AgriNovus Indiana

The total healthcare spend relating to poor diet is quickly approaching $4 trillion annually&nbsp;according to the American Heart Association. This doesn't even include lost worker productivity.&nbsp; One of the key contributing factors to that is access to healthy foods. Scott Massey, founder and CEO of Anu, is an entrepreneur that unites the power of technology and health to bring a new category of innovation to agbioscience. He joins us to talk the access gap to nutrition in our country and Anu’s approach to nutrition – right at the point of consumption.&nbsp; From perishability to socioeconomics and beyond, nutrition access has many challenges to overcome. Scott gets into how Anu has brought their innovation to market – from homes to larger community-based organizations such as hospitals, churches, schools and beyond. He talks balance between developing top-notch hardtech and building a business for scale – and emphasizing their mission to not build the biggest tech system for indoor farming, but one that is most distributed.&nbsp; As the recent winner of AgriNovus’ HungerTech Challenge, a grant from the National Science Foundation and beyond, there is wind in Anu’s sails. Scott dives into what’s next, staying strategic and his advice to entrepreneurs who aspire to get started.&nbsp;

Scott Massey

Co-Founder + CEO, Anu 

The total healthcare spend relating to poor diet is quickly approaching $4 trillion annually according to the American Heart Association. This doesn't even include lost worker productivity.  One of the key contributing factors to that is access to healthy foods. Scott Massey, founder and CEO of Anu, is an entrepreneur that unites the power of technology and health to bring a new category of innovation to agbioscience. He joins us to talk the access gap to nutrition in our country and Anu’s approach to nutrition – right at the point of consumption. 

From perishability to socioeconomics and beyond, nutrition access has many challenges to overcome. Scott gets into how Anu has brought their innovation to market – from homes to larger community-based organizations such as hospitals, churches, schools and beyond. He talks balance between developing top-notch hardtech and building a business for scale – and emphasizing their mission to not build the biggest tech system for indoor farming, but one that is most distributed. 

As the recent winner of AgriNovus’ HungerTech Challenge, a grant from the National Science Foundation and beyond, there is wind in Anu’s sails. Scott dives into what’s next, staying strategic and his advice to entrepreneurs who aspire to get started. 

328.  Anu’s Scott Massey on uniting technology + health, closing the gap on nutrition access

328. Anu’s Scott Massey on uniting technology + health, closing the gap on nutrition access

This weekly podcast dives into the agbioscience sector, where agriculture, life sciences innovation and cutting-edge technology converge. Agbioscience is an in-depth conversation with leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs across food, animal health. plant science and agtech. Learn more about industry innovation and where it's heading from those leading the way.

Agbioscience

Company culture is often referred to in business books and board rooms, but is hard to define. Beck’s Hybrids’ Bethany Gremel, Director of Brand Experience and Culture, joins today to answer a few big questions: what is company culture? How do you define it for impact?&nbsp; Bethany gets into culture as a living organism that needs fed and its foundation being a series of behaviors rather than words. She also talks about culture and brand working together, how their team fosters culture at Beck’s and getting new people&nbsp;integrated into the company successfully – starting with their interview process. &nbsp; How does culture keep going as employees age with the company? Bethany stresses the importance of loving and caring in the workplace and how what happens inside the company shows up on the outside of the company. Beck’s has expanded significantly over the last several years and as they’ve scaled, Bethany gets into the notion of “you cannot create culture, you have to catch it.” &nbsp;

Bethany Gremel

Director of Culture + Brand Experience, Beck's Hybrids

Company culture is often referred to in business books and board rooms, but is hard to define. Beck’s Hybrids’ Bethany Gremel, Director of Brand Experience and Culture, joins today to answer a few big questions: what is company culture? How do you define it for impact? 

Bethany gets into culture as a living organism that needs fed and its foundation being a series of behaviors rather than words. She also talks about culture and brand working together, how their team fosters culture at Beck’s and getting new people integrated into the company successfully – starting with their interview process.  

How does culture keep going as employees age with the company? Bethany stresses the importance of loving and caring in the workplace and how what happens inside the company shows up on the outside of the company. Beck’s has expanded significantly over the last several years and as they’ve scaled, Bethany gets into the notion of “you cannot create culture, you have to catch it.”  

