Agtech - So What?
This podcast tells the stories of innovators working at the intersection of agriculture and technology. It seeks to answer the question of what agtech really is and why it matters. Through interviews and narratives, it explores the challenges and opportunities in modern farming and food production. The show aims to make the complex world of agricultural technology accessible and engaging for a broad audience.
Episodes
Business model breakdowns: ag equipment dealer Titan Machinery, with Shane Thomas
As technology makes equipment more autonomous, precise, and serviceable from anywhere, will dealers become less important? Or will they become an even more valuable technology-enabled partner to farmers?Today, Shane Thomas (Upstream Ag Insights) joins us to unpack the underlying economics of ag equipment dealers in our latest, Business Model Breakdowns episode of AgTech So What? As many know,
Are we thinking about trees on farms all wrong? with Michael Taylor
What happens when you stop thinking about trees and agriculture as separate systems?
In this episode, sixth-generation Australian farmer and engineer Michael Taylor explains what decades of planting trees have taught his family about farming, resilience and innovation.
On their New England Tablelands farm, “Taylor’s Run,” the Taylors began planting trees for a practical reason: shelter. But over g
What if every plant was a sensor? with Gary Schaefer
What if crops could tell you when they were sick, before you could see the symptoms?
Gary Schaefer leads the commercial organization at InnerPlant, a company with a radically different approach to crop monitoring: engineering plants to communicate when they are under stress.
InnerPlant’s technology enables plants to emit a fluorescent signal within hours of infection by specific diseases, po
Can tech make agriculture brands more authentic? with Jim Gall, RB Sellars
Agriculture often talks about telling a better story, but Jim Gall, the CEO of RB Sellars argues the real challenge is giving people something worth believing in.
RB Sellars is a workwear brand that’s well-known in regional Australia, largely for its work shirts. In this episode, Sarah speaks with Jim about why the strongest brands don't simply market themselves, rather they’re using technology, d
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 nut
Why taste beats sustainability at the checkout, with food futurist Mike Lee
What if the future of food isn't about convincing people to care more about sustainability, but rather focusing on what can improve taste?
In this episode, Tenacious’ Dr. Maddie Mitchell speaks with food futurist and innovation strategist Mike Lee about the forces shaping the future of food, agriculture, and consumer behavior.
Mike has spent his career helping some of the world's largest foo
Why soil health and profitability are deeply connected, with Nic Kentish
With the surname “Kentish,” Nic carries his family’s potato growing legacy. While it's one of pride, the journey has certainly not been easy. After returning to the family farm in South Australia, he found himself confronting one of the biggest challenges many farming families face: how to build a profitable, sustainable business in an increasingly volatile industry.
In this episode, Nic Ken
Can dairy’s waste stream power beef’s future? with Daniel Carson
What if one of agriculture’s most controversial “waste problems” is actually its most overlooked opportunity?
Daniel Carson is an entrepreneur based in New Zealand, who wants to transform the beef industry from the ground up by directly addressing the challenge of what happens to non-replacement dairy calves.
Through his startup, Miti, Daniel is building a new model that grows these calves into “y
Business model breakdowns: the Monsanto playbook, with Shane Thomas
Monsanto is one of the most influential and controversial companies in the history of global agriculture. But beyond the headlines, what can its evolution teach us about how value is created and captured in ag?
As agriculture enters a new era shaped by technological advances, climate pressures, and macroeconomic uncertainty, understanding where power sits in the system and how it shifts has never
Can biomaterials compete on price, not just purpose? with Tina Funder
Some of the most transformative innovation in agri-food is happening downstream of the farm, in the materials, products, and industries that agriculture ultimately feeds into.
In this episode, Sarah Nolet speaks with Tina Funder, founder of Alt Leather, an Australian startup developing fully bio-based alternatives to traditional leather.
Tina’s journey into agtech didn’t begin in a lab or on a far
Better outcomes, not lower costs: rethinking agtech in horticulture, with Mark Trzaskoma
While agtech often celebrates breakthrough technologies that can slash costs for farmers, what if the real value of innovation lies somewhere else entirely?
In this episode, Mark Trzaskoma joins Dr Madeline Mitchell to explore what agtech adoption actually looks like on the ground at Battunga Orchards, a 180-hectare orchard operating across three sites in Victoria.
