Today’s guest is an independent movie producer from New York City. Sam Goldberg grew up in Manhattan without any background in agriculture. He was introduced to agriculture when a filmmaker approached him for a concept about grain entrapment, a real and grave danger that farmers and other members of the community are exposed to. Seeing the significance of the issue socially, Sam currently is raising funds for the operation and completion of the movie titled Silo The Film.

On today’s episode, Sam talks about the progress he and his team have made in the production of Silo. He also shares why he thinks this movie is socially relevant and his stand on why he wanted to pursue this film in spite of the timespan they need to devote to complete it. He also mentions some of the things that Sam and his team are currently working on like fund-raising, casting, and searching for the right location to shoot the movie.

“This, to me, represents a potential bridge for conversation where a segment of the population can be humanized in such a way that is relatable to anybody.”  – Sam Goldberg

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Overview and plot of Silo The Film
• What compelled Sam and his business partners to pursue this project
• The social significance of this film
• Reasons for filming a documentary
• Response of the people who viewed the short film at the Tribeca Film Festival
• The overall cost of the project and how the cost is divided
• How the revenue side of film works
• How Sam found the grain entrapment expert his team is working with on the film

Check Out Sam Goldberg Across the Net:

• Silo The Film Website
• Silo the Film on Facebook

We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is a part of a network called 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.

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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!

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Joining us on today’s episode of Future of Agriculture Podcast are two educators who are making an impact in the agricultural industry by engaging the youth and influencing the future workforce of agriculture. Our first guest, Seth Heinert, is an Agricultural High School teacher in Ogallala, Nebraska who started a rural program two years ago. Beverly Flatt is a program manager who works with city schools called Academies of Nashville in Tennessee helps students discover the passion they would like to pursue after high school.

Seth and Beverly share two different programs and approaches as they cater to students from diverse backgrounds and regions. Seth shares some fascinating stories about his classroom experiences in western Nebraska and the reasons why he’s so passionate about pursuing rural education and instilling in his students a love for agriculture. Beverly identifies the agriculture programs they offer in urban education. She also mentions that for the urban students, their exposure to the amount of technology used in the agricultural sector play a significant role in generating interest in the students.

“I think agricultural education plays a huge role in getting kids engaged in their rural communities.”  – Seth Heinert

“Just giving students an experience and an opportunity to get involved in agriculture is often the only thing we need to do to sell them on making this an industry and a passion for life.” – Beverly Flatt

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Seth’s priorities in the program he started
• The essence of having an advisory council and the responsibilities they carry out
• The three components of Seth’s rural program
• The primary classifications of the courses Seth teaches
• What led Beverly to agriculture literacy
• What the program Academies of Nashville is all about and the school levels and age group they cater to
• The four agricultural programs in the urban program
• Acquiring accurate information and getting rid of fake news is the biggest challenge on ag literacy
• How Beverly and her team determine the courses to be offered in their program
• How agriculture can improve the academic performance of students

We are a Part of a Bigger Family!

The Future of Agriculture Podcast is a part of a network called 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.

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:

AgGrad Website  
AgGrad on Twitter  
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Millennials are making waves in many of today’s business and career industries – and the agriculture industry is no exception. This week, I’m speaking with Mikayla Sullivan, co-founder and “Ringleader of Regal Operations” at Kinosol. Her team of millennials – many of which are fresh out of college – are on a mission to solve one of the world’s biggest problems – world hunger – through agriculture technology.

Kinosol uses dehydration techniques that can be used anywhere in the world – due to its solar-power technology – to make food products last longer, to effectively reduce food waste around the world. Currently, Mikayla and her team are focusing on helping people in developing countries reduce food waste and improve their food storage ability in an effort to help end world hunger on a global scale.

Today, she shares the Kinosol mission and how the business idea got started, the interesting way the team generated the initial business capital to continue to grow and scale, and some of the food safety concerns surrounding dehydration – particularly with meat.

“People don’t care what it looks like. It really just matters if it works and if it’s going to improve what they are already doing and save them time down the road.” – Mikayla Sullivan

This Week on the Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Kinosol’s mission to reduce food waste on a global scale – particularly in developing countries
• How the company is working to not only reduce food waste and combat world hunger, but also provide income-generating opportunities in developing countries
• What is a Specific Benefit Corporation and how it differs from a non-profit organization and an LLC
• How farmers in developing countries can receive Kinosol’s products
• What the Kinosol solar-power dehydrator is capable of
• Food safety concerns regarding meat and ensuring consumer safety
• Unit cost and distribution model
• The Kinosol “Sponsor-A-Unit” program
• How the business idea got started
• How they raised their initial business capital
• How the founding members decided which countries to target first
• Their biggest challenges throughout their entrepreneurial journey
• Why Mikayla believes her team’s naivety about the process of developing the product worked to their advantage
• New product development plans within the next two years

Check Out Kinosol & Mikayla Sullivan Across the Net:

• Get Kinosol
• Facebook
• Twitter – Use these hashtags to follow the conversation: #SaveTheThird and #FoodforAll
• Instagram
• LinkedIN

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: 

AgGrad Website  
AgGrad on Twitter  
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Today’s guest is from the Bronx in New York. His journey to agriculture started accidentally while he was dealing with student conflict in his class. From zero agricultural background, Stephen Ritz created a system – a whole school program that changed how the students, the parents, and the community view agriculture. This program, called Green Bronx Machine, is more than about educating his students about farming. Stephen sees it as a way to solve real problems in the community like lack of student engagement in school, poor education, and poor health including unequal opportunities for the disadvantaged.

On today’s episode, Stephen talks about the effects and benefits of Green Bronx Machine to the students and the community as a whole. He shares how he integrates growing food with academics. Stephen also elaborates on one of the goals of the program’s model, which is not about a “me” mentality, but a “we” mentality. This outlook is about people everywhere working together in achieving the goal of making wise choices, living healthy, and personal and community development. He is encouraged to see the outcome as his students are empowered to make healthy choices as a result of instilling child wellness and mindfulness in them.

“When we teach our children about nature, we teach them to nurture. And when we teach children to nurture, we as a society collectively embrace our better nature. And that’s what this work is about.” – Stephen Ritz

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• The 9-1-1 situation in Stephen’s class that lead to a 3-1-1 moment
• One of the significant effects of the Green Bronx Machine Project: Students you don’t expect to go through college ending up as college graduates
• Evolution of the program, how it has evolved today, and some of the programs offered such as after-school programming, weekend programming, and summer camps
• Age window of students allowed in the program
• How the collateral learning influence the behavior of the students
• How the program can change the community’s outlook on food as medicine in relation to diabetes and obesity
• The process that Stephen adapts especially for first-time student-growers: If they grow it, they eat it
• The focus of the model of the program – quality of teaching and quality of learning
• Metrics Stephen uses in the program concerning academics (attendance, performance, etc.)
• What makes the Green Bronx Machine a whole-school solution and not just any other kind of school economics program
• Content of Stephen’s book – his story, his children’s story, the community’s story, and tools that equip people to grow something great and impact their community

Check Out Stephen Ritz Across the Net:

• Green Bronx Machine Website
• Green Bronx Machine on Facebook
• The Power of a Plant Book by Stephen Ritz

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:

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