Joe Swartz is the Vice President and Lead Horticulturist at AmHydro, a company recognized as a top innovator in the ag industry and focused on developing products that promote efficient hydroponic growing systems. Joe is also widely recognized as one of the leading consultants when it comes to Controlled Environment Agricultural industries that include commercial greenhouse farms. He specializes in crop production improvements, pesticide-free insect and disease control, and professional grower training, among other skills.

Joe joins me today to discuss the economic implications of fusing traditional farming with greenhouse technology. He shares why he is interested in greenhouse farming and how he initially tried it himself. He explains how controlled ag works and the factors required to make it work. He describes the benefits traditional farmers can reap from adapting greenhouse operations. Joe also shares some of the limitations of controlled environment agriculture.

“Incorporation of greenhouse techniques into an existing traditional farm is really a very natural and very positive progression.” - Joe Swartz

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• What Joe's focus was before he became invested on greenhouse technology.
• Where his interest in controlled ag came from.
• The importance of the environment and location when it comes to controlled ag.
• The practicalities of controlled ag during the winter.
• Benefits of merging traditional farming and controlled environments.
• The return on investment when it comes to greenhouse farming.
• Encouraging the youth to join the ag industry.
• Limiting factors of setting up a controlled environment type of farm.
• Determining standards of practices for controlled environments.

Resources Mentioned:

• Hydroponics and Controlled Environment Ag with Joe Swartz of American Hydroponics

Connect with Joe Swartz

• AmHydro
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• 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

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Richard Collins is the owner of California Endive Farms, a farming operation that specializes in growing endive, a vegetable of the chicory family that is so special, it’s grown twice. Due to the strict conditions and labor-intensive manner of growing it, the endive was deemed a rare crop to produce. However, Rich took advantage of this fact and decided to niche down and focus on building a farming business around it. Today, California Endive Farms is still the largest American endive grower.

Rich joins us to share the story of how he learned about the endive plant and what made him decide to grow such a complicated crop. He explains what endives are, why they’re difficult to grow, and the market potential it has. He describes the various factors they have to consider and how they manage to control them on their farm. Rich also shares why there’s hardly any competition for them when it comes to growing endive.

“There's a huge window of opportunity for us to grow crops in a much more rational manner with respect to soil and water resources.” - Rich Collins

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Rich’s journey in the ag industry and the people who influenced his business decisions.
• What endive is, why it needs to grow in the absence of light, and the difficulty in farming it.
• What the market is like for endive, its uses, and its health benefits.
• How marketable is it growing endive as a primary source of income?
• The factors that influence endive growth and the conditions they control.
• Finding a niche like endive farming today compared to what it was like decades ago.
• The competition for endive growing and why they hardly have competition.
• The costs of growing endive and why it's not easy to automate.

Connect with Rich Collins

• California Endive Farms

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 
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Bruce Friedrich is Co-Founder and Executive Director at The Good Food Institute (GFI), a company that promotes plant-based and cultivated meat food products by making them just as good, just as convenient, and just as affordable as real meat. Their company has several branches in over six countries, all working towards the goal of making the alternative meat industry more attractive to consumers. Bruce oversees the business’ global strategy and programs. He also works with its directors, staff, and international representatives to guarantee the effectiveness of their programs.

Bruce joins me today to discuss how GFI is making plant-based and cultivated meat products more consumer-friendly and just as competitive as traditional meat. He shares where he drew inspiration to innovate food, how the idea of starting GFI began and the company’s current progress. Bruce also explains why they’re not here to disrupt the meat industry and shares his thoughts on animal agriculture.

“Animal-based meat is made up of fats, proteins, minerals, and water. All of that exists in the plant kingdom.” - Bruce Friedrich

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• How Bruce became passionate about improving the world through food innovation.
• Replacing meat with foods that cost the same or less with their product.
• Appealing to palatability and cost over environmental impact.
• What if plant-based meats and traditional meat product consumption rose together?
• The time needed for consumers to adapt to cultivated meat.
• How far along they are with regards to scaling their cultivated and plant-based meat products.
• His thoughts on animal agriculture and their business focus as a company.
• The difference between disrupting and transforming the meat industry.
• The big milestones he is excited about in the near future.

Resources Mentioned

• Quorn

Connect with Bruce Friedrich

• The Good Food Institute
• Essential Reading and Research

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

Russ Conser is the CEO of Blue Nest Beef, a regenerative agriculture and food startup. What makes Blue Nest Beef special is how they raise cattle from bird-friendly land, citing that the presence of birds indicates a healthy agricultural ecosystem. Russ specializes in soil health and regenerative agriculture, business strategy development, and managing highly creative people. He was also featured on the podcast two years ago, where he talked about the benefits of multi-paddock grazing.

Russ joins me today to discuss how Blue Nest Beef is promoting regenerative agriculture. He explains how birds indicate the health of the ecosystem and why it’s critical to farm on bird-friendly land. He shares data that indicates the benefits of raising cattle over not raising it from a greenhouse gas perspective. He shares the type of grazing system they want other farmers to adapt and why it benefits the soil. Russ also describes why regenerative agriculture is important to every person on Earth, regardless of your political affiliation.

“The birds are the treasure - and the measure.” - Russ Conser

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Defining Regenerative Agriculture and what it's supposed to do.
• The importance of bird presence in agriculture.
• Informing consumers on how the food system works and how Blue Nest Beef plans to do it.
• How Blue Nest Beef works and what sets them apart from other farms.
• The grazing system they promote and how rotational grazing benefits the soil.
• Why Regenerative Agriculture is an apolitical issue.
• Resources and tools Russ is interested in using and working with.
• Data that says producing beef through regenerative agriculture is better than not producing beef at all.

Resources Mentioned

• Episode 044: Grassfed Beef Through Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing
• Eddy Covariance Flux Towers

Connect with Russ Conser

• Blue Nest Beef
• Facebook
• Twitter

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