Listen Now

We speak with Jack Bobo, food futurist and the author of the book "Why Smart People Make Bad Food Choices." Jack talks about how we ended up with giant-sized food portions in the US and what can be done to redesign our food environment to make better food choices for healthier living. We talk about the role of innovation and technology in solving many of our problems and the imperative to get consumers on board.

In this episode, we speak to two executives from Bolthouse Farms about innovation.  The Bolthouse Farms story is a great business case on what innovation and collaboration can bring to a company.  Innovation is woven through everything they do and think about.  There is also an open invitation to reach out to the company with innovative ideas/products/technology at innovation@bolthouse.com 

Hear from Randy Pequignot about his journey as a field supervisor for Del Monte AND data management administrator. He uses software to accumulate Ag data from contract of growers through to the processing of snap beans. Randy gives a great view of what is important to him and how data management has helped his operation and his time management. It is always great to hear the voice of the customer of new technology!

The race to develop systems for carbon capture and reduction is on! We dig deeper into the carbon challenge and talk with two innovators who are working with food companies to ensure transparency across the supply chain. The speakers tie together the importance of ESG, effects of climate change, carbon programs and how technology is the “unlock” to solve these issues.

How safe is your information? How do threat actors get into your company and what do you do if it happens? Hear from the experts about the current state of affairs and how you should protect yourself and mitigate risk.

Listen to a real life example of Lipman Family Farms and their supply chain management technology adoption journey.  We hear about the value of a good partner, constant iteration and finding the right pace of adoption. 

What is gene editing? How is it different from GMOs? Today, experts will discuss real world examples of gene editing. The ability to develop climate-resistant crops with higher nutrition and less food loss are a couple of benefits of gene editing. Could this be the path forward for our industry to develop improved foods with lower environmental impact? 

A conversation with Nate Storey about how Plenty thinks about and deals with food safety issues. Listen to this candid discussion about the challenges and types of solutions the produce industry (indoor and out) faces with food safety and traceability

I sit on the other side of the microphone with Sarah Nolet from the agtech….so what podcast. We discuss a wide range of topics from genetics to clean tech.

Kalera is one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies. It has high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities designed for rapid rollout with two operating facilities in Orlando, one in St Paul, MN and one in Atlanta. It plans to open five additional large-scale facilities across the US by early 2022, including locations in Houston, Denver, Hawaii, Columbus, and Seattle.   Kalera has had a very busy year with the acquisition of Vindara, an indoor ag breeding company and building an impressive team and board. Hear from Daniel Malechuck the CEO of Kalera about their journey and also from Jade Stinson, co-founder and CEO of Vindara about the importance of breeding to indoor ag.

The development of agricultural biologicals - biostimulants, biopesticides and biofertilizers - is growing as global agriculture looks to move towards more sustainable ways to boost yields and new methods of crop protection. Growers are increasingly looking to agricultural inputs based on microbes to both reduce and complement the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilzers in their fields. Biological controls have been around for years, but represent only 10% of fungicide and sales and have not yet made a dent in nutritional inputs and skepticism still remains.   This week's episode explores the many benefits of using microbes and the different approaches leaders in the field use.

Join a lively discussion with Paul Lightfoot, founder and president at Bright Farms. We talk about his journey with BrightFarms over the last 10 years and the strengths he sees with indoor growing around supply chain and water. Paul has also started a newsletter called Negative Foods and is on a mission to eat and promote foods based on regenerative farming practices that draw carbon from the atmosphere. Paul believes if we eat foods that draw down carbon on a net basis, our food system will be a lever to reverse climate change. We cover climate change, carbon negative foods, a challenge to organic crop systems and oysters and beer.

This episode focuses on the success story of fruit production in Chile. The public and private sectors have worked together to expand production of fruit using all types of technology and innovation. In 2019, the fruit-growing sector in Chile achieved record exports, of over $6.5 B US dollars with an increase of 3.6% compared to 2018. This is a reflection of Chile's strategy of expanding into new markets which has led to a significant increase in the number of export destinations, up from 78 markets in 2003 to 129 in 2019. Hear about the work being done in both sectors. And enjoy your winter blueberries.