327. Beck's Hybrids' Bethany Gremel on defining company culture + its critical link to brand

About 1.6 million barrels per day of petroleum jet fuel were consumed in the United States in 2023.&nbsp; That number is expected to increase to nearly 2 million barrels daily by 2050. Southwest Airlines is taking a bold move, migrating away from petroleum to sustainable fuels. Anthony Gregory, COO of Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, joins today to talk about its impact on agbioscience innovation, farmers and airline travelers in the future.&nbsp; As one of the world’s largest airlines, Anthony gets into Southwest’s proactive approach to sustainable aviation fuel, their investment arm aiding new companies in this space and seeing agriculture and aviation industries come together. He also talks about sustainable aviation fuel as a new market for ethanol producers and the critical role of the Midwest economy – farmers, universities, large-scale airline hubs and more – to lead in this space.&nbsp;&nbsp; So what will it take for sustainable aviation fuel to become a reality? Anthony talks economic and environmental sustainability, the current challenges facing SAF consumption and how ethanol producers can begin the process of increasing demand. He also talks alternative feedstocks and other byproducts in SAF production – and the Southwest Airlines investment approach to new technologies that that help bring innovation in this space to market.&nbsp; Anthony talks through this journey with Southwest Airlines and their stance of being “one of many.” Airlines are trying to make a big leap in this space and he’s optimistic that small steps forward in this space will create long-term lasting impact.&nbsp;

Anthony Gregory

COO, Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures

About 1.6 million barrels per day of petroleum jet fuel were consumed in the United States in 2023.  That number is expected to increase to nearly 2 million barrels daily by 2050. Southwest Airlines is taking a bold move, migrating away from petroleum to sustainable fuels. Anthony Gregory, COO of Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, joins today to talk about its impact on agbioscience innovation, farmers and airline travelers in the future. 

As one of the world’s largest airlines, Anthony gets into Southwest’s proactive approach to sustainable aviation fuel, their investment arm aiding new companies in this space and seeing agriculture and aviation industries come together. He also talks about sustainable aviation fuel as a new market for ethanol producers and the critical role of the Midwest economy – farmers, universities, large-scale airline hubs and more – to lead in this space.  

So what will it take for sustainable aviation fuel to become a reality? Anthony talks economic and environmental sustainability, the current challenges facing SAF consumption and how ethanol producers can begin the process of increasing demand. He also talks alternative feedstocks and other byproducts in SAF production – and the Southwest Airlines investment approach to new technologies that that help bring innovation in this space to market. 

Anthony talks through this journey with Southwest Airlines and their stance of being “one of many.” Airlines are trying to make a big leap in this space and he’s optimistic that small steps forward in this space will create long-term lasting impact. 

326. Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures’ Anthony Gregory on growing + scaling the sustainable aviation fuel market

Corn prices hit a 4-year low in Q3, on the prospect of a record harvest. That data follows research and insights from USDA that expects net farm income to be down 25% year over year. One solution to this challenge is innovation. Tim Hassinger, CEO of Intelinair, joins today to share perspective on the market and innovation’s role in driving net farm income and operational efficiency.&nbsp; Agriculture is a cyclical business and the industry is certainly going through it now. Tim talks managing today for how you want to come out of this economic turbulence, what he hears from farmer customers (hint: it’s realism) and how innovators should be operating for success.&nbsp;&nbsp; Where is Intelinair finding their success? Fresh off winning AgTech Data Analytics Company of the Year at the AgTech Breakthrough Awards, Tim talks growing and scaling their business and their continued pursuit of adding tools to their suite that help the farmer make better decisions and – ultimately – save money.&nbsp; How does the former leader of Dow AgroSciences and Lindsay Corporation feel about his time as CEO of Intelinair? Tim talks about new challenges, adjusting his mindset to meet the needs of the business and what has him excited as he looks to the future.&nbsp;

Tim Hassinger

CEO, Intelinair

Corn prices hit a 4-year low in Q3, on the prospect of a record harvest. That data follows research and insights from USDA that expects net farm income to be down 25% year over year. One solution to this challenge is innovation. Tim Hassinger, CEO of Intelinair, joins today to share perspective on the market and innovation’s role in driving net farm income and operational efficiency. 

Agriculture is a cyclical business and the industry is certainly going through it now. Tim talks managing today for how you want to come out of this economic turbulence, what he hears from farmer customers (hint: it’s realism) and how innovators should be operating for success.  

Where is Intelinair finding their success? Fresh off winning AgTech Data Analytics Company of the Year at the AgTech Breakthrough Awards, Tim talks growing and scaling their business and their continued pursuit of adding tools to their suite that help the farmer make better decisions and – ultimately – save money. 