From mechanised harvest platform
Business model breakdowns: co-ops and their future in ag, with Shane Thomas
Co-operatives have a long and sometimes colored history in agriculture, across the Western world. What role will they play in the future of agriculture?
As agriculture becomes increasingly shaped by digital technologies and artificial intelligence, the question of who owns, governs, and benefits from farm data is still unresolved. Could co-ops be the answer?
In this episode, Sarah Nolet is joined
Halter’s $2 billion question, with founder Craig Piggott
In less than a year, NZ-based virtual fencing company Halter raised $165 million and then $220 million more, reaching a $2 billion valuation at a time when global agtech funding is down more than 70% from its peak. By any measure, that's a remarkable achievement.
But what does it actually mean?
In this episode, Halter founder and CEO Craig Piggott speaks with our producer and dairy owner Kirsten D
Australian agtech: what we got wrong and right, with Sam Duncan and Natalie Engel
Seven years ago, agtech in Australia was still in its infancy. There were bold predictions, a flurry of startups, and an emerging ecosystem of programs and investors to back them. So how have things panned out?
In this live stage recording at the 2026 AgriFutures evokeAG event in Melbourne, Sarah Nolet is joined by Sam Duncan, founder of GXLab (formerly FarmLab and Ziltek) and Natalie Engel, a QLD
Aligning corporates, startups and investors in agrifood, with Brad Fruth and Frank Wooten
While agrifood innovation often celebrates bold founders and breakthrough technologies, what happens when the incentives of corporates, startups and investors don’t quite align?
In this live recording from evokeAG in Melbourne, Sarah Nolet is joined by Brad Fruth, Director of Innovation at Beck's Hybrids, and Frank Wooten, CEO of ArkeaBio and co-founder of Vence (acquired by Merck Animal Health).
AI as a competitive farming advantage, with Paul Windemuller
While farmer distrust of AI remains a key adoption barrier, will farm businesses that are being set up for an AI future have a competitive advantage?Paul Windemuller is a pioneering first-generation farmer and Nuffield Scholar from Coopersville, Michigan (USA). Along with his wife Brittany, Paul built his farm from the ground up with limited capital, relying on ingenuity, automation, and data
Native grains and Indigenous-led food systems, with Jacob Birch
While there is a growing recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge in agriculture, all too-often, First Nations people are being asked to fit in with an established model. What if we flipped the script to create food systems that are led by indigenous principles?That’s what Jacob Birch is aiming to do in reawakening a native grains industry in Australia. He’s a proud Gamilaraay man, sc
The future of farming is autonomous, with Brett McMickell, Kubota
We’ve hit a tipping point for autonomy in agriculture, so how far off is fully autonomous farming? In this episode, Matthew Pryor sits down with Brett McMickell, Chief Technology Officer at Kubota North America, to unpack his view on what autonomy can deliver in agriculture and why it’s closer than many people think.Brett’s career spans spacecraft control systems and multi-vehicle autonomy. Today
Making underwater forestry scalable and sustainable, with Andrew Morgan
Today's episode is a tangible example of a company in the "natural capital" space. While not traditional agtech, the Hydrowood journey hits familiar themes: building a business within nature's constraints, managing capital intensity, and the frustrating search for the right investors.Andrew Morgan watched the Pieman River in Tasmania dam in the 1970s. In 1986, Lake Pieman flooded, submerging centu
Have we hit the tipping point for autonomy in ag? with Shane Thomas and Matthew Pryor
Over the past few years, the conversation about autonomy in agtech has moved from “but, does it work?” to “how can I get started?” This is a significant shift, indicative of autonomous machinery becoming a fully commercial category in agriculture.In this episode, Matthew Pryor, Founding Partner at Tenacious Ventures, discusses his recent observations at the Gatton Agtech Showcase, in QLD, Australi
The business case for electrifying agriculture, with Mike Casey
In the race to decarbonize agriculture, the spotlight often falls on carbon sequestration, genetics, and alternative proteins. But have we overlooked something that’s right in front of us? Electricity.Mike Casey is a self-described “tech bro turned farmer” from Cromwell, New Zealand. Mike runs what’s believed to be the world’s first fully electric farm, made up of 21 electric machines, from irriga
The realities of winding up an agtech app, with Nikki Davey
What happens when an agtech startup with market pull, a clear mission, and global momentum still doesn’t make it?Nikki Davey is the founder of Grown Not Flown, which helped thousands of local flower growers reach customers who wanted sustainable blooms. Nikki’s app directly addressed the problem of ‘flower miles’. In Australia and the US, a store bought bouquet is likely to be made up of flowers t
Agtech trends: bundling, unbundling, LLMs and more with Shane Thomas and Matthew Pryor
