Episodes — AgTech So What Podcast

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The Economics of Valuing Natural Capital: Ken Henry

The Economics of Valuing Natural Capital: Ken Henry

Dr. Ken Henry became well-known in Australia for his bold economic reforms as the Treasury Secretary throughout the 2000s. His approach to conservation and agriculture is equally as bold, advocating for the natural environment to be valued, and even predicting “an explosion” in financial instruments to measure soil carbon, vegetation, biodiversity and other aspects of nature.

As an economist, former Chair of the National Australia Bank, and current board director of Accounting for Nature, he brings a unique perspective to agtech and agriculture.


Getting Off the Commodities Treadmill

Getting Off the Commodities Treadmill

Loran Steinlage has been labeled a ‘regenerative’ farmer and branded a conservationist, yet as a farmer in Iowa, in many ways he’s far from the stereotypical image of either. He lives in the heart of the Iowa corn belt, but says he now doesn’t care whether he grows corn or not.

In this episode, Loran shares how his drive for innovation has come from a series of difficult and life-changing events in his personal life. This, coupled with his love of tinkering with machines has helped him unlock new ways of farming, such as cover cropping, interseeding and relay cropping, that have not only won him awards and improved profitability, but also caught the attention of machinery manufacturers and helped him spend more time with his family.


Did Silicon Valley Kill Agtech?

Did Silicon Valley Kill Agtech?

The Silicon Valley model for innovation has worked famously for many software based companies, such as Facebook and PayPal. However, when it comes to agtech, the Silicon Valley template for startup success hasn’t translated very well. This template, of either “user is the customer” or “user is the product” is rather limited in agriculture, where the farming population is small (restricting scale) and the stakes are high.

This episode features Rob Trice, the founder of Better Food Ventures and The Mixing Bowl, along with Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor, who both lead the Agthentic Group and Tenacious Ventures. All three guests have a solid tech history in Silicon Valley and discuss why the business models typically used by venture-backed software companies, can’t just be copy-pasted to agriculture.


Biologicals: snake oil or science, and how do we know?

Biologicals: snake oil or science, and how do we know?

Farmers are under pressure to shift toward lower chemical intensity production. Biologicals are touted as one possible solution, promising natural, chemical-free alternatives to fertilizers and pesticides. But biologicals also have a reputation for being ‘snake oil,’ with companies making claims that are too good to be true, or that don’t stack up outside the lab. So what’s the science behind biologicals, how do we know they work, and how can they get to scale?

This episode features Jarrett Chambers, founder and President of ATP Nutrition, and Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights.

Lean Farming - Jana Hocken brings Toyota’s famous operating model to agriculture

Lean Farming - Jana Hocken brings Toyota’s famous operating model to agriculture

Jana Hocken is a dairy farmer and “lean farming” consultant. After an international career in engineering at Toyota, including training staff in the principles of lean manufacturing to increase efficiency, eliminate waste, and encourage continuous improvement from the team, Jana moved to farm in New Zealand with her husband. At the time, she knew very little about agriculture, but she quickly realized that the principles of lean could also be applied at her own farm….and on many others.

Busting food and farming myths with evidence

Busting food and farming myths with evidence

In a world where food and farming are highly polarized issues, Rob Paarlberg’s approach is to follow the evidence. This has earned him great respect, but also means his well-researched views tend to land him in no-man’s land between traditional industry views and the new food movement.

For instance he supports modern commercial farming and the use of fertilizers - but he’s not pro- big Ag. He’s calling for better animal welfare standards - but he’s not against eating meat. As an author and Associate in the Sustainability Science program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Rob is renowned for debunking the popular myths about food and farming.


Breaking Into Agtech

Breaking Into Agtech

How do you get a career in agriculture or agtech, when you’re not from a farming background? In this episode, we meet four women who’ve become agtech leaders, despite not having grown up on a farm. Hear how they have succeeded at the intersection of two largely white and male dominated industries (agriculture and tech) despite, as they say, ‘not looking the part’.

Farming eggs the startup way - Sarah Sivyer

Farming eggs the startup way - Sarah Sivyer

Sarah Sivyer had multiple roles in the corporate world before she decided to start farming eggs. She grew up on a farm, but was completely new to chickens. But by tapping into consumer demand for convenience, freshness, and sustainability credentials, Sarah now runs 2500 chickens in NSW for her subscription-based egg business, Just Been Laid.

