractor and forever altered the competitive landscape is undeniable. Ford was right about the insatiable appetite for automobiles and in time for farm tractors. There were now 17 million passenger cars and nearly two and a half million trucks traveling on more than 521,000 miles of surfaced roads. But he had miscalculated the connection between farmers and their land and their constantly evolving needs. Most importantly, farmers wanted to fortify that relationship, not end it. Only 33 American farm tractor manufacturers remained in 1929 as mergers, consolidations and bankruptcies continued to narrow the field. In its overview of the tractor industry in early 1928 the Tractor Field book surmised that large numbers of inefficient machines were discarded during the five-year period from 1920 to 1924. As many were built by companies whose efforts were largely experimental."

So it's that process of like explosion in consolidation that we're gonna be talking about here today from Neil Dahlstrom's book.

The Almond Doctor: https://www.thealmonddoctor.com/

David's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheAlmondDoctor

FoA 249: A Global Perspective on Tree Nuts with The Almond Doctor

David Doll was raised in a rural area growing apples and peaches. After attending Purdue University for his B.S. in Plant Biology, he attended graduate school at UC Davis, completing his M.S. in Plant Pathology. Shortly after completion, he started to work as a Farm Advisor the University of California.

After ten years of working as a Farm Advisor, David moved to Portugal in November 2018 to work as the lead developer for Rota Unica Almonds. His task is to develop California styled almond plantations within Alentejo. Through this process, he has become familiar with some of the various challenges associated with growing almonds in Portugal and Europe.

Prior to his move, David worked with farmers in the Central Valley of California in troubleshooting problems and conducting on farm research within almonds, walnuts and pistachios. In this position, he would visit nearly 200 operations and deliver 35 presentations annually. He has published over 35 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. Currently, he works with almond operations across the world, including California, Africa, and Australia. Many of his observations and lessons learned have been shared within his online platform, “The Almond Doctor,” where he shares research, experiences and opinions of better farm management practices for almond orchards.

AgriCorps: http://www.agricorps.org/

Movement for School-Based Agricultural Education: http://www.sbae.org/

4-H Liberia: https://4hliberia.wordpress.com/

Trent McKnight's TedX Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2pPO29DaYs

Today’s episode is going to open a lot of eyes I think. We tend to think of youth programs like 4-H and FFA as great things for the kids to be doing. Very few recognize them for the power they have to not only develop young agricultural leaders but also as tools for spreading ideas and technologies. 

That’s what today’s episode is about, and it’s a personal one for me. I grew up in 4-H and FFA and both organizations had a profound impact on my life and my worldview. Then in 2012 I joined a team led by today’s guest, Trent McKnight, and spent several weeks in the country of Liberia interviewing farmers about food insecurity and farming practices. That experience also left a permanent impression on my life. 

So I’ve known Trent for about 25 years now and have had a chance to work with his non-profit organization, AgriCorps in various capacities over the years. In fact Trent first appeared on this show WAY back on episode 27, which i posted in November of 2016, so over eight years ago. 

For those of you not familiar, 4-H and FFA are youth agricultural organizations. 4-H varies a lot state to state and country to country, but in Liberia which is a country in subsaharan Africa that we will focus on today, they have what is known as a school-based agricultural education model. So in that way Liberia 4-H is similar to how FFA is here in the states. It involves three major components: classroom instruction in agriculture as part of their school, leadership events and contents, and a project outside of the classroom which in Liberia they refer to as a Home Entrepreneurship Project or HEP. 

If it sounds like a great way to learn a lot about agriculture and develop yourself as a leader and entrepreneur, you’re absolutely right. But it’s also more than that. The model was intended to lower the risk of adopting new agricultural innovations and as you’re about to hear it is also very effective in doing just that. 

Some biographical background: 

Trent McKnight is an experienced international agriculturalist, investor, and cattle rancher from rural West Texas. Trent holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Agricultural Economics and Comparative Politics from Oklahoma State University and The London School of Economics, respectively. He has held leadership positions, including national president of the Future Farmers of America and chair of the USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Advisory Committee. In 2013, Trent founded AgriCorps, a nonprofit organization focused on improving school-based agricultural education in sub-Saharan Africa. Through AgriCorps, he created the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program under the Trade Title of the 2018 Farm Bill and launched The Movement for School-Based Agricultural Education. 

