Variable Rate done RIGHT with SWAT MAPS: https://swatmaps.com/
ProducePay: https://producepay.com/
Today's episode features ProducePay founder Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck. Born and raised in a 4th generation farming family from Mexico, Pablo brings over 20 years of experience in the fresh produce industry. After growing up on the family farm – Campos Borquez, a premier supplier of fresh asparagus and grapes to the United States and Canada – Pablo went on to work for The Giumarra Companies, managing grower relations in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and the United States. Pablo returned to the family farm as Chief Financial Officer, then went on to complete his MBA at Cornell University, where the idea of ProducePay was started, founded and launched.
Last year the company announced that longtime board member and advisor Patrick McCullough would take over as CEO, and Pablo moved at that time into the role of Executive Director of the board. But as you’ll hear in this interview he is just as energized as ever about their mission and their future.
We talk about the challenges of the produce trade and why there is so much waste and so many intermediaries involved, why he thinks there in a position to create a better model, what role financial technology has in their ability to pull it off, how interest rates and investor sentiment impact companies like ProducePay, and how his transition has been from founder to CEO to board director.
There’s a lot to this story but a good place to start is acknowledging that we all want quality produce to be at the store every time we show up, whether its in season locally or not. For that to happen, there’s a lot of people involved around the world, and a lot of waste along the way. ProducePay may have started as a way to better capitalize farmers, but now they have their focus on how they can help those farmers manage price risk.
And the guy who started it all is today’s guest, Pablo Borquez.
FoA 302: Farm Business Strategy with Kristjan Hebert
FoA 301: Funding Innovation for Agriculture, People and Planet with Suma Reddy of Future Acres
FoA 300: Seven Consumer Values Influencing the Future of Agriculture
FoA 299: Scaling Up Pastured Poultry with Paul Greive of Pasturebird
FoA 298: Adding Value to Farmland Investments via Conversion to Organic and Regenerative with Craig Wichner of Farmland LP
FoA 297: A Case Study in Farm Data Integration with Leaf Agriculture and GROWMARK
FoA 296: Financial Incentives for Sustainable Agriculture with Jayce Hafner of FarmRaise
FoA 295: Commercializing Sound Science with Adam Litle of Sound Agriculture
FoA 294: Food Investing for Systemic Change with Stephen Hohenrieder of Grounded Capital Partners
FoA 293: [Tech-Enabled Advisor Series] Trust and Technology with Cassie Misch and Jake Smoker
FoA 292: Real Talk on Regenerative Agriculture with Joe Bassett of Dawn Equipment and Underground Agriculture
FoA 291: Revisiting Agtech Founders from Semios, Manolin & Harvest Returns...Where are They Now?
FoA 290: Designing Crops That Tell Farmers What's Bothering Them with Shely Aronov of InnerPlant
FoA 289: [VC Roundtable] Trends Boosting Agtech and 2022 Predictions
FoA 288: Tractors as a Service for Smallholder Farmers with Jehiel Oliver of Hello Tractor
FoA 287: Why The Nature Conservancy is Investing in Agtech with Renée Vassilos
FoA 286: Nutrient Density and the Future of Quality-Driven Food Systems with Dan Kittredge
FoA 285: [Tech-Enabled Advisor Series] Helping Growers Save Money with Independent Crop Consultant John Silvera
FoA 284: Autonomous Sprayers with Gary Thompson of GUSS
FoA 283: A Model for Climate-Smart Dairy with Calgren Dairy Fuels
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