Changing human behavior - Matt Crozier

Changing human behavior - Matt Crozier

How technology was introduced to a 200 year old sheep station.

Cavan Station is a 25,000 acre property, owned by the Murdoch family, which has undergone a significant transformation in the past 10 years. Matt Crozier, the Station’s General Manager, explains how they’re using genetics, genomics, data and software to improve the farm.

From defense to disruption - Mary Shelman

From defense to disruption - Mary Shelman

Mary Shelman is an internationally recognized agribusiness consultant and speaker, and the former Director of Harvard Business School’s Agribusiness program. Mary grew up in Kentucky, watching her father sell farm equipment; now, based in Boston, she helps corporations and governments tackle agriculture’s biggest problems.

“Not a cheerleader, not the enemy”, journalist Sarah Mock on making windows in the walls around agriculture

“Not a cheerleader, not the enemy”, journalist Sarah Mock on making windows in the walls around agriculture

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”.

Regen Ag Series #5 Our Verdict

Regen Ag Series #5 Our Verdict

In this final wrap up episode of our regenerative agriculture series, the team from AgThentic is giving you OUR verdict. Sarah is joined by Matthew Pryor, Partner at AgThentic and co-founder of Tenacious Ventures, to discuss what it will take to move beyond the polarizing debate over whether regen ag is good or bad.


Episode 65: The Alternative Protein Debate: live from Australia's first virtual, national agtech meetup

Episode 65: The Alternative Protein Debate: live from Australia's first virtual, national agtech meetup

Coming to you live from Australia's first national, virtual AgTech Meetup, this panel explores what alternative proteins are, how big they'll become, and what this means for agriculture.

The panelists at the meetup were:

  • Catherine Tubb, Research Fellow at RethinkX

  • Paul Wood, Chairman at AusBiotech

  • George Peppou, CEO/Co-founder at VOW

The meetup was co-hosted by us (AgThentic) alongside SproutX and Platfarm.

BONUS Episode: Live panel from evokeAG 2020 featuring global agrifood tech experts

BONUS Episode: Live panel from evokeAG 2020 featuring global agrifood tech experts

evokeAG, Asia Pacific's largest agrifood tech event, brought together 1300 innovators earlier in February this year in Melbourne, Australia. The jam-packed event featured international experts, innovative farmers, dozens of startups, and much more, showcasing what the region has to offer in agrifood tech innovation.

This bonus episode gives a taste of evokeAG and a live recording of the first panel on the main stage: The Asia-Pacific region and how we are rising. Panelists included:

Ep61 Alisdair Tulloch on the first-mover advantages of going carbon neutral

Ep61 Alisdair Tulloch on the first-mover advantages of going carbon neutral

Today’s guest is Alisdair Tulloch, a fourth generation grape grower, who has been on a journey to make his family business, Keith Tulloch Wine, carbon neutral.

In this episode, Alisdair shares:

  • Why they decided to go carbon neutral;

  • What practices and technologies they’re using, and what is and isn’t working; and

  • The financials - what the expensive parts are, and where the returns are coming from.

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.

Stuart Austin on the tools for regenerative agriculture

Stuart Austin on the tools for regenerative agriculture

Stuart Austin is a regenerative farmer and self-proclaimed early adopter of technology.

In this episode we cover everything from how Stuart got involved in regenerative ag, to the tools he's using (and helping build) to make 6 and 7 figure decisions at Wilmot Cattle Company.

Stuart also shares his views on alternative proteins, transparency in agriculture, and the books and movies that he's found inspirational.

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.

Episode 53: researcher & startup collaborations in agtech (live panel)

Episode 53: researcher & startup collaborations in agtech (live panel)

Coming to you live from the AgTech Meetup in Sydney, this panel explores what it takes for startups and researchers to collaborate successfully in agrifood. Panelists for the evening were: Dr Peter Thorburn, Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO; Tegan Nock, Co-Founder at SoilCQuest 2031; and Nick Hazell, Founder and CEO at V2 Food.

The AgTech Meetup is proudly sponsored by SproutX, Australia’s first agtech accelerator.