G. Umaru Sheriff is the National Executive Director and co-founder of 4-H Liberia, a local Non-Governmental Organisation reviving efforts from the 1970s and 1980s, when Liberia boasted over 1,000 4-H clubs. Under his leadership, 4-H Liberia has worked in hundreds of rural communities and empowered thousands of youth through School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) and leadership development. Committed to evidence and learning, Umaru partnered with Northwestern University, Innovations for Poverty Action, and AgriCorps on the largest randomized controlled trial of a 4-H program in Africa, involving 197 schools. Born and raised in Liberia, Umaru’s life was profoundly shaped by the Liberian Civil War, during which he lived as a refugee in Sierra Leone for five years. He returned to Liberia after the war and graduated from the University of Liberia in 2010 with a BBA in Accounting and Public Administration.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

Follow Chris on X: https://x.com/pettyranch

Today's episode features 5th generation farmer Chris Sayer of Petty Ranch. Chris grows avocados in Ventura County, which is just northwest of the Los Angeles area. And there are several unique aspects to Chris’ story. First, he grows avocados, which is awesome, and I wanted to find out how he stays competitive with so many avocados coming from Mexico these days. Also he grows them in a very populated area, so there are a ton of considerations there from urban sprawl to water management to theft. I also wanted to ask Chris about soil health. I knew from talking to him previously that he grows cover crops and really thinks deeply about soil and water conservation, so we dive deeper into that as well. 

Chris grew up on the farm but left to attend Northwestern University where he majored in Political Science and joined the Navy ROTC. That led to flight training school and an eight year commitment to serving in the Navy. After completing his service, Chris worked in tech in the late 90s before returning to the farm and taking over management in 2001

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

[Spotlight] Integrating Tech and Iron With Chris Dempsey of CNH

[Spotlight] How Case IH Turns Customer Insights Into Farm Equipment

Where Tech Meets Tractor With Joe Miller of CNH

Strategic Investing in Ag Technologies With Michele Lombardi of CNH Ventures

As part of this quarter’s sponsorship, Case IH has given me access to some of their key people to learn more about what goes into developing the tractors and equipment that farmers use every day. This is our third and final installment of that series, so if you haven’t already listened to the first two with Dan Klein and Chris Dempsey, I highly recommend you go do that after listening to this spotlight.

Today’s interview features Scott Harris, who at the time of this interview was the Brand President at Case IH. In the time since the interview took place, it was announced that Scott took on the role of president of CNH North America, so congratulations to Scott on that. Scott told me he feels like he was destined to work in the ag industry but his story began as a secondary education teacher in Applied Technology. From there he spent over 20 years in the automotive and finance industries, and says he found his calling when he joined CNH Industrial in 2006.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

CNH Ventures: https://www.cnh.com/en-US/Our-Company/Ventures

Today's episode features Michele Lombardi. Michele is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at CNH and the Head of CNH Ventures. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Company’s long-term business strategies and in-house capabilities, tied to inorganic growth. Through this work, he holds Board positions in several of the independent technology companies in which CNH has invested, such as Monarch Tractor, Stout Industrial Technology and Zasso.

Michele and I talk about how he’s thinking about the future of agricultural technology, some wins and lessons from his experiences in this industry, what it means to be a strategic investor, and how he handles the convergence of startups and the large established brands he represents at CNH. 

Michele joined CNH in 2008. Prior to his current role, he was Head of Global Mergers and Acquisitions from 2019 – 2021. His international assignments with the company have included: Executive Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand; Head of the Iveco brand for the Asia Pacific Region; Head of the Iveco China branch; Managing Director for CNH Industrial South East Asia & Japan.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

Twisted River Farm: https://www.twistedriverfarm.com/

Follow Steve on X: https://x.com/TRFyeomanfarmer

Steve Strasheim of Twisted River Farm. I’ve followed Steve on X for a long time now, and I’ve been really looking forward to getting him on the show for a few reasons. 

He focuses on a totally different model for farming that is radically different from the commodity mindset. Instead of economies of scale being the priority, his top priority is connection to his customers. Because of that he’s able to build his business without the two biggest barriers for most farmers: access to a lot of land and a lot of capital. It’s more the bootstrapped version of getting started in farming. And I’ve seen this market garden model work. There are well-known YouTubers like Curtis Stone in Canada that have inspired countless others to pursue this version of farming on small sections of other people’s land and building a business on customer relationships rather than economies of scale. I can remember being inspired by finding Curtis Stone’s content maybe a decade ago, but I thought it was a model that could only work in urban areas with very affluent consumers that only want to buy local. In Steve’s case, he’s in rural Iowa. Mitchell, Iowa, to be exact. About 12 miles south of the Minnesota border. 

Steve first became interested in local food in 2013, so in 2014 he began raising chickens. He did that as a side business and then in 2017 he ditched the chicken project for vegetables, which he said proved to be a much better fit for him from the very beginning. Since that time he has grown his operation to a few different locations that total around three acres of borrowed land. He mostly pays in produce. Although when we spoke he was in the process of buying a five acre property to centralize his operation. 

