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We tell the stories of innovators at the intersection of agriculture and technology to answer the question: what really is agtech and why should you care?
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Agtech - So What?
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What it's REALLY like to work in an agtech startup
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If you’re looking at a career in agtech, chances are you’re going to spend time working with startups. But what’s it like to work IN an agtech startup? A fast-paced environment, no red tape, significant responsibility, and a big vision may come to mind. But there can be downsides, too, such as long hours and setbacks due to the inevitable trial and…
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Agtech - So What?
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Breaking into agtech when you're not from a farm and "don't look the part"
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How do you get a career in agriculture or agtech, when you’re not from a farming background? In this episode, we meet four women who’ve become agtech leaders, despite not having grown up on a farm. At the intersection of two largely white and male dominated industries (agriculture and tech), they have succeeded despite, as they say, ‘not looking th…
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Agtech - So What?
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Scaling up Soil Carbon Markets - feat. guests from Cargill, Nori and more!
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40:35
The race is on globally to scale carbon markets, where farmers can sell the carbon they sequester in their soil to buyers who want to offset emissions. But right now, the space is often confusing for buyers, sellers, and the intermediaries working between them. And further, both public and private market schemes have been criticized for inefficienc…
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Agtech - So What?
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Farming eggs the startup way - Sarah Sivyer on continuous improvement and customer intimacy
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Sarah Sivyer had multiple roles in the corporate world before she decided to start farming eggs. She grew up on a farm, but was completely new to chickens, and this was the challenge she wanted: to grow her own business from scratch and apply her corporate knowledge. By tapping into consumer demand for convenience, freshness, and sustainability cre…
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Agtech - So What?
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Changing human behavior - how Matt Crozier introduced technology to a 200 year old sheep station
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Cavan Station might have well-known owners today (the Murdoch family), but the large property in southern New South Wales has long held a place in Australian history, as pioneers of the fine wool industry. And Cavan Station is still innovating today. In fact, the 25,000 acre (10,000 ha) farm has undergone a significant transformation over the past …
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Agtech - So What?
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From defense to disruption, how companies are approaching sustainability in the food system, with Mary Shelman
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Mary Shelman is an internationally recognized agribusiness consultant and speaker, and the former Director of Harvard Business School’s Agribusiness program. Mary grew up in Kentucky, watching her father sell farm equipment; now, based in Boston, she helps corporations and governments tackle agriculture’s biggest problems. In Ireland, for example, …
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Agtech - So What?
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"Not a cheerleader, not the enemy", journalist Sarah Mock on making windows in the walls around agriculture
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Sarah Mock isn’t afraid of having tough conversations and shining light on thorny issues in the agriculture industry. A journalist with experience in international development and agtech, Sarah recently began a Twitter firestorm with an article asserting that all farming is inherently exploitative. While sometimes accused of being anti-farming, Sar…
Regen Ag Series #5: Our Verdict, with Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor from AgThentic and Tenacious Ventures In this final wrap up episode of our regenerative agriculture series, the team from AgThentic is giving you OUR verdict. Sarah is joined by Matthew Pryor, Partner at AgThentic and co-founder of Tenacious Ventures, to discuss: what it will take …
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Agtech - So What?
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Regen Ag Series #4: Greenwashing or Good Business? Live debate.
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The gloves are off as our expert panelists debate whether regenerative agriculture can improve farming businesses… or if it’s all hype. Host Sarah Nolet is joined by: Richard Leask, a wine grower and 2019 Nuffield Scholar who traveled the world studying regen ag, and now uses the best of what he discovered back home in his vineyard in South Austral…
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Agtech - So What?
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Supplying sustainable beef to McDonalds with Nicole-Johnson-Hoffman of OSI Group
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Is it possible for large food corporations like McDonald’s to “scale for good?” Nicole Johnson-Hoffman is in charge of supplying beef to McDonalds through the OSI Group, and doing so sustainably. She believes it’s only the big companies that have the power to change entire supply chains and therefore that the future of sustainable food is up to the…
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Agtech - So What?
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Regen Ag Series #3: Why major food companies are supporting regen ag with Jay Watson of General Mills
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When a company commits to regenerative agriculture practices - it can be accused of ‘greenwashing’ - making people believe it’s doing more to help the environment than it really is. General Mills, the U.S. company behind iconic brands such as Yoplait, Betty Crocker and Cheerios, made a commitment to bring regenerative agriculture practices to one m…
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Agtech - So What?
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Regen Ag Series #2: Sam Trethewey on applying startup business model insights to produce carbon positive beef
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Sam Trethewey believes ‘regenerative agriculture’ is not a dirty word - but simply the future of farming. Astonishingly, he produces wagyu beef in Tasmania without actually owning any cows. He does this by combining insights about business models from startups such as Uber and Airbnb with the farming practices of regenerative agriculture. Sam grew …
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Agtech - So What?