I had so much interest in being on the podcast in Israel that we are doing Part 2! As a global innovation hub, Israel uses novel technologies to lead the AgTech and FoodTech industry towards a more efficient and sustainable future; it serves as a global laboratory for producing more food using fewer resources. Israeli start-ups are improving traditional agriculture by introducing new, groundbreaking technologies in the field. The country has a strong ecosystem with universities, a long history in food production with multinational VC’s and Corporates involved in financing and strong government support. In Part 2 of our episodes on Israel, we hear from experts and industry veterans on what is happening in Israel and why it is a good place to start a company. The conversation ranges from plant genetics to high-tech sensors gathering data to be analyzed by AWS. Across the entire supply chain from seed to fork, the country of nine million people is full of companies working on cutting-edge innovation.

I turn the microphone around with Tim and Tyler Nuss from The Modern Acre. We hit updates and insights in some hot topics in agriculture. We talk through the recent coming together of PMA and United Fresh, the latest in carbon markets, agtech exits including SPAC’s, indoor farming, and seeing a Rivian in the wild! This episode has it all.

As a global innovation hub, Israel uses novel technologies to lead the AgTech and FoodTech industry towards a more efficient and sustainable future; it serves as a global laboratory for producing more food using fewer resources. Israeli start-ups are improving traditional agriculture by introducing new, groundbreaking technologies in the field. The country has a strong ecosystem with universities, a long history in food production with multinational VC’s and Corporates involved in financing and strong government support. In Part 1 of the a 2 part series on Israel, we hear from experts and industry veterans on what is happening in Israel and why it is a good place to start a company. The conversation ranges from plant genetics to hyperspectral machine vision technology to supply chain disruption and innovation. Across the entire supply chain from seed to fork, the country of nine million people is full of companies working on cutting-edge innovation.

With little farming land, Singapore imports 90% of the food it consumes. Coupled with the recent supply chain shocks, the government has set up a number of programs and incentives for local food production and innovation. In this episode, we hear from there different companies in the well-functioning AgTech ecosystem in Singapore. Benny Chng from SGInnovate discusses the companies they are investing in at this time and why food and ag are important. We also hear from Foong Yoke Oon who with her husband is building Ubertas Agritech, a vertical farm to serve Singapore. And Adrian Teo from DiMuto a global commerce solution company for the produce market. These three conversations illustrate what a good ecosystem can bring to a sector with government support, private sector financing and smart entrepreneurs.

Be ready to take notes! This episode covers the needs of the food supply chain which was pushed into the spotlight by COVID-19. As we saw shortages on the shelf, and supply disruption and dislocations in production and distribution, this complicated question arose: What does it take to get data flowing from farm to plate to resiliently manage the supply chain? Brita and Seana have previously covered the well-funded ends of the supply chain. Seana in AgTech and Brita in Foodtech. They believe there is tremendous, untapped opportunity for vertical-specific technology companies which are focused on serving the unique needs of the food supply chain. After listening to this episode, you will to!   Here is the link to their Food Supply Chain Tech Landscape 2021: https://www.culterracapital.com/post/delivering-the-goods-our-2021-food-supply-chain-tech-predictions   

Chief Economist Wandile Sihlobo talks about what technology is important in boosting productivity in Africa along with how growing more produce can help address unemployment on the Continent. We also hear from two entrepreneurial companies from South Africa who have developed solutions to problems Wandile discusses and have gone global. Greg Whitaker from AgrigateOne discusses how their produce supply chain data systems supply insights to growers and buyers.  Vic van den Berg from Aerobotics talks about their intelligent tools for orchards. 

PMA Takes on Tech, Episode 18: SBIR grants: A way to grow early-stage innovation without dilution   You have a great innovative idea that will have revolutionary impact on the produce industry. You have tapped out friends and family but you aren’t ready to go to a VC and give up equity in your business yet. What can you do? Government funding is a great way to help advance your small business's technology. One of the most popular government funding avenues is the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. SBIR is a United States government program, coordinated by the Small Business Administration, intended to help small businesses conduct R&D. The funding is a grant that requires no equity. In this episode, hear from experts about how the program works and examples grants and their benefits.   Moderator: Vonnie Estes, Vice President of Technology, Produce Marketing Association   Panelists: Dr. Timothy Conner, Division Director, Division of Bioenergy, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Martha Schlicher, Executive in Residence at BioGenerator, CEO at Plastomics Diana Endicott, Co-Owner and Marketing Manager, Rainbow Organic Farm & Good Natured Family Farm