Sarah Mock is a US reporter who isn’t afraid of calling out the agriculture industry. While sometimes portrayed as being anti-farming, Sarah describes herself as “not a cheerleader; not the enemy”. She grew up on a farm in Wyoming and has also worked with agtech startups and in farm data analysis. Sarah Mock wants a more truthful agriculture industry and is on a mission to “make windows in the walls around farming”.
Karmen Mehmen is a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa alongside her husband Stan and their son Kyle and daughter-in-law Kerri. Their farm, MBS Family Farms, has grown from 160 acres and 40 cows back in the ‘60s to an operation that today supports 20 families. In this episode, Karmen talks about
How technology has enabled them to manage through substantial growth
Learnings from transitioning the farm to the next generation
How structured coaching and support has helped them become better farmers & business owners
This week Sarah is joined by a guest host, Cass Mao, Principal Advisor at AgThentic, to chat with Pete Nelson of AgLaunch about how growers and agtech companies can work together in a model that they call "farmer-centric innovation"
Pete Nelson, originally a farmer and an English major at University, has been actively involved in building the support ecosystem for new agricultural enterprises for over 15 years. He has worked with a variety of public and private sector partners and helped to launch multiple startup companies. More recently, as President of AgLaunch, Pete has been working on sector-specific initiatives to fund, incubate, and accelerate agricultural companies with high growth potential by working with farmers.
In this episode, Pete explains what “farmer-centric innovation” means, how AgLaunch is driving it, and how having growers at the table fundamentally changes outcomes for startups and regional communities.
Tim Hammerich, who grew up on a hobby farm in Northern California selling pigs, goats and ducks, is the Founder of AgGrad and the host of the Future of Agriculture podcast. In this episode, Tim chats about careers in agriculture, including what companies are looking for, tips for getting a job, and what’s different about jobs in agtech.
For more on Tim, check out AgGrad (https://aggrad.com/) or find him on Twitter @TimHammerich and #FutureOfAgriculture Podcast
