Next Generation Agronomy – Where Input Prices Are Heading and Post Harvest Biologicals
Kevin Van Trump and Jordan Van Trump sit down with Grant Wells with Wells Ag Supply, Bodie Kitchel with BW Fusion & Biodyne USA, and Todd Loechler with The Van Trump Report to discuss what to think about input prices moving forward, how to lower input costs for 2022, and how applying a post harvest biological can help improve plant health. Overall, we discuss many other topics such as the difference between biology and chemistry, how to handle the recent tar spot breakout, and how producers can start to gain more premiums as blockchain technology enters the ag space.
For anyone interested in applying a post harvest biological this year, please call 816-876-6888 or email jordan@farmdirection.com. Keep in mind, we know this product isn’t for everyone and you can most likely get it from who you’re currently working with, but we like working with Grant Wells and BW Fusion because they truly take pride in only offering products that work. If it doesn’t work, then they go out of their way to figure out why it didn’t work. For what it’s worth, I also find it very interesting that guy in the input space, selling fertilizer, is trying to explain to us how to reduce input costs. Next week will we be releasing a webinar about the wild wild west of carbon credits. Please enjoy!
Working With the Family on the Farm, Improving Grain Logistics, and Having A Front Row Seat in Ag Tech the Past 20 Years with Bret Sitzmann
Investing in Emerging Markets, Focusing on Cash Flow, and Becoming a Full-Time Investor with Codie Sanchez!
Jordan Van Trump sits down with Codie Sanchez, founder & writer at Contrarian Thinking, to talk about investing in emerging markets, being a conflict journalist on the US Mexican border, learning to ask tough questions, becoming a full-time investor, working with Goldman Sachs, leveraging good debit, buying small businesses, how to better hire employees, developing agri-hoods, how to better cash flow as an individual, the one thing she would change to become a full-time investor earlier, learning from someone who has already done it before you, and her theory about collecting people. Enjoy!
Going Public in 2021, 70,000 Acres of Non-GMO Soybeans, and Breaking Into The Yellow Pea Market with Matt Crisp!
Guest: Matt Crisp, CEO and Co-founder at Benson Hill as well as the Chairman and Co-founder of Edison Agrosciences, is an accomplished executive with a strong background in the rapid growth and early commercialization phase of technology companies. Matt started his journey outside the world of agriculture at Radford University earning a bachelor’s degree in Finance. After graduating, Matt joined Third Security, a globally recognized venture capital firm, as a research assistant, eventually working his way up to a managing director. During his time there, Matt focused on corporate development and worked closely with numerous private and public companies in the life science and technology sectors. Matt began his journey in agriculture as the President of the Agricultural Biotechnology Division and Senior Vice President at Intrexon Corporation. In addition, he has held Board of Director positions at Cyntellect, Synchrony, and Radford University Foundation.
What’s the Podcast About:
Kevin & Jordan Van Trump sit down with Matt Crisp, CEO & co-founder at Benson Hill, to talk about going public in 2021, new team members, non-GMO soybeans, how the company is getting into the yellow pea space, and many other fun topics high level CEOs are wondering about right now. Enjoy!
Great Conversation with One of the Most Influential Voices in Agriculture with Lucy Stitzer!
Guest : Just a little background… Lucy Stitzer‘s great-great-grandfather W.W. Cargill, founded the business as a single grain warehouse on the end of an Iowa railroad line in 1865. Today Cargill is our nation’s largest private business and the largest food company in the world. Lucy and her cousin were the first of her generation to sit on the Cargill Board. And Lucy served as a Director of Cargill from 1992-2010. Since 2011, Lucy has been chairman of Waycrosse, Inc., the family office of the Cargill and MacMillan families, where her primary focus is to ensure a successful future for both Cargill and the family. In 2016, Lucy founded “Dirt to Dinner” where she and her team are committed to helping consumers learn more about where their food really comes from, as well as highlighting the hardworking farmers who provide it. Lucy and her team are trying to help all of us in agriculture battle the onslaught of misinformation circulating amongst our consumers. This is a great conversation that touches on so many hot topics.
What’s the Podcast About:
Kevin & Jordan Van Trump sit down with Lucy Stitzer, founder at Dirt to Dinner, to talk about what it was like growing up in the Cargill family, being the first of her generation to sit on the Cargill board, flying airplanes, working on ranches, driving motorcycles, consumer misinformation, rural America’s future, women in ag, how Wall Street money can affect agriculture moving forward, and some of her best advice as well as life lessons. Enjoy!
Growing Agriculture in Space, Circuit Racing, and Digital Wallets for Farmers with Jake Joraanstad
Guest: Jake Joraanstad is one of the best tech entrepreneurs we’ve had on the show that is focused on bringing innovative software products and solutions to the agriculture value chain. Right now, Jake is the co-founder and CEO at Bushel. In addition to Bushel, Jake is also the co-founder of Emerging Prairie.
Best Quote: “No one is going to invest in you if they don’t believe you have the ability to build the right team.”
What’s the Podcast About:
Jordan Van Trump sits down with Jake Joraanstad, co-founder and CEO at Bushel, to talk about what it was like growing up in North Dakota on a cattle ranch, working on agriculture in space, how Bushel has transformed throughout the years and ended up in the ag space, the importance of focus, how to build a successful team, his best advice for any ag-tech startup, raising money, building a company to 200+ People, how to stop avoiding focus, circuit racing over 100 mph, why he believes you have to fail to learn, his new hobby of beekeeping, working with his family, being involved in the city of Fargo, and why he believes a lot of the traditional ways in agriculture are going digital on mobile devices. Enjoy!