‘Bundling’ is a well-known business strategy, especially in tech, where it’s not only used to increase sales and move slow-selling products, but also to tie customers into an ecosystem (such as Apple or Microsoft).So what about all the unbundling that’s been happening in agtech recently? While historically we’ve seen seed companies offer bundled options, such as seeds, crop management, and data pr
Putting cotton farmers at the forefront of the industry, with Marzia Lanfranchi
The biggest issue facing the cotton industry isn't fast fashion or water consumption. It's that the people growing cotton have been rendered invisible. The industry fixates on fiber quality and commodity pricing while the farmers themselves– and their role in determining sustainability outcomes– get lost.Marzia Lanfranchi, founder of the global community Cotton Diaries, is a strategic consultant w
Will China’s cheaper tractors disrupt ag equipment? with Lachlan Monsbourgh
As the world’s largest agricultural economy, when China makes a move, the world pays attention. China has just unveiled an ambitious plan to accelerate its development of ag machinery by shortening its research and development cycles. So will China dominate the future of agricultural machinery, and what does this mean for dealers, farmers, and agtech companies?Lachlan Monsbourgh, Global Rural Agri
From adoption problems to high-performance farm teams, with Kevin Boyle
When the agtech is not working in the field, we can be quick to search for answers in the product itself. But sometimes, the solution is not there. That’s because it’s not a technical problem, but rather a social systems challenge.Kevin Boyle is the Director of Organizational and Workforce Development at the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI). He argues that a key component of the farming and food sy
Can robotics solve farm labor challenges? with Sophie Thorel and Connie Bowen
Ask any farmer what their biggest challenge is right now and most will say ‘labor’. But what if, instead of trying to get more farm workers, we focused on changing the types of jobs available on farms? That’s where robotics comes in.Unfortunately, successfully commercializing robots in agriculture has been extraordinarily difficult, especially relative to sectors like healthcare, defence and wareh
Are agtech startups just digital agribusinesses? with Mark Kahn, Omnivore
The term ‘agtech’ now encompasses so many different types of businesses and innovations, that from an investment perspective, it can look overly complex. However perhaps the opposite is true?Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Ominvore, shares his ‘agtech-agribusinesss convergence theory’; where agtech startups eventually grow to look like a more conventional agribusiness company. He argues that if an
How 'food is medicine' could change farm economics, with Brad McNamara
“Food is Medicine” is extremely popular right now, and a few facts suggest it might be more than just a trend. The U.S. alone spends something like $1.5 trillion annually on diet-related diseases, and key issues like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other diseases are on the rise around the world. There are costly interventions available to manage many of these problems, but an increasin
How policy hamstrings agtech in California, with Walt Duflock
When it comes to the production of high-value food crops, California is, without question, a global leader. Plus, much of the state’s thousands of acres of farmland lies within close proximity of Silicon Valley, where high-tech tools and solutions are endemic. And yet, many California farmers are struggling to continue their work, and agtech startups are increasingly looking beyond the state for c
Is AI the secret to next gen soil sampling? with Jack Oslan and Nate Storey
Finding the right solution often starts with finding many, many wrong solutions. When it comes to some of agtech's most beguiling challenges, like real-time, granular soil testing, many startups have found the wrong solution– either ones that simply don’t work, don’t work at the right price, or don’t work in a way that makes them useful enough. But just because a problem hasn’t been solved ye
Disrupting the agtech ecosystem: the strategies that shape markets, with Ron Adner
Longtime listeners have heard Sarah and Matthew talk about ideas like “ecosystem disruption” and “adoption chain risk” and “value architecture,” all of which stem from the works of Ron Adner. Ron is a researcher, strategist, and professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University, and the author of two books, The Wide Lens and Winning the Right Game, both of which have been influentia
Making sense of recent agtech acquisitions, with Shane Thomas
Despite a persistent sense of uncertainty in the AgTech market lately, we’re still seeing startups get acquired– even if information about those acquisitions is opaque. Case in point: Syngenta recently purchased Intrinsyx Bio, a biologicals company, for an undisclosed sum. Why do companies conceal this information? And in this moment when everyone has their eyes peeled for some indication of
How GLP-1 drugs are reshaping food and ag, with Mary Shelman
Over the last few decades, a lot of products and technologies have promised to disrupt the diets and food buying habits of the world’s consumers. But nothing has made true on that promise quite like the emergence of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. These (as of now) injectables are changing the way people– and their households– eat and shop, and CPG companies, quick serve food bran