Steve is a great example of what it takes to build a direct to consumer business from scratch. His model includes growing produce most of the year, he has some hoop houses that help him extend his season. He sells at a couple of farmers markets and thorough a CSA - which stands for community supported agriculture. These are subscriptions that his customers pay for to get a box of fresh produce either weekly or every other week. He also sells to some grocery stores and restaurants but since COVID his focus has been mostly on the direct sales to the end customer. And all of this is a very rural area, which kind of blows my mind.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

McCain's Farms of the Future

Hot Potato Podcast

Today’s episode features Dr. Michelle D’Souza. Michelle is the Manager of Research and Innovation for McCain’s Farm of the Future Project. In this role, her mission is to empower McCain on its journey to developing sustainable corporate frameworks that benefit society and nature through regenerative agriculture.

Some of you may know that McCain has set some ambitious goals for transitioning their potato supply chain to regenerative agriculture. Over the years they have been willing to lead in their commitments and also back those commitments up with incentives and support for farmers trying to adopt regenerative practices. As such, they have hired scientists like Michelle. Dr. Michelle D’Souza is a molecular ecologist whose work focuses on biodiversity conservation, community engagement, and knowledge mobilization. So first and foremost, she is a scientist who in addition to her work at McCain still works as a Visiting Scientist at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. 

Michelle and I have a great conversation about McCain’s commitments, how the progress has been so far,  and how their farms of the future are designed to serve as farm-scale laboratories for regenerative transition. We also discuss why biodiversity should be a goal we should strive for in agriculture, who is responsible paying for soil conservation, and a whole lot more. 

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

Subscribe to Janette Barnard's Prime Future Newsletter: https://primefuture.substack.com/

Connect with Ian Lahiffe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-lahiffe-25165b1a/

If you had to make a shortlist of the key drivers of the global agricultural commodity trade over the past 30 years, one of the top drivers would most certainly be China.

" The Chinese livestock industry and how Chinese consumers choose their protein has a direct impact on global agriculture. China's obviously the world's largest importer of dairy, largest importer of beef, largest importer of soy, largest importer of corn." - Ian Lahiffe

Ian Lahiffe has been living and working in China for nearly 14 years. He joins Janette Barnard on today’s episode to help us better understand the Chinese market, and even more importantly, unpack some important changes that impact global agriculture. 

 "There's two trends that I think US producers should be concerned about. One is Brazil becoming increasingly close to China, and that . Brazilian product can get more easily to the port. And the second is that, Chinese producers are actively looking at nutritional solutions where they can reduce the amount of imported soy that they need. The trend looks like US producers need to look for those next markets. I think the boat is sailing on being very reliant on China." - Ian Lahiffe

Janette Barnard and Ian Lahiffe talk about some big changes happening in China on today’s Future of Agriculture podcast. 

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.

This quarter of the Future of Agriculture podcast is made possible by Case IH: https://www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates

Today’s special episode is what I like to call a spotlight. Instead of our normal format of a 40 minute long form interview, it’s just a short peak into something interesting. The topics for these spotlights are determined in collaboration with our quarterly presenting sponsor, which this quarter is Case IH.

If you listened to our last spotlight with Dan Klein about a month ago, you already know that this quarter Case IH has given me access to some of their people to learn more about what goes into developing the tractors and equipment that farmers use every day. These spotlight segments are usually farmers, and it just so happens that’s also the case here, Chris Dempsey, like Dan Klein is not only a Case IH employee, but a farmer himself.

Today’s episode builds upon what Dan shared about how Case IH stays systematically customer-focused through their Customer Driven Product Design. Chris is going to share more about the integration of technology and iron and how that comes together in the modern Magnum Tractor.

Chris Dempsey has spent 12 years with CNH and Case IH in a variety of roles in the technology space spanning dealer technical support, quality, marketing, and product management.

Chris is currently responsible for overseeing precision technology integration across CNH’s portfolio of iron products as well as global go to market execution of technology solutions across CNH’s house of brands.

And the pride Chris and his colleagues have in Case IH and specifically in the Magnum is very evident when you hear them talk about it.

Brought to you by Case IH:

Case IH designs, engineers and produces cutting-edge farm equipment based on a comprehensive understanding of farmers’ needs, wants and challenges, integrating these insights into their development and manufacturing.

For example, take their Model Year 25 Magnum tractor. The new Magnum is purposefully designed to answer farmers’ needs in every design and engineering choice. Improved horsepower for pulling heavier loads, faster.

Bundled, integrated and ready-to-go precision tech for greater accuracy in the field. And a transmission farmers can tweak for improved control and performance in different tasks.

That kind of design thinking is exactly where the future of ag is headed, and that’s why you’ll be hearing me talk to the folks at Case IH at different points throughout this quarter about what they do and how they’re working to push the ag forward.