Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller founded Pheronym, an agricultural biotech company that provides safe, non-toxic, and innovative solutions to solve numerous agricultural problems. They also recently become involved in the development of space nematodes under the company AstroNematode. AstroNematode seeks to establish interstellar agriculture for Earth. The first launching experiment will happen this December and provide data to pave the way for sustainable agriculture outside of Earth.

Dr. Fatma and Cameron join me today to share their latest project, AstroNematode, and how it can help provide sustainable solutions for future generations. They describe the origins of this idea and the companies that helped fund the project. They discuss their tie-ins with private companies like Space-X and explain the experiments that will happen in space. They also share what it’s like to work on this project while running Pheronym at the same time.

“If you're going to colonize the moon and Mars, we need to have agriculture.” - Dr. Fatma Kaplan

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• How the project got started and where they found funding.
• The best qualities of the project and what it can provide data scientists.
• Their contingencies when the project doesn't work as planned.
• The kind of animals NASA plans to take to Mars.
• Why they think nematodes can survive and reproduce in space.
• The upcoming launch and how the nematodes will be packaged.
• Making sure the experiments are running smoothly while they remain on Earth.
• How they manage to run a startup and the nematode project at the same time.

Resources Mentioned

• Microscopic Biological Pest Wars with Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller of Pheronym

Connect with Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller

• Pheronym
• AstroNematode
• Email: kaplan@pheronym.com
• Email: schiller@pheronym.com

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

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Bill York is the Founding Partner, CEO, and Chief Credit Officer at FarmOp Capital, a lending company that provides funding primarily to farm operators. Their independent business model allows farmers to decide which suppliers to buy from. Bill has over 40 years of experience in the ag lending space and has held senior positions in various major ag lending companies. He specializes in business development, particularly increasing profits and assets of the businesses he works with.

Bill York joins me to describe what FarmOp Capital is and its efforts to provide farmers with a helping hand in receiving capital loans. He explains the trends that make their company ripe for the ag industry and the benefits of doing business with them from a farmer’s perspective. He also shares the criteria and requirements they have for their customers and explains what sets their company apart from traditional lending companies.

“If you’re able to get a loan that is timely and adequate to meet all of your operating needs, you’re better able to purchase inputs efficiently to buy the optimum level of inputs and actually reduce your costs.” - Bill York

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Converging trends that make the industry perfect for FarmOp Capital.
• How FarmOp works and the services they offer.
• How soon farmers should seek a loan to benefit the most from them.
• The customers they are targeting for the loan services they offer.
• The kind of crop materials they help farmers finance.
• Working directly with the customer and the team they assembled for the job.
• Transitioning from big agricultural lending companies to working with a startup.
• Why it will be difficult to have competition in what they do.
• The difference between the typical loan application and what they offer.
• Assessing the current farm-risk situation and his outlook.

Connect with Bill York:

• FarmOp Capital

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

Anastasia Volkova is the CEO and Founder of FluroSat, a company that provides scientifically-proven solutions to common agricultural problems through advanced remote sensing technologies and data from both airborne and satellite platforms. She is also an aeronautical engineer and obtained her Ph.D. in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Sydney. Anastasia uses her vast academic knowledge as well as experience in project management in various organizations to make FluroSat the next big thing in AgTech.

Anastasia joins me today to discuss how FluroSat works to provide artificial intelligence (AI) for Precision Agriculture Decision Support. She shares why she decided to work in agriculture and what drove her to start FluroSat. She explains how their approach can help farmers and agronomists improve their data collection process and gather more accurate data from their farms. She also explains the limitations of their product and why they decided to expand their service to the US instead of focusing exclusively on Australian agricultural markets.

“The barriers to adoption of precision agriculture are, first and foremost, the fact that data is siloed.” - Anastasia Volkova

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• When she decided to stop being an aeronautical engineer and focus on agriculture.
• Barriers that are preventing farmers from making AI part of precision agriculture.
• How FluroSat's approach can help agronomists and farmers gather data for their farms.
• How their product works and the important data it provides to farmers.
• Success stories where their product improved a farmer's business.
• Where her experience in aeronautical engineering comes into play.
• The limitations of their product in the context of crop types.
• The reasons they decided to expand in the US instead of focusing on Australia.
• How FluroSat makes money and makes their investors happy.

Resources Mentioned:

• Zapier

Connect with Anastasia Volkova:

• FluroSat

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

FOA174 Bringing People to the Table to Innovate in Animal Agriculture with Kerryann Kocher

Kerryann Cocher is a Principal at Rock Road Consulting, a practice that focuses on improving the translation of science and technology into something that will give value to farmers, ranchers, and other producers. Kerryann specializes in helping struggling ag businesses to be competitive again by providing re-engineering solutions. She is also an expert on animal health, feed ingredients, and protein production.

Kerryann joins me today to share the various opportunities and untapped potential in animal agriculture. She describes the challenges that the animal agriculture industry currently faces and the solutions she proposes to resolve these issues. She also explains how she brings people to the table to innovate in animal agriculture and why she remains motivated about the success of the animal agriculture industry.

“It’s more than a choice to play in ag; it’s a lifelong commitment.” - Kerryann Kocher

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• The jump she made from working in the corporate environment to starting a company of her own.
• Practical problems she helps her clients address.
• The reason behind the lack of innovation regarding animal health.
• How to make the animal agriculture industry more innovative to catch up with the competition.
• Areas of agriculture that are more at risk than others.
• How dietary changes can affect the meat and dairy industry.
• The conversations she's had with industry professionals about the future of protein.
• Why she remains motivated in the success of the animal ag industry.

Resources Mentioned:

• Future of Agriculture 023: JJ Jones of the Center for Food Integrity
• Cultivated Conversations

Connect with Kerryann Kocher:

• Rock Road Consulting
• Roots and Legacies
• LinkedIn

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

Mike Selden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a startup that aims for a more sustainable future through advanced cellular agriculture technologies. Their projects revolve around growing fish meat and other seafood products from cells. Mike is a trained biochemist and has experience working as a researcher and educator. He also has researched numerous ways to solve food crises in Africa as well as marine conservation in South East Asia.

Mike joins us to explain the many benefits of growing meat from cells and the ways it can improve life, not just on Earth but also in outer space. He shares how their company can produce real meat without the animal and the big scale effect it will have on the economy. Mike also discusses some of the reasons why this project isn’t against fishermen, how it can solve overfishing problems, and how it can help otherwise expensive fish products become more affordable.

“We're growing it directly from the cells, so no whole animals are needed after that first initial sample.” - Mike Selden

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Explaining the case for cell-grown meat and why it's exciting.
• The benefits of cell-grown meat for people and the environment.
• How they plan to sell their products to the average consumer.
• The inspiration behind starting Finless Foods.
• Why they chose to start experimenting with fish cells.
• How space agriculture factors in with the products they want to produce.
• The variables involved in mass-producing cell-grown meats.
• Solving the waste problems they may produce in the future.
• The financial side of scaling this type of product.
• The kind of progress we can look forward to if their product becomes successful.

Connect with Mike Selden:

• Finless Foods
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Mike Selden Twitter

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