Keeping the heart of the heartland requires two key things when we think about growing small towns, cities and rural economies: big vision and lots of hard work. Today’s guest is no stranger to either and shares a great perspective on how one small community in the Midwest is reimagining itself into an epicenter of innovation. Nichole Like, CEO of The Pantheon, an innovation engine in Vincennes, Indiana joins us to talk: 

• Investing in small communities while also honoring their heritage to make them a destination for newcomers to move to and hometown kids to return to for their careers. 
• The steady decline of entrepreneurial activity in rural America and The Pantheon’s vision to create the economy they want – not the way they’re given. 
• Vincennes as Indiana’s first city has big stats to tout – including Knox County leading in ag receipts, being the #1 producer of fruit and vegetable production in Indiana and #2 in the United States for melon production. 
• The simple, but effective, equation to building an agtech ecosystem: bring really smart, progressive farmers to the table with innovators to solve critical problems facing their operations.  
• Creating community buy-in and the importance of local support to drive local economies. 
• What’s ahead for The Pantheon and Indiana’s first city. 

According to AgFunder News, gene editing startups have raised $2.7 billion since 2012 in pursuit of technologies that advance everything from crop performance to yield. Today we are joined by a pioneer in science at the largest pure play agriculture company in the world. Dr. Wendy Srnic, VP of Biotechnology at Corteva Agriscience, to talk gene editing and its future. We get into:  

• What is gene editing and how does it differ from genetically modified crops? 
• How gene editing affects that broader value chain and food system at large. 
• Corteva’s partnership with Pairwise via their investment vehicle, Corteva Catalyst, and how they plan to leverage gene editing to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and nutritious. 
• The objective of Corteva Catalyst to advance external technologies that align with the company’s internal R&D strategy – and the importance of staying nimble to seize opportunities and drive outcomes whether they are joint ventures, acquisitions, investments or traditional collaborations. 
• Wendy’s perspective on where we’re at in the evolution of biotechnology, what’s emerging and how artificial intelligence (AI) is speeding up – and de-risking – the scientific discovery process. 
• What does AI bring to the future of a partnership like that of Corteva and Pairwise? 

According to Zion Market Research, the ag biological products market is expected to grow to $320 billion over the next decade. With a huge connection to agbioscience, what does it mean for farmers? What does it mean for agbioscience innovators? Kicking off season 8 of Agbioscience is BioBond CEO Marc McConnaughey. We get into:  

• What exactly is the bioproducts market and how is demand growing? 
• How BioBond’s sustainable adhesives and protective coatings created a eureka moment for Marc as a serial entrepreneur. 
• The Generation Food Rural Partners Fund and its partnership to help BioBond grow its business in rural Indiana. 
• BioBond’s strategy as a technology execution platform that licenses from universities and how its position near Purdue has created opportunities for innovation + talent. 
• Indiana farmers as a critical piece to BioBond’s future and how the state is a perfect storm of location, logistics and people to aid in their success. 
• What’s ahead for BioBond? Hint: continued focus on the customer and of course, revenue. 

It’s the end of 2024 and it was a giant year across food, animal health, plant science, agtech and agriculture. This week, we recap big stories of the year based on Accelerate 2050 – AgriNovus’ study that showed that Indiana’s agbioscience economy grew by $6 billion in 36 months. The study also launched three forces of change and opportunities for industry growth. We are laying out the top stories of 2024 based on these forces of change starting with:  

Farmer Focused Innovation 

1. AGCO and Trimble come together via a joint venture acquisition – listen to Andrew Sunderman from AGCO here; 
2. Corteva Catalyst launches as a new investment and partnership platform designed to accelerate the development of early-stage, disruptive technologies for farmers – listen to Corteva’s Tom Green here;  
3. Gripp wins the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge to reduce administrative burden faced by farmers – listen to Tracey Wiedmeyer from Gripp here. 

BioInnovation 

1. Primient and Sustainea announce $125 million investment to establish Lafayette, Indiana as the world’s largest Bio-MEG facility for bio-based plastics;  
2. AgroRenew breaks ground on an $83 million Indiana-based production facility to leverage the power of the region’s melon crop to produce bio-based plastics – listen to Brian and Katie Southern from AgroRenew here;  
3. BioMADE announces Indiana as one of six finalists to compete for the next chapter of bioinnovation infrastructure – listen to BioMADE’s Melanie Tomczak here. 

Food is Health 

1. Anu wins the HungerTech Innovation to better connect food supply with food demand using technology – listen to Anu’s Scott Massey here;  
2. Purdue and Elanco announce the OneHealth Innovation District to establish a globally recognized research innovation district dedicated to optimizing the health of people, animals, plants and the planet – listen to Jeff Simmons from Elanco here;  
3. Corteva’s $25 million equity stake in Pairwise to accelerate gene editing solutions, providing growers with another critical tool to keep pace with challenges facing food production. 