Beyond VC: redeemable equity in agtech, with Connie Bowen
Big news from Tenacious– WE’RE HIRING! Do you share our mission of unlocking impact at scale in agri-food systems? Check out our open roles here. ...Is agtech a good fit for venture capital, and vice versa?This question - existential for some - is flying around in the ether right now. We’ve been thinking about both the bearish and bullish answers a lot lately. And we’ve been intrigued by
Merging agtech startups to multiply value, with Rob Hannam
Between COVID-19, Avian Influenza, and African Swine Fever, ordinary consumers are more aware than ever of the risks of infectious diseases on animal and human health, and to society at large. Ag technology that helps farmers better prevent the spread of diseases is more relevant than ever, and that was a big part of the motivation for today’s guest, Rob Hannam, CEO of Farm Health Guardian. B
Paying for ag R&D when consumers won't, with Brooke Sauer
For commercial farming operations, determining whether or not new tools, technology, and practices work can be a big undertaking. From install and setup costs to helping the team involved climb the learning curve for effective use, even when technologies lead to big benefits, it can be tough to get the ball rolling.One farm that we’ve learned about recently decided to turn these challenges into a
A business model for novel ingredients, with Jake Berber
For years the food tech space has been rife with companies eager to replace familiar standbys– from protein to sweeteners to colorings– with cheaper, more healthful, or more climate friendly alternatives. There have certainly been a few successes, but there have also been some big and spectacular failures. Whether we’re emerging from the dust of the most recent bust or have a ways to go still, we’
Solving for adoption and channel in agtech… so what? with Shane Thomas
There are a few topics in agtech (and in the tech startup world more broadly) that are truly perennial– problems that must be solved again and again in new and innovative ways as markets, customers, and businesses evolve. Adoption is one of those challenges, and go-to-market strategies are another. We’ve been thinking about the challenge of adoption a lot recently, and also what changes in the mar
From demo farms to adoption, with Wine Australia's Paul Smith and Dave Gerner
When your organization is tasked with the job of getting growers to adopt new technology, there are a few tried, and frankly, not-so-true options to choose from. The world is lightly littered with various flavors of demonstration farms– properties where technologies can be piloted, field days can be hosted, and farmers can be converted from tech skeptics to believers. But in our experience, the pr
Killing weeds without poison, with Liam Hescock
Controlling weeds on farms is a sticky, two part challenge. First, you’ve got to identify the weeds, as distinct from the plants you want to grow. Then, you’ve got to destroy the undesirables and keep the rest. For today’s farmers, these two tasks can seem straightforward, but to do them at the scale required in modern agriculture– not so much. Identifying weeds, especially with computer visi
2025 in agtech... so what? with Shane Thomas
As the new year gets underway, we’ve been thinking about the likely ups and downs ahead for the agtech world. We’ve been searching for insights in the recent announcement that FMC’s corporate venture capital division is shutting its doors, and thinking about what a trend in CVC pullbacks might mean for the lay of the land in agtech. We’ve also been taking time to think about the agtech companies t
How business model innovation changed agtech in 2024
There’s nothing like the end of another year to have us reflecting on the recent successes in the world of agtech, and the many challenges still left to overcome. One thing that has continued to stand out to us in 2024 is the vital need for more business model innovation. There’s so much amazing technology that already exists, but for one reason or another, it is not getting adopted or utiliz
Shortening the long game in livestock breeding, with Gerard Davis
The history of agriculture is a history of selective breeding. Whether it’s plants or animals, humans have been choosing desirable traits and making sure those traits make it to the next generation for tens of thousands of years. The challenge of this work is, of course, the timeline. Groundbreaking and world-changing advances are possible, but we are limited by seasonality, gestation periods, and
Rethinking who pays in irrigation agtech, with Jairo Trad
Despite its importance to both agricultural and environmental outcomes, irrigation has not been a terribly successful subsection of agtech. We have our theories about why that is (we wrote a whole report about it, The agtech adoption dilemma: Irrigation), and many others have also spotted the challenges in this space. But when Jairo Trad and his team dug in, they saw an opportunity for busine
The two faces of global ESG in ag, with Catherine Marriott
Depending on where you sit, the supremacy of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) action seems inevitable. Corporates are talking about. Investors are talking about it. Governments, regulators, and even farmers are talking about it. And yet for many of us, the questions of what exactly ESG is, what pursuing these goals means, and how soon acting on them will be mandatory remain unanswered.
