Try Acres for free: https://www.acres.co/
IFPA's Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/fresh-field-catalyst/
"Taste is King" on the Fresh Takes on Tech podcast: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/takes-on-tech-podcast/episode-56-taste-is-king/
"Locally Grown Through Vertical Farming on the Fresh Takes on Tech podcast: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/takes-on-tech-podcast/episode-59-locally-grown-through-vertical-farming/
"Traceability is Crucial to the World Produce Industry" on the Fresh Takes on Tech podcast: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/takes-on-tech-podcast/episode-55-traceability-is-crucial-to-the-world-produce-industry/
"New Innovations are Improving All Aspects of Our Produce Supply Chain" on the Fresh Takes on Tech podcast: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/takes-on-tech-podcast/episode-68-live-from-the-global-show-2022-part-four/
"The Future of Automation is in the Fields" on the Fresh Takes on Tech podcast: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/technology/takes-on-tech-podcast/episode-57-the-future-of-automation--is-in-the-fields/
Today’s episode features Vonnie Estes, vice president of innovation at the International Fresh Produce Association or IFPA. You probably noticed in our opening segment more than just Vonnie’s voice. That’s because we will be playing clips of some of the entrepreneurs and mentors that participated in IFPA’s Fresh Field Catalyst this past year.
You see, Vonnie reached out about coming back onto the podcast to talk about how applications are open for their second cohort. After talking to Vonnie and hearing about how the first cohort went, I realized this would be a great chance to talk about tech and innovation in the produce industry in general. Our conversation today covers some of the challenges facing this industry, including water, labor, food safety, traceability, quality, compliance and more. And you’ll hear from entrepreneurs and industry leaders about differentiation, consumer preferences, indoor ag, traceability, and automation and robotics.
Before we dive in, I want to make it clear that the intention of the accelerator is to attract companies that already have a product in the market somewhere. That could be a market outside of agriculture, or perhaps in row crops, or maybe in produce but in another geography. So they’re looking for companies that already have some traction, but maybe haven’t directed much focus to produce yet but think that there might be value in that market. If that sounds like you or someone you know, applications close soon: March 20 of 2023. I’ll link to the application in the show notes.
You may remember hearing from Vonnie back in episode 270 of this podcast. To refresh your memory, she has held leadership positions at prominent companies including DuPont, Monsanto, and Syngenta along with start-ups including DNAP, Emergent Genetics, and Caribou Biosciences. She has a BS in Horticulture from New Mexico State and a Masters in Plant Pathology from UC Davis.
In addition to Vonnie, you’re going to hear clips from some of the entrepreneurs and mentors in the program’s first cohort. These clips came from Vonnie’s podcast called Fresh Takes on Tech. You definitely want to go check that out. I’ll link to it in the show notes as well.
FoA 325: Electrified and Distributed Fertilizer Production with Nico Pinkowski of Nitricity
FoA 324: Dry Farmed Orchards, Wild and Heritage Apples and Natural Cidermaking with Brendan Barnard of Posterity Ciderworks
FoA 323: The Changing Venture Capital Landscape with Mark Blackwell of Builders VC
FoA 322: Commodity Crops to Value Added CPG with Claire Smith and Jennifer Barney
FoA 321: Vertical Farming in a Skyscraper with Dan Houston of AgriPlay
FoA 320: Farmland Investment and Management with Skye Root of Root Agricultural Advisory
FoA 319: Cell-Based Milk with Fengru Lin of TurtleTree
FoA 318: The Budding American (Hard) Cider Industry with Greg Peck, Ph.D.
FoA 317: Modern Dairy Management with Greg Bethard of High Plains Ponderosa Dairy
FoA 316: Poultry Tech with Alan Beynon of Poultry Sense and Arjun Ganesan of Ancera
FoA 315: Building Local and Regional Food Systems with Philip Giampietro of Walden Local Meat Co
FoA 314: The Value of Farm Data with Jason Tatge of AGI Digital (Farmobile)
FoA 313: Farming Seaweed to Reduce Cattle Emissions with Joan Salwen of Blue Ocean Barns
FoA 312: Digital Supply Chains with Scott Sexton of EverAg and Dairy.com
FoA 311: The Role of Earthworms in Agricultural Soils with Jan Willem van Groenigen
FoA 310: Investment Models with Hannah Senior of Innovating Agtech
FoA 309: Farm Business Analytics with Patrick Smith and Dan Maycock of Loftus Labs
FoA 308: The World's First Floating Farm with Peter and Vincent van Wingerden
FoA 307: Vertical Farming Beyond the Hype with John Purcell of Unfold
FoA 306: Reintegrating Livestock and Row Crops with Zack Smith of StockCropper
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