Taking Ag Retail to Scale, Exotic Hunting Trips, and the Future of Biologicals with Grant Wells
Guest: Grant Wells is the owner & CEO at Wells Ag Supply. Wells Ag Supply provide a full line of products to help producers raise the highest yields from start to finish including seed, seed treatment, in-furrow nutrition, pre and post chemicals, foliar nutrition, fungicides & insecticides, dry fertilizer, poultry manure, soil sampling, fast delivery, and an extensive custom application services. In addition to Wells Ag Supply, Grant is also a part of a new biological company called BW Fusion!
Where to Find Him: Wells Ag Supply & BW Fusion
What’s the Podcast About:
Jordan Van Trump sits down with Grant Wells, Owner & CEO at Wells Ag Supply, to talk about what it was like growing up on a farm in Iowa, being the top sales for Cutco, his ideas about changing the family business, getting chemical giants like DOW to believe in him at 20-years-old, his first big idea in fertilizer, how to take ag retail to scale in multiple states, what to look for when hiring good employees, the importance of delegating as well as not micro-managing, his family, exotic hunting trips he has been on lately, his new company BW Fusion, and the future of biologicals in the ag space. Enjoy!
Sports Cards, Working on Wall Street, and What’s Next For Fractional Investing with Ezra Levine
Guest: Ezra Levine is a former Portfolio Manager at Hilltop Park, a NYC-based hedge fund in the Sports, Media, Consumer and Entertainment industries. Before that he was CFO & CSO of The Spring League. In addition, he’s worked at Bloomberg ABC World News, Reader’s Digest, and ESPN. Now Ezra is the CEO at Collectable, which is modernizing and democratizing the sports card & memorabilia industry through its fractional ownership offerings.
Where to Find Him: LinkedIn & Twitter
What’s the Podcast About:
Kevin & Jordan Van Trump sit down with Ezra Levine, CEO at Collectable, to talk about what’s happening in the crazy hot sports trading card space! In this conversation, we bring a fresh perspective on our investment strategy, where we see the market heading, why we think this is starting to blow up, how NFTs are going to affect the space, and what’s hot in newer and older collections. In addition, you’ll want to listen to this conversation as we dive into the new world of FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP and how this new model is going to continue to drive prices higher moving forward. Remember, we are starting to see this model in farmland. Enjoy!
Cheap Equipment, Fast Times in LA, and Chemical-Free Farming with Clint Brauer
Clint Brauer, CEO of Greenfield Robotics and Owner at MG Honors Farms, thought he was done with farming when he left for the west coast after graduating from Kansas State University. After running hard in LA for over a decade in tech at the Sony Corporation, Clint took a pause and decided to come home and use his tech network with the goal of ridding broad-acre farming from its dependence on chemicals. Clint believes he might have a solution through Greenfield Robotics, which focuses on robots that can kill weeds between crop rows without tilling and using herbicides. As Brauer leads a growing transition to sustainable farming through the use of low-cost autonomous robotics, he still farms his own land, MG Honors Farms, which serves as a laboratory for testing production methods and marketing. Overall, Brauer has built a very impressive team around him as he seeks to meet his goals moving forward and change agriculture as we know it today. In this podcast, Clint and I discuss more about why he left farming, his experience in LA, making the decision to come back to agriculture, creating Greenfield Robotics, his first product, getting rid of the chemicals on your farming operation, creating premium markets for yourself, and much more!
The Importance of Culture, Scaling Innovation, Landing Google Ventures, and Cutting-Edge Soybean Varieties with Matt Crisp
“You’re always forced to make decisions. Making decisions fast and being willing to fail as well as having the ability to shift off of them without getting overly emotional allows you to be positioned well above many others in business. If you pause too long, you die.” — Matt Crisp, CEO and Co-founder at Benson Hill
Matt Crisp, CEO and Co-founder at Benson Hill as well as the Chairman and Co-founder of Edison Agrosciences, is an accomplished executive with a strong background in the rapid growth and early commercialization phase of technology companies. Matt started his journey outside the world of agriculture at Radford University earning a bachelor’s degree in Finance. After graduating, Matt joined Third Security, a globally recognized venture capital firm, as a research assistant, eventually working his way up to a managing director. During his time there, Matt focused on corporate development and worked closely with numerous private and public companies in the life science and technology sectors. Matt began his journey in agriculture as the President of the Agricultural Biotechnology Division and Senior Vice President at Intrexon Corporation. In addition, he has held Board of Director positions at Cyntellect, Synchrony, and Radford University Foundation.
In this podcast, Matt and I will cover his appreciation for his staff, the importance of culture within a company, his introduction to the ag space, getting laid off at Intrexon, his passion for wanting to start Benson Hill, his secrets behind innovation, the best ways to go about raising money as an ag-tech startup, the road to landing Google Ventures, the story behind the Benson Hill name, his decision-making process, his family, coming back online after the Coronavirus Pandemic, his love for St. Louis, Benson Hill’s new headquarters, the importance of branding, how important the protein shift is right now, Benson Hill’s new product launches, and what’s next for Benson Hill.
Listen below if you’re looking to learn more about one of agriculture’s leading innovators and why he believes Benson Hill has the best high protein soybean assets in the industry!