Pitch breakdown: Fractal Ag, with Ben Gordon and Shane Thomas
Farmland has long been a popular asset among investors for its steady appreciation and resistance to economic downturns. At the same time, farmland is also a challenging asset at times, especially for farmers looking to expand, given farmland comes up for sale so infrequently and is so valuable. In the space between these two needs is where Fractal Agriculture has set up shop, connecting the dots
Investing in regenerative agriculture supply chains, with Calla Rose Ostrander
When it comes to leveraging capital to fund climate action in agriculture, few ideas get as much play as regenerative agriculture. The idea of production that can not only be sustained but that can actively help renew resources has captured imaginations within the sector and without, giving life to events like the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum, where the faithful share strategies to i
When Kansas dries up… in 2050, with Dan Northrup
There are many parts of the US that are at risk for severe drought and heat in the next 30 years due to climate change. But then there’s Kansas, where some growers pull irrigation water from a particularly vulnerable part of the gigantic Ogallala aquifer, which according to the latest science, may well be fully depleted by 2050. Western Kansas isn’t exactly the heart of the corn belt, but farming
Unconventional farmer-led finance strategies, with Quint Pottinger
Despite challenging conditions in financial markets the world over, ambitious entrepreneurs find a way. There are few sectors where that is more true than in agriculture, and despite the industry’s reputation for convention and conservatism, challenging times call for creative measures, and farmers are nothing if not creative. To learn more about innovative farm business models and the cuttin
Ag's sci-fi (and non-fiction) future: horizon scanning… so what? with Shane Thomas
We’ve been thinking (and talking, and writing) a lot lately about the forces that are shaping the future of agriculture. There are the more obvious ones– artificial intelligence and mandatory climate disclosures– to the less obvious, like the ubiquity of remotely sensed data and geoengineering. All of these forces, and others like them, are not only acting on ag and the institutions the industry d
Citrus moves north: climate change is already reshaping farms, with Lindy Savelle
When people talk about the impacts of climate change on agriculture, they usually use the future tense. The reality, though, is that climate change already is, and has been, changing global conditions enough to cause meaningful shifts in agricultural production. Case in point, where Florida was once known both nationally and globally as the US’s citrus powerhouse, today the groves are moving North
How Syngenta is thinking about AI, with Feroz Sheikh
Not too long ago, we co-published a paper on the future of AI called “Yield Maps Killed AgTech Software, Can AI Save It?” and got a ton of great responses from across the industry. One such responder wrote in from his seat at the Syngenta Group, where he’s helped the organization go from zero to 250 million acres digitally served in just five years. Feroz Sheikh, Chief Information and Digital Offi
Agtech news... so what? July 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and broader policy and tech worlds to share insights and ask “so what?” Sarah and Matthew are joined this week by Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights.For more information and resources, visit our website. The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is g
Evaluating biologicals businesses: hype vs substance, with Joel Lipsitch
For better or worse, the biologicals space is still in the process of repairing a reputation that was marred by years of over-promising and under-delivering. Yet big advances have been made in recent years, helping improve agricultural productivity while reducing the industry’s dependence on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. But discerning between new wave innovation and their more snake-o
Rebooting agtech software with AI, with Rhishi Pethe
We are certainly not alone in our interest in how artificial intelligence will shape agriculture in the coming years. We’ve been learning out loud about both the tech that might emerge, but also about how AI might shape existing tools, especially agtech software. In our recent report, Yield Maps Killed AgTech Software, Can AI Fix It?, we put forward some of our research and theories, and we got a
How green is sustainable aviation fuel? with Cris Handel
As the US works to hammer out requirements for sustainable aviation fuel tax credits, the potential for the airline industry to open a huge new market for oil seeds has watchers in the sustainability space wondering what’s next. Will the opportunity for agtech to provide producers with the tools they need to meet production requirements and prove sustainability credentials be substantial?The susta
Agtech news... so what? May 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and broader policy and tech worlds to share insights and ask “so what?” Sarah is joined this week by Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights.For more information and resources, visit our website. The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is general i
