Gabe Sibley and Curtis Garner are the co-founders of Verdant Robotics. Verdant has raised $21.5 million to develop the industry’s first multi-action, autonomous farm-robot capable of millimeter-accurate spraying, laser weeding, and AI-based digital crop modeling. Together with farming partners, Verdant uses these tools to deliver better outcomes: larger produce, greater yields and significant savings.

Gabe, CEO, and Curtis, COO, join us to share more about what they have been working on behind the scenes for the past few years, including releasing their offering as a service to farmers. We get into current crisis in Ukraine and the trends happening within agriculture. Tune in!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/215

Jamie Ager is a fourth-generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. In partnership with his wife, Amy, they built Hickory Nut Gap into a well-established regional brand and created a destination that welcomes visitors to learn about regenerative agriculture.  The farm currently raises organic cattle, pasture raised hogs and poultry, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables. In addition to the farming production, the Agers built and oversee the on-farm store and butcher shop.

Jamie discusses the story of Hickory Nut Gap and how the are focused on scaling regeneratively raised meat. We discuss labeling, meat processing and supply chain, building a brand, and much more. Tune in!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/214

Dr. Michael Miille is the CEO of Joyn Bio, a biotech company engineering microbes to provide growers with a new class of sustainable agricultural solutions. A joint venture by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks, Joyn is working to reduce farmers’ needs for synthetic chemicals while boosting yield and improving crop performance. Joyn’s solutions leverage synthetic biology, giving the company the resources to scale climate-smart agriculture solutions using innovative technologies at a faster rate than traditional agricultural solutions. Before Joyn Bio, Dr. Miille was Head of Biologics within Bayer’s Crop Science division, and previously spent 8 years with AgraQuest, Inc. as CEO and as President & COO.

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Over the past 11 years, Paul Lightfoot has been known as the founder and CEO of BrightFarms, a company selling branded produce at retail with a disruptive supply chain model that is better for the environment.  His mission is to reverse climate change by changing the food system, which he’s doing by mentoring food entrepreneurs and by writing and speaking about Negative Foods (food brands with supply chains that are carbon neutral or negative). 

Paul joins us to talk about his latest ventures focused on regenerative agriculture. We get into a lot - consumer demand, certifications, processing and supply chain, nutrient density, the beef industry, and much more. This is a must listen for anyone interested in regenerative ag!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/212

Barney Debnam is the Director, Agribusiness Industry Solutions, at Microsoft. Barney joins the podcast to provide insight into Microsoft's focus and involvement in agriculture, his background and current role with Microsoft, and the state of ag technology adoption. This episode has great insight into how the tech industry is approaching ag. Tune in!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/211

Tom Shapland is the co-founder and CEO of Tule Technologies, an agtech company that combines agronomic expertise with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to provide growers with irrigation decision support. Tule's UC Davis research-based sensor technology measures the Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa) of a field. Tule’s latest offering, Tule Vision, enables grape growers  to take midday Leaf Water Potential readings using a smartphone camera.

Tom joins us to share his journey founding and scaling the company, including the technology, perspectives on computer vision, capital raising, sales, and more!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/210

Jordan Rubin is the co-founder and CEO of Ancient Nutrition, a supplement company with its mission to restore our health, strength and vitality by providing history's healthiest whole food nutrients to the modern world. One of America’s most-recognized and respected natural health experts, Jordan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Maker’s Diet, and 26 additional titles, including his latest work Essential Fasting.

Jordan joins us to share his journey in health and nutrition and what led him to start Ancient Nutrition. We dive deep into Ancient Nutrition's focus on regenerative agriculture with their R.A.N.C.H. Project. Don't miss this one!

Vishnu Jayaprakash is the co-founder and CEO of AgZen, a startup based in Boston, Massachusetts on a mission to help farmers save money and prevent the over-spraying of agrochemicals. Their patented sprayer retrofits and additives, developed at MIT, allow farmers to spray 50% less pesticides while maintaining crop health and yield. 

Vishnu shares more about his backstory and the origin story of AgZen. We talk a lot about the technology the use as well as the overall strategy for the company. Tune in!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/208

Dax Hansen is the owner of Oatman Flats Ranch and founder of Oatman Farms is a world-renowned FinTech lawyer, and a visionary farmer who is leveraging his blockchain expertise to bring transparency to the food supply chain. Dax’s focus in on creating sustainable and profitable business family-farm models that other farmers can replicate.

Dax joins us to share his background in law and technology, journey back to agriculture, using bitcoin to save the farm and transition it to regenerative agriculture, and building a consumer food brand. This is an incredibly fun, jam-packed episode you can't miss!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/207

Helena Lumme is the President and Co-Founder of Hälsa Foods, a CPG company that produces oat milk products, focusing on clean ingredients, clean processing, and clean labels. Helena joins to share more about her journey founding the company and optimizing their marketing and supply chain.

Helena is joined by Eric Ziehm, who is a farmer-partner of Hälsa. He has converted his dairy operation to produce oats. He shares his perspective of making this change and being open to alternative paths for farmers. We hope you enjoy this episode with a founder and a farmer!

Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/206