Shonda Warner is the Owner of Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners, an asset management business that specializes in investing in the agricultural industry. She has over 25 years of experience in financial asset management and once held the position of Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Shonda gained experience in trading grains from her career at Cargill in Kansas City and Minneapolis.

Shonda joins me today to discuss how Chess Ag Full Harvest works and how it makes investing in agriculture easier. She shares her inspiration for starting the company, the systems they have in place, and their commitment to having a good impact on the environment. Shonda also shares her advice to those who want to start a business in the ag industry.

“We need to be good stewards of the earth and the communities in which we’re active.” - Shonda Warner

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• How she formed the idea of starting Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners
• The company's first investments and their returns.
• The problems they want to solve involving ancillary services to make farming a successful venture.
• Her sales pitch to investors and the projects she proposed.
• Their commitment to the environment and the community.
• The scale of their operations and their plans for further expansion.
• The products they produce in their facilities.
• Her advice to the young generation who are interested in starting their own ag business.

Resources mentioned:

• Farmacopia Farms

Connect with Shonda Warner:

• Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners

We Are a Part of a Bigger Family! 

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today. 

Join the Conversation!

To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!

Share the Ag-Love! 

Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots! 

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting: 

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

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Dr. John Cumbers is the founder of SynBioBeta. SynBioBeta prides itself as the premier innovation network for innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, and biological engineers. Their focus is introducing synthetic biology innovations to improve the human condition and make life more sustainable. John is a recipient of multiple grants and awards from NASA and the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the industry. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Brown University, his MSc in Bioinformatics from Edinburgh University, and a degree in Computer Science with Information Engineering from the University of Hull.

John joins me today to discuss the potential of synthetic biology if applied to today’s agriculture sector. He explains what SynBioBeta stands for, what they want to accomplish, and the innovations we can look forward to as consumers. He shares his thoughts on lab-grown meat, the Anti-GMO crowds, and the future of Mars exploration. John also discusses what we can look forward to from their Beta Space Event.

“Synthetic biology is not actually what you do - it’s the way you do it.” - Dr. John Cumbers

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• What SynBioBeta is and what they aim to achieve with synthetic biology.
• The innovations synthetic biology has made possible.
• His thoughts on plant-based meats and cell-based meats.
• How Rural America can benefit from what he calls the "Bio Belt."
• What needs to happen to pursue a "Bio Belt" hub program.
• How the Anti-GMO community reacts to their technological innovations.
• Why everybody should have a bio strategy.
• What extremophiles are and how they can help produce food in space.
• His opinion on the future of Mars exploration.
• What people can look forward to the Beta Space event.

Resources mentioned:

• BetaSpace

Connect with Dr. John Cumbers:

• SynBioBeta
• Book: What's Your Bio Strategy?
• Podcast
• The Mycelium Revolution: How a mushroom can make food, plastic, and more

This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag

What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.

To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions

Indigo. From questions… we grow.

We Are a Part of a Bigger Family! 

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today. 

Join the Conversation!

To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!

Share the Ag-Love! 

Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots! 

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting: 

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter 
AgGrad on Facebook 
AgGrad on LinkedIn 
AgGrad on Instagram

Dr. Poornima Parameswaran is the President and Co-Founder of Trace Genomics. Trace Genomics is a company that based its business around mapping living soil, analyzing its microbial content, and helping growers maximize yield potential without sacrificing sustainability. Poornima’s goal is to build the world’s most massive actionable body of soil intelligence, allowing even ordinary farmers to have access to expert information on what’s underground. Poornima earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, her entrepreneurial skills at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and her Bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas at Austin.

Poornima joins me today to discuss how Trace Genomics seeks to improve farm yield and sustainability through genetic testing for soil. She shares the benefits of knowing which microbes are dominant in a particular farmland. She also explains how their analytics engine works, their process, and what a typical scenario using their technology would be like.

“There are two sides of the coin when you’re looking at what is causing production losses above ground.” - Dr. Poornima Parameswaran

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• The questions farmers have before submitting soil samples.
• Diseases that can be prevented by genetic testing for soil
• Knowing when it is a soil health issue instead of a disease problem.
• Developing food in the perspective of sustainability and not just increased yields.
• How they know which microbes are important for the soil.
• The challenges that are top of mind to growers regarding soil health.
• The action steps they can take based on the data they gathered from growers.
• Variability of microbe samples in similar soil samples.
• How they reconcile the difference between gene presence and gene expression.
• Why they don't have that many companies as competition.

Connect with Dr. Poornima Parameswaran:

• Trace Genomics

This episode is sponsored by Indigo Ag

What if surviving a drought began with just a microbe? What could accessing 10,000 buyers do for your agriculture business? Indigo Ag helps farmers improve profitability, environmental sustainability, and consumer health by working with growers to reimagine every aspect of the agriculture industry - from soil to sale.

To learn more about Indigo Ag and their mission to improve the environment and agriculture industry, visit IndigoAg.com/Questions

Indigo. From questions… we grow.

We Are a Part of a Bigger Family! 

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today. 

Join the Conversation!

To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!

Share the Ag-Love! 

Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots! 

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting: 

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter 
AgGrad on Facebook 
AgGrad on LinkedIn 
AgGrad on Instagram

Carter Malloy is the Founder and CEO of AcreTrader, an online platform that seeks to provide a bridge that connects investors and farm sellers. Before starting his company, Carter was a successful Managing Director at Stephens Inc., a large private investment bank. His passion for conservation and agriculture was drawn from his experience growing up in an Arkansas farming family. This passion eventually led to founding AcreTrader.

Carter joins me to share what AcreTrader can do for farm owners and people seeking a long-term investment. He explains how the platform works, what a typical transaction would look like, and some of the fees involved. Carter discusses the total amount of investments in farmland and why it’s still insignificant from the perspective of the entire ag industry. He also describes some of the reasons why farm sellers should use their platform over traditional methods.

“There's a lot of ways we can work with people who want to sell farmland. For us, it's exciting to bring new solutions to the market.” - Carter Malloy

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Why he left a successful career in investments to start AcreTrader.
• The amount of private equity money invested in farmland.
• The requirements needed to bring the right deals out to the public.
• Motivations for sellers to use AcreTrader as a platform.
• How their platform works to provide information in a digestible format.
• The deal flow and access to market barriers and how they break them.
• How he describes the ideal seller on AcreTrader.
• What they do when a partner exits the platform and their contract.

Resources Mentioned:

• CrowdFARMING with Chris Rawley of Harvest Returns

Connect with Carter Malloy:

• AcreTrader

We Are a Part of a Bigger Family! 

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today. 

Join the Conversation!

To get your most pressing ag questions answered and share your perspective on various topics we’ve discussed on the Future of Agriculture podcast, head over to SpeakPipe.com/FutureofAg and leave a recorded message!

Share the Ag-Love! 

Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots! 

Learn more about AgGrad by visiting: 

Future of Agriculture Website

AgGrad Website

AgGrad on Twitter 
AgGrad on Facebook 
AgGrad on LinkedIn 
AgGrad on Instagram