How does the former leader of Dow AgroSciences and Lindsay Corporation feel about his time as CEO of Intelinair? Tim talks about new challenges, adjusting his mindset to meet the needs of the business and what has him excited as he looks to the future. 

325. Intelinair’s Tim Hassinger on agtech’s impact on net farm income + managing today for less turbulent times

Happy International Podcast Day! Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap the agbiosciences in September and look ahead to upcoming events. Key takeaways include: - Artificial intelligence (AI) moving from hype to help + the recent conversation at AgriNovus' QUADRANT with Kristen Owen (Oppenheimer + Co.), Aaron Schacht (BiomEdit) and Brad Fruth (Beck's Hybrids)- The collaboration and joint venture between Corteva Agriscience and Pairwise (via Corteva Catalyst) -- a $25M investment to advance gene editing- A recap of NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture) + audio with Chuck Magro (Corteva) and Jeff Simmons (Elanco)- A preview of our December QUADRANT. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/quadrant/ Past episodes mentioned: Aaron Schacht + Eric Bonabeau (BiomEdit): https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/7d349933 Elliott Parker (High Alpha Innovation): https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/a43e4c6c

Happy International Podcast Day! Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister recap the agbiosciences in September and look ahead to upcoming events. Key takeaways include: 

- Artificial intelligence (AI) moving from hype to help + the recent conversation at AgriNovus' QUADRANT with Kristen Owen (Oppenheimer + Co.), Aaron Schacht (BiomEdit) and Brad Fruth (Beck's Hybrids)
- The collaboration and joint venture between Corteva Agriscience and Pairwise (via Corteva Catalyst) -- a $25M investment to advance gene editing
- A recap of NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture) + audio with Chuck Magro (Corteva) and Jeff Simmons (Elanco)
- A preview of our December QUADRANT. Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/quadrant/

Past episodes mentioned: 
Aaron Schacht + Eric Bonabeau (BiomEdit): https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/7d349933

Elliott Parker (High Alpha Innovation): https://podcast.agrinovusindiana.com/public/215/Agbioscience-8a9a4381/a43e4c6c

324. Mitch Frazier recaps September, Corteva + Pairwise collaboration, NASDA and more

It’s estimated that disease could cost the global food system up to 20% of production and one scientist is turning to the plant itself to change that. Dr. Kyle Mohler joins us today to talk his recent win at the Rally In-Prize Pitch Competition, his work to detect disease in plants much earlier and the Insignum AgTech’s startup journey in 2024.&nbsp; Insignum AgTech’s traits allow for the farmer to detect when disease is coming – nearly a week before you would actually see symptoms – an opportunity for farmers to treat with precision and before things are past a point of no return. Kyle gets into the farmer feedback surrounding the technology in action and how it serves as a decision-making tool for their operations.&nbsp; Fresh off a win at the Rally Innovation Conference In-Prize Pitch Competition, Kyle talks scaling via test plots across the Midwest. He also talks great milestones for Insignum AgTech in 2024 and where they hope to be headed in the future.&nbsp;

Kyle Mohler

Founder + CEO, Insignum AgTech

It’s estimated that disease could cost the global food system up to 20% of production and one scientist is turning to the plant itself to change that. Dr. Kyle Mohler joins us today to talk his recent win at the Rally In-Prize Pitch Competition, his work to detect disease in plants much earlier and the Insignum AgTech’s startup journey in 2024. 

Insignum AgTech’s traits allow for the farmer to detect when disease is coming – nearly a week before you would actually see symptoms – an opportunity for farmers to treat with precision and before things are past a point of no return. Kyle gets into the farmer feedback surrounding the technology in action and how it serves as a decision-making tool for their operations. 

Fresh off a win at the Rally Innovation Conference In-Prize Pitch Competition, Kyle talks scaling via test plots across the Midwest. He also talks great milestones for Insignum AgTech in 2024 and where they hope to be headed in the future. 

323. Insignum AgTech’s Kyle Mohler on early disease detection in crops + the value of farmer feedback

The cornerstone of the agbioscience economy is production agriculture. Without farmers, no amount of agtech, animal health, or plant science would ever be applicable to feed and fuel this world. Today we are joined by Leah Anderson, SVP of Land O’Lakes and president of WinField United, to talk about her drive and motivation to help the farmer – and putting it into action.&nbsp; Key Takeaways:&nbsp;&nbsp; <ul><li>The farmer perspective headed into harvest including some stress surrounding commodity prices, input costs and declines in farm income levels.&nbsp;</li><li>Challenges for Land O’Lakes and WinField United ahead of next growing season – from access to labor and investment decisions – and how they’re helping the farmer with those hurdles.&nbsp;</li><li>Data as a decision driver and the Advanced Acre Rx program as a prescription suite of tools based on a farmer’s most pressing individual needs.&nbsp;</li><li>The cooperative model as a differentiator for farmers and the emerging innovations that have Leah most excited – including AI biologicals and evolving new markets (Carbon, water, etc.).&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>