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Regen Ag Series #1: Mark Wootton on carbon-neutral farming at Jigsaw Farms
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Mark Wootton is well-known in the Australian agriculture industry as a pioneer in carbon-neutral farming. In 2011, Jigsaw Farms, his family property in south-west Victoria, achieved carbon neutrality - undergoing a process he openly admits was at the time, both “arduous and not necessarily commercially rewarding”. Yet, Mark and his wife Eve Kantor …
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 70: Karmen Mehmen on growing a family farm through 40 years of change
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Karmen Mehmen is a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa alongside her husband Stan and their son Kyle and daughter-in-law Kerri. Their farm, MBS Family Farms, has grown from 160 acres and 40 cows back in the ‘60s to an operation that today supports 20 families. In this episode, Karmen talks about: How technology has enabled them to manage through substa…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 69: Renée Anderson "Cotton Farm Girl" on social media and social license
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Renée Anderson is a farmer in Emerald, Queensland, Nuffield Scholar, agronomist, and overall champion for the cotton industry. In this episode, she shares her insights from Australia and around the world on social license, science communications, and the role that tech can play in helping farmers both improve production and change the narrative abo…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 68: David Carter on becoming the world's only carbon neutral fishing company
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David Carter is the CEO of Austral Fisheries, one of Australia’s largest integrated commercial fishing companies. Austral Fisheries is notable for being the only commercial fishing company in the world to be certified Carbon Neutral, offsetting their emissions to zero since 2016. In this episode we talk about: David's path from deckhand to CEO Aust…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 67: tips from three leading farmers using tech everyday (live from evokeAG)
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This episode, live from the 2020 evokeAG conference in Melbourne, features three innovative Aussie producers: Brad “Jonesy” Jones; Sue “Chilla” Middleton; and Mark “Mort” Mortimer. We also cover: the different techs being used in their businesses today their tech wishlists for the future what’s driving adoption of agtech and what’s preventing it wh…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 66: Jim Chambers (Trimble) and Derek Norman (Bayer) on agtech acquisitions
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Today’s episode is all about corporate investments and acquisitions in agtech. Two guests, Derek Norman (VP at Leaps by Bayer) and Jim Chambers (President and General Manager of the Worldwide Agriculture Business at Trimble) cover different ways startups can engage with corporates, from early stage direct strategic investments, to channel partnersh…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 65: The Alternative Protein Debate: live from Australia's first virtual, national agtech meetup
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Coming to you live from Australia's first national, virtual AgTech Meetup, this episode explores what alternative proteins are, how big they'll become, and whether this is a pending disruption or untapped opportunity for agriculture. Panelists included: Catherine Tubb- chemistry PhD and Research Fellow at RethinkX Paul Wood- internationally recogni…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 64 Pete Nelson on partnering with growers to build better agtech
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This week Sarah is joined by a guest host, Cass Mao, Principal Advisor at AgThentic, to chat with Pete Nelson of AgLaunch about how growers and agtech companies can work together in a model that they call "farmer-centric innovation" Pete Nelson, originally a farmer and an English major at University, has been actively involved in building the suppo…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep63 Evan Fraser on 3 barriers to agtech adoption and impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture
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Evan Fraser is a food systems innovation expert, the Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph in Canada, and the Founder of Feeding9Billion. Though he didn't grow up on a farm, he brings a multi-disciplinary and systems approach to his work, with degrees and work experience in various fields from anthropology to atmospheric…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 62 Allison Kopf on indoor ag business models and women in agtech (rebroadcast)
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We hear all the time that we need to "feed the world" and that "agtech can help" But what role will indoor farming play? How do these systems work, what can they grow, and how do they make money? Today’s guest, Allison Kopf, is an agtech entrepreneur and indoor ag expert. Her company, Artemis, builds software for indoor farms and specialty crops. I…
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Agtech - So What?
