The Pacesetter Pod

Show Highlights:

• Understand the efficiency preoccupation in agriculture. [05:31]
• Facing the truth of bulk commodity vs. food production. [07:58]
• Uncover the true cost stack of food with bread pricing. [10:11]
• Capturing additive value and providing food solutions as producers. [13:15]
• Why ag innovation must focus on end-user food needs. [18:31]
• Explore the economics and benefits of shifting production-ag value chains. [22:44]
• Get to know Andrew Hoelscher and Farm Strategy. [26:01]
• Barriers and opposition to supply chain change. [31:22]
• How to foster trust and manage supply chain issues. [38:44]
• Realistic steps to drive supply chain transformations. [43:42]

To learn more about Farm Strategy, go to https://farmstrategy.com/.

Find Andrew Hoelscher on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-hoelscher-06b1868/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Revisiting Ep. 111: Ag's Asset Problem and Rural Blight [00:38]
• How your feedback improves thinking and learning. [04:13]
• Outpaced, misaligned small country elevator challenges. [06:42]
• Hyper-local solutions to make antiquated assets work. [10:26]
• Discover a novel entrepreneurial use of defunct truck houses. [14:00]
• Explore a listener's elevator "checkoff" fund proposal. [15:13]
• A truck house retention criteria from a company successfully reducing them. [17:01]
• Why evolving opinions with new data and ideas matters. [23:24]
• Community participation shaping The Pacesetter Pod. [24:35]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Ernie Chappell's background and the EFC Systems story. [04:54]
• The importance of prioritizing longevity and buyer needs over rapid growth. [08:00]
• Early signs of board misalignment and ways to resolve it. [19:11]
• How to communicate a vision to a board in a risk appetite mismatch. [23:00]
• The benefits of a people-first attitude in leadership. [29:55]
• Does the pain point you solve generate revenue? [31:06]
• Get over marketing aversion and tell your story with substance. [32:51]
• Understanding consolidation and embracing change. [34:08]
• Capital raising vs. capital efficiency and operational rigor. [40:50]

Read Ernie Chappell's LinkedIn article, Six Rules I'd Bet a Career On, here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/six-rules-id-bet-career-ernie-chappell-foy3e/?trackingId=D7M9mmtlnuzJoxsXdDKp6Q%3D%3D

Connect with Ernie Chappell on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/erniechappell/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Laying M&A de-risking foundations in agribusiness. [00:40]
• Understand M&A as a process, not an event. [4:56]
• The pitfalls that lead M&A deals to disappoint. [06:36]
• The real challenge of post-deal integration. [10:53]
• How does M&A integration put pressure on a business? [11:35]
• Why a deal-objectives-derived integration plan matters. [17:29]
• The value of managing deferred decisions internally. [18:45]
• Being open to post-deal information asymmetry. [20:07]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• What sets Horizon Resources apart. [03:54]
• North Dakota's ag co-op merger aversion [06:05]
• The ag co-op business model amid the Bakken oil boom and bust. [09:54]
• The power of scaling known capabilities in a time of rapid growth. [16:21]
• Grain origination and managing unhedgeable flat-price risk. [22:34]
• Buyer concentration, no-bid decisions, and hyperlocal market dynamics. [30:19]
• The unique value of truck houses for Horizon Resources. [34:34]
• Considerations of offensive vs. defensive asset deployment. [45:41]
• On the Horizon podcast as a powerful educational value driver. [47:15]
• High-caliber rural talent in local co-ops—and where to get hired. [56:21]

Learn more about Horizon Resources by visiting https://www.horizonresources.coop/.

Listen to On the Horizon Podcast at https://www.horizonresources.coop/podcast.

Connect with Levi on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/levi-hall-18532936/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Definition of diversification. [02:28]
• Is diversification always objectively valuable in ag? [03:10]
• The diversification misnomer in the context of co-ops. [04:29]
• Perceived vs. real diversification. [08:27]
• Three critical risks of attempting true diversification. [13:01]
• What problems do we seek to resolve by diversification? [17:29]
• The fallacy that diversifying adds member value to co-ops. [21:18]
• Diversification vs. differentiation in agribusiness. [23:07]
• Advice to help rethink how to approach diversification. [24:44]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• BulkLoads' origin story and company overview. [03:31]
• Opportunities and challenges ag bulk freight creates. [07:39]
• Service innovation with factoring and TMS solutions. [21:24]
• Insights on broad appeal and pain points beyond load matching. [26:26]
• The benefits of digitization in trucking and freight. [28:47]
• Explore the uses and trends of AI robotics in trucking. [36:20]
• The future role of load boards as robo-trucks and AI evolve. [39:54]
• Is there added complexity in ag bulk hauling vs. general freight? [47:12]
• Check out The BulkLoads Podcast hosted by Jared. [48:45]

Explore BulkLoads at https://www.bulkloads.com/. Find Jared Flinn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredrflinn/.

To follow The BulkLoads Podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLakkfZXYtJjzcMxK3_QFU9ECrFE1aqnlm.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Taking a collective approach to agtech advisory needs. [06:13]
• The Collective's service offerings and expertise. [10:37]
• Core forms of AI in ag with compelling examples. [17:46]
• Why a digital strategy is essential for every agribusiness. [25:45]
• Factors hindering AI adoption away from Excel and ERPs. [26:09]
• How does AI enhance operational efficiencies for farmers, dealers, and agronomists? [32:58]
• The danger of the "do something with AI" mandate in agribusiness [42:07]
• How to lead digital and AI adoption with agribusiness goals in mind. [51:22]

To contact the AgTech Advisory Collective, go to https://www.agtech-collective.com/.

Rhishi Pethe can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhishi-p-800685/, or via Metal Dog Labs at https://www.metaldoglabs.ai/.

To connect with Patrick Honcoop, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-honcoop/, or go to AgTech-Pro at https://www.agtech-pro.com/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Understand the centrality of customer retention in M&A success. [00:47]
• The importance of defining retention goals as explicit data-driven targets. [02:43]
• How to identify the customers to prioritize in retention strategies. [04:18]
• Why first-year post-deal retention is not predictive. [05:57]
• Growth and retention as "both/and" objectives explained with M&A math. [11:49]
• The value of anchoring retention and growth plans in existing customer realities. [15:21]
• Three core takeaways to capitalize on the increased M&A activity in ag. [19:28]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Learn about Michigan-based AgroLiquid 40+ years strong in crop fertility. [03:15]
• Why AgroLiquid chose M&A for growth after decades of organic expansion. [05:55]
• The five-key disciplined framework that led to acquiring Monty's Plant Food. [06:47]
• Understand the post-deal realities of integration. [15:28]
• Is your agribusiness sellable, though you may never sell? [21:07]
• Explore the seller's vision and legacy concerns in M&A. [25:15]
• Advice for M&A target sourcing and first meetings. [27:40]
• What made Monty's Plant Food a strategic fit for AgroLiquid? [32:46]
• Achieving smart growth through adjacent innovation. [37:22]

Learn more about AgroLiquid at https://www.agroliquid.com/.

Visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bancroft-73811488/ to connect with Nick Bancroft on LinkedIn.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.