Leah Anderson

SVP, Land O'Lakes

The cornerstone of the agbioscience economy is production agriculture. Without farmers, no amount of agtech, animal health, or plant science would ever be applicable to feed and fuel this world. Today we are joined by Leah Anderson, SVP of Land O’Lakes and president of WinField United, to talk about her drive and motivation to help the farmer – and putting it into action. 

Key Takeaways:  

- The farmer perspective headed into harvest including some stress surrounding commodity prices, input costs and declines in farm income levels. 
- Challenges for Land O’Lakes and WinField United ahead of next growing season – from access to labor and investment decisions – and how they’re helping the farmer with those hurdles. 
- Data as a decision driver and the Advanced Acre Rx program as a prescription suite of tools based on a farmer’s most pressing individual needs. 
- The cooperative model as a differentiator for farmers and the emerging innovations that have Leah most excited – including AI biologicals and evolving new markets (Carbon, water, etc.).  

322. Land O’Lakes' Leah Anderson on the farmer perspective, emerging innovations and data as a differentiator to drive net farm income

Innovation in agbioscience has never been more critical. In today’s tough economy, farmers are looking for new ways to generate margin and with geopolitical instability around the world, food’s stabilizing force around the world is taking center stage. Former Army Colonel and Executive Vice President of The Directions Group (Aimpoint Research) joins today to talk forces of change in our food system, food security as national security and innovation for the farmer.&nbsp; Key Takeaways: &nbsp; <ul><li>The Directions Group’s recent Farmers of the Future research dives into how farmers are evolving, what they need and how his team sees this landscape changing in the future – including consolidation.&nbsp;</li><li>Agbioscience’s critical role in human health and its impact on our national security and military service. &nbsp;</li><li>Mark’s work with Indiana farmers to define the critical challenges facing their operations as the launch point for this year’s Producer-Led Innovation Challenge and The Directions Group’s methodology of tackling this feedback.&nbsp;</li><li>Labor management and administrative burden as huge hurdles for farmers to be successful – and why talking with a farmer will drive better outcomes for innovators.&nbsp;</li></ul> Read the study, Producer-Led Innovation Challenge Opportunity Identification, at agrinovusindiana.com/research.&nbsp;

Mark Purdy

EVP, The Directions Group

Innovation in agbioscience has never been more critical. In today’s tough economy, farmers are looking for new ways to generate margin and with geopolitical instability around the world, food’s stabilizing force around the world is taking center stage. Former Army Colonel and Executive Vice President of The Directions Group (Aimpoint Research) joins today to talk forces of change in our food system, food security as national security and innovation for the farmer. 

Key Takeaways:  

The Directions Group’s recent Farmers of the Future research dives into how farmers are evolving, what they need and how his team sees this landscape changing in the future – including consolidation. 

Agbioscience’s critical role in human health and its impact on our national security and military service.  

Mark’s work with Indiana farmers to define the critical challenges facing their operations as the launch point for this year’s Producer-Led Innovation Challenge and The Directions Group’s methodology of tackling this feedback. 

Labor management and administrative burden as huge hurdles for farmers to be successful – and why talking with a farmer will drive better outcomes for innovators. 

Read the study, Producer-Led Innovation Challenge Opportunity Identification, at agrinovusindiana.com/research. 

Recent Episodes

SEASON 7

327. Beck's Hybrids' Bethany Gremel on defining company culture + its critical link to brand

326. Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures’ Anthony Gregory on growing + scaling the sustainable aviation fuel market

325. Intelinair’s Tim Hassinger on agtech’s impact on net farm income + managing today for less turbulent times

324. Mitch Frazier recaps September, Corteva + Pairwise collaboration, NASDA and more

323. Insignum AgTech’s Kyle Mohler on early disease detection in crops + the value of farmer feedback

322. Land O’Lakes' Leah Anderson on the farmer perspective, emerging innovations and data as a differentiator to drive net farm income

321. The Directions Group’s Mark Purdy on farmers of the future + their identified opportunities for innovation in agbioscience

About The Show

Agbioscience

Mitch Frazier

CEO, AgriNovus Indiana