The Modern Acre

On this edition of Acre Insights, Tim and Tyler break down their takeaways from attending the RFSI Forum last month in Denver focused on the investing landscape in regenerative agriculture. They also share some sound bites from Brian Dawson, Rosario Bennett, and Jack Richardson on their biggest takeaways as well.

• RFSI Forum
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This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Robby Sansom is Co-Founder & CEO at Force of Nature, a regeneratively sourced meat company based in Austin, TX.

Robby's roots run deep in the natural food community. Previously, as CFO/COO at EPIC, Robby spent much of the last decade studying regenerative agriculture at ranches all over the world. Through this education, Force of Nature was co-founded with the intention to accelerate the creation of a global regenerative supply network. Force of Nature works in partnership with land stewards, ranchers and farmers committed to creating a positive return on the planet. With Force of Nature, consumers now have the ability to invest in environmental regeneration by consuming meat that is good for the planet.

Born and raised in Austin, TX, he received both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Texas. When he's not building businesses aimed at saving the planet, Robby can be found on a trail, ocean, mountain or field, always making time to appreciate nature and explore his surroundings. Robby is also a land steward at ROAM Ranch where he owns regeneratively managed bison.

• Robby on LinkedIn
• Force of Nature on Instagram
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This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Marcus Lovell Smith is the CEO of Neutral Foods, the first carbon neutral food company in the United States that debuted nationally in 2021 with organic whole and 2% milk products available in more than 2,000 grocery stores from coast to coast. An accomplished leader in sustainable agriculture, technology, and entrepreneurship, Marcus has a personal connection to the agricultural world and a passion for the urgent need to reshape its impact on the planet. Steadfast to make a difference in climate change, Marcus and his team at Neutral are partnering with farmers and ranchers to apply the latest in agricultural science, reduce their carbon footprints and boost the supply side of more sustainable dairy and beef products to meet growing demand from consumers looking to improve their carbon footprints. Marcus lives on a family farm in New Hampshire, Boggy Meadow, that produces artisanal cheese. He moved to the family farm 20 years ago and spent the first four years as a full-time dairy farmer and small business owner. Marcus has a personal understanding of farmers' challenges and an unwavering commitment to forging sustainable practices that protect the environment. Marcus remains a Special Advisor at Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Previously, he was the CTO of Google Fiber, a role that helped revolutionize fiber-optic internet and television services. He also served as the CEO of Diagnostics for All, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives in the developing world. Marcus has navigated Neutral Foods through its initial funding rounds. Under his guidance, the company closed a Series A funding round, securing $12 million, with Breakthrough Energy Ventures leading the investment. Notably, investors such as LeBron James, John Legend, and Questlove recognized the transformative potential of Neutral Foods, contributing, among other investors, to earlier seed rounds totaling approximately $8 million. Marcus is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard University. He has been featured in The New York Times, CNBC.com, and on multiple live broadcasts of Cheddar News and local news stations nationwide.

• Marcus on LinkedIn
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This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Peter Williams is the President of MyLand and has been with the company for three years, where he focuses on strategy, corporate finance, sales and marketing.

Peter has over twenty-five years of experience with a career that spans engineering, sales and investment banking, prior to launching, running and exiting a diverse group of businesses. As an advisor, Peter has been involved in over $13 billion in private and public equity and debt financing transactions; and has advised on numerous mergers & acquisitions with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $3 billion. These transactions covered a broad range of industries including electric and gas utilities, chemicals, agriculture, fertilizer, aerospace and defense, biofuels, clean technology, and construction.

• Peter on LinkedIn
• Become a Premium Subscriber

This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

We are excited to share the first edition of our new podcast series focused on telling the stories of ag companies. The story of The Climate Corporation spans decades, multiple name changes, acquisitions, controversy, product pivots and more. Hear about the company that David Friedberg founded and sold to Monsanto for $930 million, plus the history and future of digital agriculture.

• Join the Co-op!
• David's Letter to the Company
• Contributors: Rhishi Pethe, Nathan Faleide, and Mark Young
• Our interview with Corbett Kull
• Our interview with Craig Rupp

This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

This month, Tim and Tyler talk with Ariel about her latest Topsoil edition - "Beyond the carbon buzz - A framework for environmental sustainability in agriculture."

Ariel Patton is the creator of Topsoil, a newsletter bringing you monthly frameworks to help make sense of agriculture, at just the right depth. Ariel has focused her career on driving digital transformation of agriculture to help farmers manage their businesses more profitably and sustainably at Monsanto, Granular, Corteva and currently, Mineral.

• Join the Co-op
• Subscribe to Topsoil

This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Episode 300 is here. Check out the new look website and Co-op. Plus, we talk about why we recently made the decision to quit organic at Nuss Farms.

• Join the Co-op!
• Check out the Shop

This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Tom Ryan is a 23-year veteran of the Land O'Lakes, Inc. federated system. Tom has held multiple leadership roles in sales, agronomy, marketing and operations across Land O'Lakes. Prior to joining Truterra, Tom headed WinField United's business operations team including customer experience, business analytics and data science. Tom also led WinField United's Strategic Retail Alliance efforts executing partnerships, alliances and joint ventures across WinField United's aligned retail network.

Tom currently serves as the President of Truterra, Land O'Lakes' sustainability division focused on creating new value streams by driving farmer adoption of climate-smart practices and forging customer connections between farmers, ag retailers, Food and CPG companies. Tom has a strong track record as an executive with industry-spanning experience in agronomy and ag retailer services. He is also an active partner and multi-generation farmer who practices sustainability and soil health practices on his own farm in southwest Minnesota.

• Truterra Website
• Tom on LinkedIn
• Rate & Review the NEW Spotify Feed

This episode is presented by MyLand. Learn more at MyLand.ag. Check out our interview with Dane.

Sarah Day Levesque is the Founder and Managing Director of RFSI – Regenerative Food Systems Investment – and has spent more than 15 years working to connect agriculture and food systems stakeholders to the information and networks they need to be successful. For the past six years, Sarah has worked closely with a community of ecological farmers in her role leading the development and execution of educational and event experiences at Acres USA. In late 2018, Sarah started Regenerative Food Systems Investment to address to address a lack of attention, awareness, and capital being given to investment opportunities in regenerative agriculture and food.

Before joining Acres USA in late 2016, Sarah spent a decade in agricultural media, where she played a key role in the development of successful event and media brands, including Women in Agribusiness and Organic & Non-GMO Forum, and also served as Editor-in-Chief of Global AgInvesting Media.

Sarah holds an M.S. in Agriculture and Resource Economics and an M.S. in International Agricultural Development from University of California, Davis. When she's not working, you can find her running, hiking, coaching youth basketball, or playing ball with her family.

• RFSI Forum 2023 (Use code THEMODERNACRE at checkout for 10% off!)
• Sarah on LinkedIn
• Rate & Review the NEW Spotify Feed
• Join the fitness challenge on Twitter

This episode is presented by DPH Biologicals. Learn more at DPHBio.com. Check out Mick's e

Dan Schultz is an agribusiness psychotherapist that helps agtech companies design their category and commercialize products differently.

• Dan on LinkedIn
• Schultz Collaborative
• Rate & Review the NEW Spotify Feed
• Join the fitness challenge on Twitter

This episode is presented by DPH Biologicals. Learn more at DPHBio.com