Future of Agriculture – Maybe Disruption Isn’t the Answer for Ag with Matt Zieger of Village Capital
Matt joins me today to discuss the idea of disruptive startups and why being disruptive may not be what the ag industry currently needs. He shares what Village Capital is all about, how they determine which companies they will invest in, and their business processes. He also shares the problems their company believes ag startups should focus on and describes when a company should scale and when it should just stay its course.
“The farm economy is the backbone of the American economy.” – Matt Zieger
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- What Village Capital is and the companies they invest in.
- The problems in the food system Village Capital aims to solve.
- Why displacing the ag industry is not always the solution.
- How they choose companies to invest in within the ag industry.
- What business models should be to benefit both investors and consumers.
- Why the “move fast and break things” business strategy is not applicable in ag.
- Determining whether it’s time to grow and scale or to keep the cycle.
- What excites him the most about the future of the ag industry?
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Matt Zieger
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
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Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
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Shark Farmer Podcast – Kate Huffman doing what she loves
Kate Huffman talks about her journey to Chicago and back home, then buying a farm at the age of 27.
What the Farm Podcast – Kita Roberts Girl Carnivore
Kira Roberts’ instagram will make any meat eater weak at the knees. She feels it’s important to learn about her food directly from farmers
Idle Chatter Podcast – Hot Rod Farmer: Shaken not stirred was good for James Bond…but NOT when fuel gets in engine oil!
Don’t be a victim of diluted engine oil. Listen and learn what to do.
Ontario AgCast- Ken Nicklas
How a series of events led Ontario dairy farmer, Ken Nicklas to pack up and move ‘down under’ to pursue his dreams as a Farm Equipment Technician for John Deere. {For the record, he doesn’t miss the snow}
JD enthusiasts- you’re going to love this one.
Rock and Roll Farming Podcast – West Yorkshire to East Africa
Tonight I’m heading up to Rippenden in Yorkshire to talk to beef and sheep farmer, Rachel Hallos @rachelhallos
We talk all about their upland family farm, their pedigree Saler Cattle, their work with environmental schemes, diversification into a holiday let, becoming West riding NFU Chairman, Rural crime, and VERY EXCITING – her work with the amazing FARM AFRICA that took her all the way to Kenya.
All this, and much, much more.
Check it out folks..
LONDON MARATHON 2019: As required by Universal law, much like if you’re a vegan, if you’re doing a marathon you have to tell people about it. Well I’m doing the London one in April 2019, and I’m raising money for the incredible charity FARM AFRICA.
Between 8 February and 8 May donations in support of my London Marathon challenge will go to Farm Africa’s Coffee is Life appeal. Give before 8 May 2019 and all public donations to Farm Africa’s Coffee is Life appeal will be doubled by the UK government. Your donation will support Farm Africa projects across eastern Africa, and the matched funding you unlock from the UK government will directly fund a Farm Africa project that will give women in Kanungu in western Uganda the opportunity to make a decent living from coffee farming.
If you want to see more about the AMAZING work they do please visit www.farmafrica.org & if you’d like to sponsor me the link is www.justgiving.com/fundraising/william-evans12 and from now until 8th May, the UK Government will match your donation – thank you!
Episode Sponsor:
NFU Cymru – for more information please visit www.nfu-cymru.org.uk
Podcast Partners:
Farmer’s Guardian. For the biggest range of news and features from across the Ag industry, please visit www.fginsight.com
Rock & Roll Farming is proud to be a part of the Farm & Rural Ag Network. To find more great podcasts and vlogs, please visit www.farmruralag.com
Future of Agriculture – Dairies becoming Fertilizer Factories with Ross Thurston of LWR and Jay Binversie of Bucky Organics
Ross Thruston is the President and Founder of Livestock Water Recycling, a company that is implementing technology in animal agriculture units that recycles the water and nutrients from animal agriculture systems. He has over 30 years of experience in construction and environmental technology.
Jay Binversie is a third generation dairy farmer and the owner of Robinway Dairy and Bucky Organics. Robinway Dairy is a 1700 cow dairy farm based in Kiel, Wisconsin. Bucky Organics is a company that produces and sells organic plant nutrients. Jay has used the Livestock Water Recycling’s system on his dairy farm for over four years, extracting the nutrients from his cow’s manure and using it to create natural organic plant nutrient supplements for farmers.
Ross and Jay join me today to discuss nutrient cycling and the manure economy. Ross shares what inspired him to create a system for the agriculture industry and how it impacts farm sustainability. Jay shares the agricultural and economic advantages he has experienced since installing the system on his dairy farm as well as how implementing the system has opened new opportunities for growth and revenue. We also discuss how dairy farmers can utilize the LWR recycling system to extract valuable nutrients and materials from their farms to improve their soil health, increase product yields, and make a positive impact on the economy and environment.
“From a sustainability perspective, what we do in terms of compacting and segregating the nutrients lets the manure economy work so you can take nutrients back to your feed sources – which you were never able to do before.” – Ross Thurston
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- How Livestock Water Recycling got started in the animal agriculture industry.
- What inspired Ross to create the LWR system for the ag industry.
- How the LWR system is helping farmers increase product yields and create new income streams.
- Why Jay decided to implement the LWR system on his dairy farm.
- The economic advantages of implementing the LWR system.
- How using the system has impacted Jay’s life and business.
- The primary pain point that often drives producers to connect with Ross.
- The impact that the LWR system can have on ag sustainability.
- How the system can reduce greenhouse gasses in the environment.
- How it opens new opportunities for new marketplaces in the agriculture space.
- How the system has helped Jay reduce the use of antibiotics on his dairy farm.
- The impact that the manure economy has on a farmer’s ability to scale.
- Why farmers are often hesitant to implement new technologies.
Related Content:
- Episode 99: Nutrient Management, Intercropping, and The Sharing Economy with Jason Mauck
- Episode 139: Building a Family Dairy Business Through a Commitment to Sustainability and Rural Communities with Ken McCarty of McCarty Family Farms
Connect with Ross Thurston:
Connect with Jay Binversie:
We Are a Part of a Bigger Family!
The Future of Agriculture Podcast is now part of the Farm and Rural Ag Network. Listen to more ag-related podcasts by subscribing on iTunes or on the Farm and Rural Ag Network Website today.
Share the Ag-Love!
Thanks for joining us on the Future of Agriculture Podcast – your spot for valuable information, content, and interviews with industry leaders throughout the agricultural space! If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please subscribe on iTunes and leave your honest feedback. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on your favorite social media spots!
Learn more about AgGrad by visiting:
Shark Farmer Podcast – Cam Edwards comparing NRA to Ag
Can agriculture learn from the NRA?
Cam Edwards talks about how he deals with unfavorable news stories. Also, he tells us how cancer has affected his family.
Salt of the Earth Podcast – Devenish The Soil-Food Nutrient Revolution
Belfast-based Devenish Nutrition is a leading animal nutrition company and trades worldwide within the farming and food sector under the aegis of chief executive Richard Kennedy and executive chairman, Owen Brennan. With the intriguing central philosophy of ‘One Health, from Soil to Society’, Devenish provide solutions to ensure effective and efficient utilisation of nutrients in the production of meat, milk and eggs. Here Richard Kennedy gives some background to working in this sector, work important to both animal and human health, and to the nutrient sustainability of the world’s food supply.
Idle Chatter Podcast – Hot Rod Farmer: A Slippery Subject! How well do you know your engine oil?
Probably not well enough. Listen as Ray Bohacz explains.
Join us on Twitter for #FRANHappyHour chats