The many faces of farm security, with John Hill
At the intersection of ubiquitous and affordable cameras and internet connections, growing farm sizes, and increasing environmental and social vulnerabilities sits the opportunity of farm security. The number of applications for this kind of remote monitoring are endless– from discouraging stock and equipment theft (or solving cases after the fact), to detecting bushfire conditions, to marketing p
Landfill to farm-fill: cotton waste as a soil solution, with Sam Coulton
The modern fashion industry creates a ton of waste. From the field to the cutting line, to the supply chain and consumers' closets, today’s ultra-cheap “fast fashion” obsession means everyday a lot of fiber gets carted off to landfills around the world. Some amount of that fiber however– especially cotton– is not only biodegradable, it can actually be a valuable addition to soils, especially
Biosecurity meets agtech: preparing for a hotter sicker world, with Sarah Britton
As the world continues to get more crowded and less climatically predictable, the risk of biosecurity issues– from pest and disease invasions to food security and environmental health concerns– is only growing. Science and technology have major roles to play in helping us prepare for possible risks, and deal with them when they arise. Today, we’re tackling these issues in one geography, Austr
Agtech news… so what? March 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from the agribusiness, agtech, and global ag policy worlds to share insights and ask “so what?” Sarah is joined this week by Tenacious Ventures Managing Partner J. Matthew Pryor and Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights.For more information and resources, visit our website. The information in this post is not investment adv
Generics, biologicals and the volatile farm inputs market, with Sam Taylor, Rabobank
The global ag sector has recently passed a turning point, with prices and future outlooks for key commodities taking a decidedly pessimistic turn. Though market volatility is nothing new for producers, it does change the profitability equation. One of the first targets for pencil-sharpening and scrutiny tends to be farm inputs– from crop protection chemistry and fertilizers, to equipment purchases
Getting into the weeds: AI and non-chemical weeding, with Liam Hescock and Guy Coleman
Weeds are a very expensive problem. According to one 2016 study, if weeds were left to grow unchecked in agricultural fields across just the US and Canada, the cost in lost productivity would total over $43 billion. And challenges are mounting. Though the last century has been ruled by crop protection chemistries that have kept weeds at bay– crafty wild plants have quickly adapted and the existing
How small growers think about agtech, with Sam Godwin
There are few areas of the ag sector that are more in need of tech solutions than tree fruits. All around the world, factors like labor shortages, an aging farm workforce, mounting regulations, and rising costs have put fresh produce growers in a bind. AgTech innovators have been hard at work on tools - especially harvesting tools - for years. But progress has been much slower than many hoped
Agtech news... so what? January 2024 with Shane Thomas
This week, in a new experimental format, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from leaders in the agribusiness, agtech, and ag production worlds to share insights and ask “so what?” Sarah is joined this week by Tenacious Ventures Managing Partner J. Matthew Pryor and Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights. What John Deere’s announced partnership with Starlink means for farmers
Agtech 2023… so what? A year in review
Somehow it’s December again, and another year has come and nearly gone. We've spent a lot of time reflecting on the highs and lows of a particularly unpredictable year for Tenacious Ventures, our portfolio companies, and agtech more broadly.In that spirit, we’re taking time to talk about what we've learned from a year of fundraising, advising, learning and podcasting. We’re joined today by our edi
What a portfolio wind-down teaches you, with Nowadays founder Max Elder
Hearing the stats about startup failure rates (70 - 90%), and how one - only one- investment drives returns for most VC funds, is one thing. Actually experiencing it, is another. In line with our learning out loud ethos, today we're talking about Nowadays, a Tenacious portfolio company that recently wound down operations. Nowadays was a manufacturing platform for whole cuts of clean label plant ba
How startups and corporates can do more together, with Kevin McDonald
There's a persistent myth in the startup space, and in agtech especially, that the most important way that corporates can support startups is through direct investments. In our experience, this is an insanely incomplete picture. Agribusiness and agricultural production are complex and enigmatic worlds, and newcomers to the space need guidance and support from advisors, customers, and support infra