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BONUS Episode: Live panel from evokeAG 2020 featuring global agrifood tech experts
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evokeAG, Asia Pacific's largest agrifood tech event, brought together 1300 innovators earlier in February this year in Melbourne, Australia. The jam-packed event featured international experts, innovative farmers, dozens of startups, and much more, showcasing what the region has to offer in agrifood tech innovation. This bonus episode gives a taste…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep61 Alisdair Tulloch on the first-mover advantages of going carbon neutral
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Agriculture is often vilified for its environmental impact. But what if agriculture could be carbon neutral? Is that even possible? And what would it cost? Alisdair Tulloch, a fourth generation grape grower, believes it’s not only possible but also profitable. In this episode, Alisdair shares his family's journey to carbon neutral. Why did they dec…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 60 Mark Ferguson on science, sheep, and the tech-enabled future of genetics
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Mark “Ferg” Ferguson is a sheep geneticist who’s paying attention to how both consumer demands and emerging technologies are impacting growers. Drawing on his experience with dozens of clients around Australia and New Zealand, Ferg shares: insights for agtech companies, like the importance of personas and how to build relationships in a digital wor…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 59: Mic Fels on startup buzzwords and where the real value is in agtech
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Mic Fels is someone I’ve wanted to speak with ever since I read an article he wrote about how his agtech is really making him money. Mic not only crops about 11,000 hectares in Esperance, Western Australia, but has also built and commercialized a range of software products and machinery through his company, iPaddock. Mic and I chat about where the …
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 58: Fiona Aveyard on drought, dust storms, and value-adding
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Agtech is about more than the technologies. It's about new business models in agriculture, and of course the innovators driving changes along the value chain. Today’s guest, Fiona Aveyard, a 5th generation mixed farmer, is definitely an innovator and an entrepreneur. We talk about how she’s working on a new supply chain and new value add products t…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 57 Fee Turner and Lee Coleman on being farmers and agtech founders
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Fee Turner (Bitwise Agronomy) and Lee Coleman (FarmSimple) are both farmers as well as founders of agtech startups. They, along with six other farmer-led businesses, have been selected into the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp program, an intensive 3 month accelerator that is helping them take their business to the next level. In this episode, Fee and Lee…
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Agtech - So What?
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Stuart Austin on the tools for regenerative agriculture
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Stuart Austin is a regenerative farmer and self-proclaimed early adopter of technology. In this episode we cover everything from how Stuart got involved in regenerative ag, to the tools he's using (and helping build) to make 6 and 7 figure decisions at Wilmot Cattle Company. Stuart also shares his views on alternative proteins, transparency in agri…
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Agtech - So What?
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Meet two of the farmer-led startups in the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp
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Ashlea Miles and David Ricardo are Australian farmers and founders of agtech startups Training Paddock and Farm Service Manager. They, along with six other farmer-led businesses, have been selected into the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp program, an intensive 3 month accelerator that helping them take their business to the next level. In this episode, A…
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Agtech - So What?
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Aidan Connolly on facial recognition for cows
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Aidan Connolly is the CEO of Cainthus, and agtech startup using cameras and machine learning to help farmers make better decisions. Before that, Aidan helped Alltech grow from $24 million to $2.3 billion. During that time he was, among many things, Director of the Pearse Lyons Accelerator where he saw hundreds of agtech startups in all different se…
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Agtech - So What?
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(Live Panel) What does it take for researchers & startups to collaborate in agtech?
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Coming to you live from the AgTech Meetup in Sydney, this panel explores what it takes for startups and researchers to collaborate successfully in agrifood. Panelists for the evening were: Dr Peter Thorburn, Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO; Tegan Nock, Co-Founder at SoilCQuest; and Nick Hazell, Founder and CEO at V2 Food. V2 Food: https://www.v2f…
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Agtech - So What?
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Murray Scholz on the GMO and Sheep Controversies
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Murray Scholz farms with his wife Emma in Southern NSW and the Eastern Riverina on the foothills of the snowy mountains. They grow wheat, canola, lupins, and barley, and run beef cattle and prime lambs. Murray’s family is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, after his great-grandfather came to the area in 1919. They’ve always been an inno…
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Agtech - So What?
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Victor Friedberg on Systems Investing and Transition from Commodity to Identity
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Today’s guest, Victor Friedberg is the co-founder of S2G ventures, a Chicago-based firm that has backed companies across the ag and food industries such as Beyond Meat, Maple Hill Creamery, Benson Hill Biosystems, and Mercaris. Victor is also the founder of Foodshot Global, a non-profit consortium of companies focused on creating a food system that…
Tim Hammerich, who grew up on a hobby farm in Northern California selling pigs, goats and ducks, is the Founder of AgGrad and the host of the Future of Agriculture podcast. In this episode, Tim and I chat about careers in agriculture, including what companies are looking for, tips for getting a job, and what’s different about jobs in agtech. For mo…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 49: Rachel Hay on the role of women in agtech adoption
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This week, Dr. Rachel Hay, social scientist at James Cook University and boutique pig farmer, shares insights from her PhD on the role of women in agtech adoption. Published in 2014, Rachel’s findings still hold true and could be helpful for agtech companies looking to understand the industry and develop marketing strategies that can cut through th…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 48: Peter Thompson (responding to climate risk)
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Today’s episode is the 4th in the theme Responding to Climate Risk, brought to you in partnership with the Australian Farm Institute. Check out episodes 42, 44 and 46 to hear more on this theme. Today’s guest is Peter Thompson, a farmer based in rural Queensland, Australia that has been farming regeneratively before the word existed. He and his wif…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 47: Live Q&A with Dan Harburg of IndigoAg
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Today’s episode is a live recording from the Sydney AgTech meetup. Our guest is Dan Harburg, senior director at Indigo Ag. IndigoAg is one of agtech’s biggest startups. They’ve raised over $650M, have over 1k staff, and are working to expand in the US and internationally. Dan was visiting Australia to learn more about carbon farming, and the work h…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep. 46 - Ben Krasnostein (responding to climate risk)
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In this episode we hear from Ben Krasnostein, co-founder and managing director of Kilara Capital, a company that helps facilitate investment opportunities that provide both commercial returns and environmental impacts. Ben believes that we as consumers, primary producers, and global economies need to shift away from a mindset of extraction to one o…
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Agtech - So What?
