Episode 33: Matt Roesner

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 world;what the future of extension and consulting in livestock looks like;the role of cutting edge technologies in the sheep industry; anda vision for the future where consumers expectations are met and growers are profitable.For more from Ferg and resources mentioned, see:https://www.nextgenagri.com/https://twitter.com/neXtgenAgri and https://twitter.com/Fergeneticshttps://www.nextgenagri.com/articles/farmer-people-that-farm-article-1 Artificial Intelligence work: https://www.nextgenagri.com/articles/seen-one-seen-them-all NZ Merino: https://www.nzmerino.co.nz/

19 Feb 202034min

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 real value is in agtech, and what building products has taught him about startups and about farming.We also talk about:hard earned lessons and tips for working with tech;whether ideas or execution matter more; andwhich is harder…farming or building agtech.For more from Mic and to check out the iPaddock products, see:https://twitter.com/ipaddockappshttps://www.ipaddock.com.au/https://www.ipaddock.com.au/how-i-make-money-out-of-ipaddock/

5 Feb 202039min

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 newvalue add products that can bring more profits to the farm and create jobs in herlocal community. And she’s doing all of this while facing dust storms and the worst drought inhistory.This episode is again part of our series in partnership with Farmers2Founders, aninnovation program designed specially for primary producers. Fiona is one of thebusinesses in the program. Applications are open now for the Ideas Program. So, if you’re a producer with an invention to commercialize or an idea for a new product, check it out! For more from Fiona, check out:https://www.outbacklamb.com.au/https://twitter.com/outbacklamb

22 Jan 202041min

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 tell us about their farms, startups, and the challenges they're facing being farmers and founders. Relevant links:https://www.bitwiseag.com/https://twitter.com/bitwiseaghttps://croppaco.com/https://twitter.com/CroppaCoThis episode is produced in partnership with Farmers2Founders. To learn more, check out https://www.farmers2founders.com/ or follow @farmers2founder on Twitter.

7 Jan 202022min

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 agriculture, and the books and movies that he's found inspirational. Relevant links:Wilmot Cattle Company- https://www.wilmotcattleco.com.au/Write up of the 2019 Field Day- https://www.maiagrazing.com/250-plus-graziers-attend-field-day-on-drought-resilience/ RCS Grazing for Profit course- https://www.rcsaustralia.com.au/products/family-business/grazing-for-profit-2/ Allan Savory’s TED talk- https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_fight_desertification_and_reverse_climate_changeYou inc. by John McGrath- https://www.amazon.com.au/You-Inc-Attract-Amazing-Business/dp/0732276365 Remember the Titans (trailer)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir1OH33uiwA Maia Grazing- https://www.maiagrazing.com/ FarmBot- https://www.farmbot.com.au/

18 Dec 201932min

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, Ash and David share the story behind Training Paddock and Farm Service Manager, and reflect on the differences and similarities between running a farm and building a startup. Relevant links:https://www.trainingpaddock.com.au/https://farmservicemanager.com/https://twitter.com/FarmServiceApp (@FarmServiceApp)This episode is produced in partnership with Farmers2Founders. To learn more, check out https://www.farmers2founders.com/

4 Dec 201918min

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 sectors.Aidan shares his insights on:What it's like to go from a global agribusiness to a startupHow cameras are transforming agricultureHow to get engineers off the keyboard and onto the farms they're trying to helpWhy it's so important for farmers to help entrepreneurs, even when it's frustratingFor more from Aidan, check out:Aidan on LinkedInAidan on TwitterAidan on ForbesCainthus Other resources:HBR on the average age of successful founders

20 Nov 201934min

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.v2food.com/SoilCQuest: https://www.soilcquest.org.au/CSIRO: https://www.csiro.au/The AgTech Meetup is proudly sponsored by SproutX, Australia’s first agtech accelerator.

6 Nov 201941min