It’s been a tough couple of years in agriculture. Net cash farm income is expected to decrease nearly $6 billion in 2024; that follows a decrease in 2023 of nearly $58 billion. It’s a tough sled for many farmers and there’s companies who are working to bring innovation to farmers to overcome the headwinds that exist. Alex Russomagno, Senior Manager of Strategic Engagement for AGCO Ventures, joins this week to talk:  

• Where things stand for the agtech and ag equipment industry right now.  
• How the acquisition of PTx Trimble and the launch of AGCO Ventures has launched a new wave of startup activity in agbioscience. 
• Matching supply and demand of innovation in the industry; Alex also talks initial investments from AGCO Ventures. 
• The AGCO Ventures Thesis and how agriculture’s downcycle impacts their strategy. 
• What challenges are emerging that will require innovation for the farmer, quickly. 
• Her experience with the power of partnership and investment between big companies and startups.  
• The seismic shifts that will drive the next wave of innovation in agbioscience.  

Global market intelligence firm, IDC, estimates that artificial intelligence (AI) will contribute nearly $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and represent nearly 4% of global GDP. Today we are joined by an AI pioneer, tech diplomat and leader of Purdue University, President Mung Chiang. We discuss:  

• His journey as a three-time entrepreneur turned university president and how his experience has shaped his approach at Purdue 
• Being on the cusps of the AI revolution, bringing new jobs to market and its elimination of old ones – and its potential to transform the physical world 
• Balancing AI’s opportunity for productivity versus its potential to become an adversarial threat  
• Connecting dots from the past to the future to develop job creation and prosperity in the state – and the critical role of agbioscience to make that happen 
• Purdue has a top 5 college of engineering and a top 5 college of agriculture – and President Chiang talks about the university’s differentiation to drive big outcomes using demand-driven education  
•  President Chiang’s eye on the future of Purdue and its continued service to Indiana    

Tough commodity markets and a challenging ag economy is putting pressure on all elements of the agbiosciences. One of those is equipment. New data from the Equipment Manufacturers Association shows that tractor sales in the U.S. were down nearly 20% in the most recent month reporting. That's year over year. One entrepreneur is bringing to market a new technology to help those farmers maybe keep their tractors a little longer and better manage their fleet. Tracey Wiedmeyer, CEO of Gripp, joins us this week. We discuss:  

• The current state of the ag equipment market (not such a spoiler: it’s tough on everyone). 
• Challenges facing farmers when it comes to the maintenance of existing equipment – from depreciation to staff coordination on-farm. 
• The greatest opportunity for innovation in the ag equipment market right now and how Gripp was born. 
• What it’s like for producers to interact with Gripp + their feedback. 
• How their partnership with Purdue DIAL has accelerated growth on the farm. 
• Bringing tech talent back to their roots. 
• What’s ahead for Gripp. 

Food is the only economy in the world that touches every person on the planet. We are all connected to food, and one of the world's top marketers turned entrepreneur is now making the connection between farms, food, and people. Scott Nelson, CEO of Make Hay, joins us to talk all things consumers and connecting to the meaningful world of agriculture. We get into:  

• The existing gap between farms, food and people – and the opportunity to leverage today’s media landscape to connect all three. 
• His time at Panera and how it shaped his viewpoint on storytelling for brands. 
• How Scott’s background brought him to Make Hay + what the company aims to do. 
• Make Hay’s relationship with Purdue’s DIAL Ventures and High Alpha, and how it’s accelerating their business. 
• Scott’s vision for Make Hay – creating content for food transparency at scale, consumer awareness and farmers at the center of it all. 
• Where Make Hay is at today and what’s ahead. 

It's almost Thanksgiving! Mitch Frazier and Cayla Chiddister sit down to recap November and get into:

- The election's impact on farmers and agbioscience innovation.

- Creating certainty for farmers in this new environment to plan for their operations.

- Bain Capital investment into a merger of Biodyne USA, BW Fusion and Agronomy 365.

- Entrepreneurship Week in Indiana.

- Quadrant coming up on December 4!

- Announcing a winner of the 2024 Producer-Led Innovation Challenge.

New data from AgFunder News shows that ag biologics are used by just under half of U.S. farmers. Dr. Alex Cochran, CTO of DPH Biologicals, joins today to share his unique perspective on this growing market.  

We discuss: 

• What are ag biologicals and their role in modern production agriculture. 
• Biologicals as an important piece for growers as they manage a tough farm economy. 
• The challenge of change when it comes to farming practices and the criticality of clearly describing ROI for growers. 
• Movement in the biologicals market from big players like Corteva’s acquisition of Symborg and Stoller. 
• DPH’s focus on differentiation and value to its growers + a deep dive into the conversations they’re having at the farmgate right now. 

The biologicals market has come a long way, but is it still early innings? Alex talks how the technology has evolved what’s on the horizon for DPH Biologicals. 

America just elected a new president and many states just elected new chief executives and legislators. What does this time of transition mean for ag, for agbioscience and for entrepreneurs? Sara Wyant, farmer, editor and publisher of Agri-Pulse, joins today to help us understand what’s ahead. 

Sarah gets into regulatory topics – from immigration to sustainability – and talks through what the industry might expect from a second Trump administration, its new players as well as Congress. She also talks innovation, removing barriers to market entry and what lawmakers have to get done in order for farmers to plan for their operations. 

Sarah founded Agri-Pulse with the idea that someone should be telling the story of how policy affects the hard work of farmers and, ultimately, the food we consume. With eyes on the future, Sarah talks what’s ahead for Agri-Pulse and what issues her team has an eye on headed into a new era of leadership in our country.