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E45 Andrew Whitlock (Theme: getting agtech ready)
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In this episode we hear from Andrew Whitlock, a farmer and precision agriculture consultant. Andrew has worked with many farmers over the years, both as a government extension officer and as a private consultant. Andrew believes in keeping it simple, sticking to the science, and being really clear about the problem you are trying to solve before im…
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Agtech - So What?
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Ep 44: Karin Stark and Jon Elder (responding to climate risk)
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Cotton farmers Jon Elder and Karin Stark have looked to technology (and their neighbors) for innovation to help them respond to climate risk. The 500 kW hybrid solar-diesel pumping system they’ve installed- Australia’s largest- is helping them combat rising energy costs and improve the bottom line. As farmers who are passionate about the environmen…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 43: Jess and Matt Fealy (Theme: getting agtech ready)
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Which countries are best prepared for agtech? And what can farmers do to get started today? In this episode we hear from a farming couple, Jess and Matt, about social media, robotics, and picking low hanging fruit when it comes to innovation. Jess and Matt Fealy returned to farm life after a long stint in the corporate world to grow avocados, mango…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 42: Anika Molesworth (Theme: responding to climate risk)
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Anika Molesworth is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming and climate change action. She can be heard on stage and in classrooms in Australia and abroad on the balance of rural landscapes and includes managing climate risk in agricultural systems. Anika’s PHd work takes here between cropping systems in the Riverina in NSW to the rice paddie…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 41: Lachlan Sutton, Southern Cross Farms (Theme: getting agtech ready)
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Lachlan Sutton, Agribusiness Manager for Southern Cross Farms, has been involved with agriculture for his whole life. He was born and bred on his family’s sheep and wheat farm, worked in various rural services roles for over a decade with Elders, and now looks after agtech for the Corporate farming outfit Southern Cross Farms. Southern Cross Farms …
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 40: Tim Rethus (Theme: Getting AgTech Ready)
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Tim Rethus and his family are cropping farmers near Horsham in Victoria who have made a commitment to “sustainable, low cost farming”. As early adopters and innovators, the family has always been on the cutting edge of building and buying agricultural technology. Now, as the skills and experience of two generations combine, Tim has some valuable in…
Sarah here with a quick update on what's new and coming soon at AgTech - So What!By Sarah Nolet
Angus Street - CEO, Auctions Plus This week AgTech So What? Comes to you live from the Sydney AgTech Meetup. Sarah Nolet hosts a conversation with Auctions Plus CEO Angus Street. It's one of the Top 10 websites visited every day by rural Australians, AuctionsPlus has used simple technology to redefine livestock trading. Founded in 1986, its fair to…
This week's conversation is with Leeton, NSW based managing director of I-AG Pty Ltd Anthony Rudd. Anthony Rudd has a unique insight into the integration of machine automation and data adoption in agriculture and has worked in this space for John Deere Australia, a Chinese company and also in software writing and development. In 2008 Anthony was em…
The Digital Ag Collective with Kelly Pearce and Tanya Kilminster from the West Australian wheatbelt. This podcast conversation is about the development of an Australian farmer owned and controlled group that utilises and shares the most relevant data systems and programs available in the Ag Tech sector. Kelly Pearce and Tanya Kilminster both live a…
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Agtech - So What?
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Episode 35: EvokeAG Special 2. Live Panel - Faster, Smarter Farms
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EvokeAG LIVE Special! In this Episode of AgTech So What we take you to a panel Sarah hosted at the recent Agrifutures EvokeAG Event. Get ready for even faster, smarter farms. Precision farming, using satellite imagery and drones to monitor crops along with farm-management software tools to maximize decisions are powering smarter farms. Uptake of th…
