Why Good Agtech Doesn't Always Get Adopted, with Chad Godsey

How do you know when a new agtech product is actually ready for the farm?

Growing up on a family farm in Colorado over the declining Ogallala Aquifer, Chad Godsey has spent his career searching for ways to improve water and nutrient efficiency. These days he’s the Chief Agronomist for Green Evolution Technologies, which has a hydrogel technology that’s engineered to store water and nutrients in the soil.

This episode explores why adoption looks different on every farm, how growers are increasingly using their own data to assess new products, and why farmer confidence, not just evidence, is often the biggest barrier to change.

Hosted by Tenacious’ Dr. Maddie Mitchell, they discuss why Green Evolution Technologies has deliberately taken a slower path to market, the role of farmer investors, and how building a product around real farming systems (versus chasing rapid growth) can create stronger businesses in the long term.

Maddie and Chad discuss:

• Why farmers trust their own on-farm trials more than research papers
• The realities of the technology adoption curve in agtech
• Why startup timelines don't always match farming timelines
• The commercialization strategy behind Green Evolution Technologies
• Why efficiency is becoming more valuable than simply increasing yield
• The role of hydrogels in improving water and nutrient use efficiency

Useful Links:

• Is Agtech Broken for Venture Capital—or Are We Asking the Wrong Question?
• When Kansas dries up…in 2050, with Dan Northrup
• Pivot Bio
• Godsey Precision Ag
• GreenSeeker tool might help reduce your nitrogen costs - Corn
• Accelerating the development of agtech worth adopting

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