Dr. Ray Goldberg holds the title of George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He’s among the pioneers of modern agribusiness, coining the term himself. He is the author of Food Citizenship, a book that talks about the global food system and the many faces that are leading the charge in changing the way we look at food and agriculture forever. Ray has decades of experience in the industry, from authoring journal articles and teaching materials to holding seminars about climate and its effect on food systems.

Ray joins me today to share the progress the ag industry has made over the many years he has watched over it. He describes the need to form a group of individuals that represent different parts of the industry, the reason why he authored his latest book, and what readers can expect. He explains the relationship between capitalism and agriculture, and why the government needs to help small farmers more. Ray also shares his thoughts on millennials and why he looks forward to what they can bring for the next generation.

“Unless we get the food system done correctly, we won’t have the kind of productivity or the kind of lifestyle we want for future generations.” - Dr. Ray Goldberg

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Why his first meeting with those in the food and ag business was a disaster.
• How they came to the decision to constantly renew ag information and relationships annually.
• The need to limit the number of people in his group.
• His criteria in choosing the people to be included in his book.
• The relationship between capitalism in agriculture and the public good.
• When he coined the term ‘agribusiness’.
• Why he was adamant at bringing important people in agriculture together.
• Living in an era of distrust in the food system.
• His thoughts on millennials and their acceptance of change.
• The big questions he's always asking himself throughout his career.
• Why small scale farmers should have more support from the government.

Connect with Dr. Ray Goldberg

• Harvard Business School
• Book: Food Citizenship

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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Colin Hurd is an entrepreneur and the Business Development Manager at Raven Industries, a highly diversified technology company that provides innovative products and solutions to help feed, connect, and protect the world. Raven Industries recently acquired Smart Ag, a company founded by Colin. Smart Ag is a tech company that develops autonomous farming solutions, selling products that allow farming equipment and machinery to be operated remotely, similar to drones. Colin founded Smart Ag to address the growing labor crisis in production agriculture.

Colin joins me today to discuss why he formed Smart Ag and the kind of technology and solutions they offer to farmers. He describes how he was driven to start Smart Ag, the problems he wants to address, and the people who helped him put the company in the market. He explains the need for Smart Ag to be acquired by Raven Industries and the benefits it has received. Colin also discusses some of the challenges their company faced as a startup, and how he and his team solved them.

“What’s different about a startup versus a large company is everything is just hyper-compressed; things happen at light speed.” - Colin Hurd

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• The journey that led him to start Smart Ag.
• Labor scarcity and how it became a large problem in the industry.
• The people who inspired him to focus on autonomous ag technology.
• Determining whether someone can be a co-founder or the first employee.
• The challenges of starting a company that promotes autonomous tech.
• The technical problems they focused on and solved for their company to become successful.
• Differences between pre and post-acquisition of Smart Ag.
• Comparing and contrasting a startup and a large corporation.
• What it means to have an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age.

Connect with Colin Hurd

• Smart Ag
• Raven Industries
• LinkedIn

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

Mariana Vasconcelos is the Founder of Agrosmart, a platform that brings digital agriculture to countries with low internet infrastructures under tropical agronomic conditions. The MIT Technology Review selected her as one of the Most Brilliant Innovators Under 35 and a Global Ambassador for Thought of Food. Being a farmer’s daughter, Mariana was aware of the problems that plague small farmers, especially when it comes to decisions about crops. To solve this gap, she proposed the idea to use AI and IoT to acquire more productive, sustainable, and economic agriculture which is what Agrosmart represents.

Mariana joins me today to discuss how Agrosmart works and the problems it seeks to solve for farmers in developing countries. She shares where her drive to start her company came from and the challenges of finding capital and investors. She describes how the data they collect can impact farming practices, especially in countries where farmers rely on instinct to make crop decisions. Mariana also explains why Brazil holds a lot of potential in terms of agriculture and the rising startup economy.

“We wanted to shift intuition-based decisions to fact-based decisions.” - Mariana Vasconcelos

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Where Mariana saw the problem that needed to be addressed in the ag industry.
• The changes their data can impact on the current farm systems.
• Why they shifted from irrigation to a digital ag platform.
• The farmers that can benefit the most from their platform.
• How farmers can adapt their practices to climate change.
• The countries they're currently working in and some of their future projects.
• The crops they focus on and how their platform is universal.
• Dealing with rural connectivity problems in Latin America.
• The ag startup ecosystem in Brazil and the kind of companies that are rising.
• The most challenging aspects of scaling a Brazilian startup.

Resources Mentioned:

• Innovators Under 35

Connect with Mariana Vasconcelos

• Agrosmart
• 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

Shay Myers is an onion expert and the owner of Owyhee Produce. Owyhee Produce is a 3rd generation family farm and one of the biggest vertically-integrated onion farms in the United States. Their farm grows enough onions to provide adequate supplies that reach about 6 million Americans annually. Other than managing an onion farm, Shay is also a produce industry influence and agriculture keynote speaker. He is currently working to provide asparagus, hemp, and sweet potatoes to American families on top of their onions.

Shay joins me today to describe how their farm differs from most growers when it comes to vertical integration. He shares how his dream to fly was granted when he returned to manage the farm. He discusses some of the early mistakes he’s made as the lead farmer and what he learned from them. Shay also explains some of the challenges in the ag industry, particularly when it comes to working with companies and people, and why the US safe practices system is broken and easily exploitable.

“You can't expect the consumer to be willing to pay you a fair price for something if they don't know what it takes.” - Shay Myers

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Pursuing his passion for flying by having a career in agriculture.
• How his family responded to his desire to return to farming.
• What vertical integration is in agriculture and some examples.
• Some of the mistakes he's made in the industry and what he learned from them.
• The difference between a yam and sweet potato and why the US doesn't grow yams.
• What he believes is the most challenging hurdle in today's ag industry.
• Processing differences between mint oil and CBD oil.
• His thoughts on growing our own food and importing them and why the US is at a disadvantage.
• Eliminating labor and overhead costs with innovative technology.
• Why the system surrounding safety practices is broken.

Connect with Shay Myers

• Owyhee Produce
• 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