Archives: Episode

#24 Jeanette Lombardo – Farmer Veteran Coalition

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#24 Jeanette Lombardo - Farmer Veteran Coalition
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One of my farmers, a very large dairy in California, committed suicide. And it was at that moment that my life completely changed.

This week, we’re continuing our interview series with the leadership team from Farmer Veteran Coalition. Our guest today is FVC’s Executive Director, Jeanette Lombardo. Jeanette was raised on a dairy farm amongst a military family and spent more than a decade as a military spouse, including supporting her former husband through Operation Desert Storm. Her professional career began in commercial ag lending where an experience with a client dairy farmer caused her to completely rethink the way she approached supporting the farmer community.

Even with an intimate knowledge of the complexities of the ag environment gathered through many decades in the industry, including advisory assignments at Federal level with the USDA and EPA, Jeanette never lost sight of her true purpose – supporting the farmer.

She continues to serve this community, though more specifically today the veteran farmer, as FVC’s Executive Director. Have to listen to find out how Jeanette ultimately got connected with FVC and some of fantastic programs they’re working on today.

#23 Richard Brion (USN) – Revolution Agriculture

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#23 Richard Brion (USN) - Revolution Agriculture
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The core of my ethos became the need to have a constitution to take anything as far as necessary

Our guest this week is Richard Brion, US Navy veteran and CEO for Revolution Agriculture – an ag start-up seeking to reduce the logistics chain of fresh crops through shipping container-sized installations directly on land owners’ farms. Their unique business model aims to capitalize on the growing and decentralized population of small holder farmers and delivery services without adding cost, time, or labor requirements to the land owner.

The ethos Richard developed from his time in the service and defense contracting were originally shaped by some of his military leaders. This ability of these senior leaders to take trying circumstances and use them as opportunities to educate is a unique skill they develop over the years. It certainly stuck with Richard and has become a driving factor in the creation of Revolution Agriculture.

At the very least, you’ll enjoy these wild stories Richard shares from his overseas experiences. As the head of Revolution Agriculture, the technology they’re creating around the re-introduction of soil and pollinators into controlled environments is fascinating and something we’ll for sure continue to follow.

#22 Andrew Patrick (USMC) – Deveron

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#22 Andrew Patrick (USMC) - Deveron
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I wouldn’t say it’s a distrust, but rather potential customers not understanding who we are and what we do

Our guest this week is Andrew Patrick, Marine Corps veteran and Sales Development Representative at Deveron, a Toronto-based agtech company using proprietary algorithms, third-party data collection platforms, and teams of agronomists and data scientists to provide insights to growers and ag enterprises.

Throughout this interview, you’ll hear Andrew describe the intention with which he made some early decisions in his life – from joining the Marine Corps, to forgoing deployments to continue to pursue his education, to finding a passion early in agriculture through FFA. The thought with which he made some of these difficult decisions early in life has to have some relation to his time in the Marine Corps.

His understanding of the current challenges agtech companies face around trust and education within the farmer community is an important one to recognize and appreciate for client-facing representative like Andrew. While he is new to his career in ag, I hope the freshness of his transition from military service and the decisions he’s made around his chosen career path can be an inspiration to other vets who might currently find themselves in the same place.

#21 Jose Sanchez (US Army) – Ecogistix

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#21 Jose Sanchez (US Army) - Ecogistix
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I’ve been bootstrapping it so far, but it’s tough. You still have to keep the lights on at home

Our guest this week is Jose Sanchez, Founder of Ecogistix, a manufacturing execution systems platform that will allows growers to more efficiently track and manage their fresh produce as it moves from farm to market.

Jose’s familial ties to the farming community trace back to his grandfather’s ranching operations in Mexico. But it was his father’s memories of the difficulty of selling their product at the local markets that brought Jose back into ag after spending a number of years gaining an education in computer science and in supply chain management.

The intentionally and care with which Jose has approached the creation of Ecogistix is impressive. It’s taken them over three years to develop a production ready model, a process that started with the farmer’s challenges, then leveraged their team’s industry experience and partnerships to finally reach a stage where they’re ready to start on-boarding growers.

Jose is honest with this process of bootstrapping about it not being all sunshine and roses. It takes grit, struggle and financial preparation. Have a listen to hear Jose’s story and some of lessons learned from this agri-preneur.  

#20 – Rachel Petitt – Farmer Veteran Coalition

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#20 - Rachel Petitt - Farmer Veteran Coalition
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“It’s not the bird songs or the warm soil. It’s the early days, constant problem solving, grit…”

This from our guest this week, Rachel Petitt, as she describes the types of things veterans look for as they seek to ease the burden of transition by trying to match their new professional lives with their former lives.

Rachel is Farmer Veteran Coalition’s Fellowship Program Manager, which administers grants for tools, equipment, infrastructure and even livestock that support veteran farmers in their new careers. After earning a degree in Food and Ag from UC Santa Cruz, Rachel worked in small-scale farming for several years, including flower, vegetables and egg production in central California before joining FVC in 2015.

The passion for agriculture is evident as Rachel describes the formidable nature of these experiences and how they conditioned in her a sense of purpose that can be found in agriculture. Through her college network and word-of-mouth, the opportunity to work for FVC’s former founder, Michael O’Gorman, came across her radar and she jumped at it. As FVC’s longest standing employee to date, Rachel talks about FVC’s growth over the last 14 years, her experiences working with veterans for the first time, and their herculean efforts support the veteran farmer community with a wide variety of services that extends beyond simply funding opportunities.