What do LPs look for in agtech funds? with Eliza Jackson and Sara Balawajder
2023 has been a year of both investing and fundraising for us here at Tenacious Ventures. And sitting on both sides of the table has highlighted to us just how much of the investing world is stuck in a black box. In general, we’ve found that this opacity can be a huge barrier, especially in an industry like agri-food– where venture funding hasn’t been a long-standing part of the ecosystem. &n
How outside forces are shaping the food system, with Ian Proudfoot
We've spent a lot of time this year talking about the future of specific sub-spaces of the food system– fertilizer, vertical farming, alternative protein, and ag retail, just to name a few. We’ve focused a lot on the existing internal trends and pressures that help us predict what might be coming next, but we’ve talked less about the factors outside of the expected, not least the way that people -
Methane and the climate commitments that matter most, with Katie Anderson
As 2030 looms and the climate commitments made in the last decade come into clear (and often disappointing) focus, one important lesson we’ve learned is that not all greenhouse gasses are created equal. Despite the many metrics created in the hopes of simplifying our way to climate action, CO2 is neither the most potent greenhouse gas nor, arguably, the most important priority in the short term. T
Bringing systems thinking to the global fertilizer industry, with Alzbeta Klein
Without a doubt, the global fertilizer sector sits at the center of a complex web of international industries. From energy to mining and food to agriculture, turning deep earth minerals from the far reaches of the globe into the food we eat every day is no small task, and even tiny changes can have outsized, and often unpredictable, impacts. That’s why, as we continue our thinking around what the
How farmers are actually using ChatGPT, with Marc Arnusch
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT have been making waves across the global economy, but it’s not always clear how these language creating tools can make a difference in industries like agriculture. While companies everywhere are scrambling to develop their own proprietary AI tools before they even know what they’ll use them for, many in ag are left wondering– should I be using ChatGPT too? Tod
Cultivating agility at a multi-generational food company, with Ashli Blumenfeld and Ben Rosenthal
Innovation in the protein space has most recently seen a lot of hype around “alternative” proteins, from high tech microbe engineering to proprietary science that makes plants into something magically similar to juicy burgers or satisfying nuggets. But innovation in protein is a much deeper field. And when it comes to actually getting products to customers, protein innovations are just as likely t
Who's investing in agribusiness? Live from evokeAG 2023
A few months ago, Matthew got the chance to represent Tenacious on a panel at the Evoke Ag Conference in Adelaide, Australia. The conversation was called “Going Global, Who's investing in Agribusiness,” and featured a group of investors who tackled some of the most pivotal questions facing the agtech investment space today; from tackling sustainability and ESG and managing through a generative AI
Is vertical farming dead? with Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin
In recent years, the vertical farming startup space has been characterized by ecstatic highs and disappointing lows. More than a billion dollars worth of funding has flowed into a relatively small number of investments, but despite this resourcing and years of runway, we’ve started to see frequent, high profile collapses. So, is there a value proposition with vertical farming? Or was it all hype,
Electrifying the farm: is it finally viable? with David Meyers
On the surface, the opportunity to transition on-farm energy to electricity seems limited at best. Farm jobs and farm equipment are big, and often require a level of power that electric options have historically been unable to meet. But between advances in electric vehicles and shifting dynamics in farm operations, those limitations are starting to dissolve. So we’ve started to wonder: is on-farm
Transforming the future of Australian ag retail, with Rob Dawes
When we think about the effects of climate change on the ag sector, we tend to focus on the impacts to the farm– particularly those events will have an impact on farmer livelihoods. The reality is, unpredictable weather during the growing season is only one part of the challenge. Generalized climatic uncertainty from season to season is proving to be just as crippling, and not just for farm operat
The race to define the future of ag retail, with Shane Thomas
In the ag business sector, the retail channel is sacred. Ag retailers are home to the people who actually shake hands with farmers, know their kids by name, and drive by their fields regularly. So if you’re someone looking to sell a product or service to a producer, it can be almost impossible to go around these heavily-influential, and often highly localized, organizations. And yet, the ag retail
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