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 360: Connecting Communities Through Chocolate with Patrick and Mara Tcheunou of Bibamba
FoA 359: The Economics of Indoor Ag with Jeff McKinnon of TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture
FoA 358: Buy Then Build a Local Ag Company with Elliott and Rebecca Miller of Edgar's Feed and Seed
FoA 357: Buying an Established Ag Retail Business with Trent Kubik of Elevate Agronomics
FoA 356: Seven Business Ideas for Ag Entrepreneurs
FoA 355: Tule Technologies Acquired by CropX with Tom Shapland and John Gates
FoA 354: The Gap Between Information and Implementation with Robert Saik of AGvisorPRO
FoA 352: Autonomous Electric Crop Dusters with Michael Norcia of Pyka
FoA 351: Agritourism and Adding Value on the Farm with Allan Robinette
FoA 350: How to Get the Word Out in Ag with Sarah Mock and Travis Martin
FoA 349: Robotic Harvesting and Beyond with Kyle Cobb of advanced.farm
FoA 348: Investing in the Future of Fertilizer with Sarah Nolet of Tenacious Ventures [Agtech - So What? Crossover]
FoA 347: Upcycled Fruit with Ben Moore of The Ugly Company
FoA 346: Comparing 13 Different Carbon Programs with Dr. Alejandro Plastina
FoA 345: Alphabet's Moonshot to Scale Sustainable Agriculture via Machine Learning with Dr. Elliott Grant of Mineral
FoA 344: Farmland Data with Dr. Aaron Shew of Acres by AcreTrader
FoA 343: Artficial Intelligence, Knowledge Graphs, and a Cloud for Agriculture with Krishna Kumar of CropIn
FoA 342: Leading from the farm: insights from farmer innovators
FoA 341: California Cotton and Climate Coalition with Cannon Michael and Rebecca Burgess
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