producer-led innovation

Ep 64 Pete Nelson on partnering with growers to build better agtech

Ep 64 Pete Nelson on partnering with growers to build better agtech

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.

Ep 59: Mic Fels on startup buzzwords and where the real value is in agtech

Ep 59: Mic Fels on startup buzzwords and where the real value is in agtech

Mic Fels and his wife Marnie crop about 11,000 hectares in Esperance, Western Australia. But Mic is not your average farmer. He's an early adopter of technologies and farming systems (e.g., Controlled Traffic), and an innovator, building and commercializing a range of software products and machinery through his company, iPaddock.

On this episode, Mic shares where he is- and isn't- getting value in agtech, and what he's learned about both startups and farming from his journey as an entrepreneur.

Ep 58: Fiona Aveyard on drought, dust storms, and value-adding

Ep 58: Fiona Aveyard on drought, dust storms, and value-adding

Agtech is about more than the technologies. It's about new business models in agriculture, and of course the innovators driving changes along the value chain. Today’s guest, Fiona Aveyard, a 5th generation mixed farmer, is definitely an innovator and an entrepreneur.

We talk about how she’s working on a new supply chain and new value add products that can bring more profits to the farm and create jobs in her local community. And she’s doing all of this while facing dust storms and the worst drought in history.

This episode is again part of our series in partnership with Farmers2Founders.

Ep 57 Fee Turner and Lee Coleman on being farmers and agtech founders

Ep 57 Fee Turner and Lee Coleman on being farmers and agtech founders

Fee Turner (Bitwise Agronomy) and Lee Coleman (FarmSimple) are both farmers as well as founders of agtech startups. They, along with six other farmer-led businesses, have been selected into the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp program, an intensive 3 month accelerator that is helping them take their business to the next level.

In this episode, Fee and Lee tell us about their farms, startups, and the challenges they're facing being farmers and founders.

This episode is produced in partnership with Farmers2Founders. To learn more, check out https://www.farmers2founders.com/ or follow @farmers2founder on Twitter.

Meet two of the farmer-led startups in the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp

Meet two of the farmer-led startups in the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp

Ash Miles and David Ricardo are Australian farmers and founders of agtech startups Training Paddock and Farm Service Manager. They, along with six other farmer-led businesses, have been selected into the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp program, an intensive 3 month accelerator that helping them take their business to the next level.