If you’re a veteran or active-duty service member who will soon transition and are considering production agriculture, this is a must listen episode.

#19 Jed Dunham – Kansas State U.

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#19 Jed Dunham - Kansas State U.
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It’s impossible to hide poor work on a farm

Our guest this week is Jed Dunham, a consultant with Kansas State’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs. After graduating from Kansas State in 1996, Jed spent the next several years working in a variety of industries; from building playgrounds across the Midwest, heavy construction in Montana, coaching lacrosse in Virginia, working to bring veterans into agricultural educational opportunities, and riding a bicycle 4,600+ miles across North America. Once back in Kansas, his background as a historical researcher uncovered an incredible set of stories involving WWI soldiers. This work did more than just bring their lives to light again, it showed how their individual stories told the narrative of an important developmental time in American history.

This collection of stories, which Jed has called 48 Fallen 48 Found, led to the formal dedication of a World War I Memorial Stadium on the campus of Kansas State University in 2017. Jed continues to honor the sacrifices of our past through his work with Kansas State’s State Military Affairs Innovation Center.

Have a listen and weight-in how you think these soldier’s stories can best to told.

#18 Amanda (Curtis) Burkhardt – Nutripeutics

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#18 Amanda (Curtis) Burkhardt - Nutripeutics
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“Now we’re moving to a town with 100 people and a language I don’t speak and I’m gonna have to try and make a career.”

Our guest this week is Amanda Burkardt, Founder and CEO for Nutripeutics, a science and technology consultancy currently serving several different animal and human health start-ups, investor groups, and universities. Amanda brings a unique background of science (BA in Animal Science and Masters in Molecular Biology) and business (MBA with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship and a Masters of Management Information Technology) where she works with innovations to help develop and fund new products.

In this episode, Amanda details the sacrifices she made in the beginning of her career to be a supportive military spouse for the first time…in a foreign country. She articulates the realities of these situations through her own personal experiences in a way I have not heard before. How people finally reach a point in their lives where they decide enough is enough, it’s time to change has always fascinated me. Amanda still fits that mold to a tee.

We also talk about her fascinating early research into alternatives to antibiotics within animal health, how these compounds work, and what they could mean for animal health in the coming years. The concerns she articulates around drug resistant bacteria are real and something we all need to pay attention to. What Amanda has been able to accomplish and build using this type of scientific and business foundation is absolutely something you need to hear.

Be sure to listen to the end as Amanda outlines six major global trends she sees taking shape in the coming years within animal health.

#17 Art De Groat (US Army) – Kansas State Military Affairs Innovation Center

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#17 Art De Groat (US Army) - Kansas State Military Affairs Innovation Center
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My team’s confidence in my competency as a leader gave me a margin, in the human dimension, from which I could take risks that would ultimately be in their best interest

Our guest this week is Art De Groat, Founder and Director for Kansas State’s Military Affairs and Innovation Center as well as a retired US Army Armor Officer of over 20 years. In his current role at the Innovation Center, Art and his team are conducting applied research and outreach focused on adult developmental aspects of military transition and social reintegration.

Art describes how is military service was a defining pillar in his life – from experiences in the Gulf War where he had to make calculated decisions about how to deal with an out-matched enemy in order to preserve the mental health of his soldiers to dealing with a traumatic life event and having to strike a balance between service to country and family. The strength of character and resilience Art displayed and many veterans, I think, is exactly what should make military veterans attractive hirees to agribusinesses.

His post-military career has allowed him to continue to support the service member, this time during their transition into the private sector, where he’s gathered decades of experiential data and academic research that makes him uniquely qualified to discuss the issues facing veteran transition today and how ag can be a natural fit.

#16 Ben Gordon (ARNG) – Corteva

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#16 Ben Gordon (ARNG) - Corteva
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War is local and agronomy is local. It’s about human terrain.

My guest today is Ben Gordon, US Army National Guard veteran and Corteva’s Carbon and Ecosystem Services Global Portfolio Leader. This program seeks to quantify sustainability outcomes for farmers and economically reward them for stewardship outcomes, supported by Corteva’s partnerships, digital tools, and leading agronomic science.

Throughout the conversation, Ben weaves together the lessons he’s learned from military service around humility, regionality, and the dynamics of local leadership into the work he’s doing with agriculture in a way, to me at least, that is beyond his years. He describes the role of the leader, in both the military and within ag, as someone who recognizes the experience of their team, his own shortcomings, and how sometimes, your role as the leader is simply to provide them the latitude to exercise that expertise.

The platform Corteva has created within the carbon space seems to be one borne with the farmer in mind – optionality, premium payment terms, short-term contract, separation of incentives, etc.

Be sure to listen all the way through as Ben alludes to which markets Corteva may be scaling into next.

He asked that we include his email in the show notes for any veteran interested in Corveta or in need of some guidance during transition to please reach out – benjamingordon@granular.ag –

Enjoy!

#15 Ryan Delany (USMC) – Coffee Trading Academy

Vets In Ag Podcast
Vets In Ag Podcast
#15 Ryan Delany (USMC) - Coffee Trading Academy
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You only have one reputation, what are you doing with it?

This from our guest for this episode – Ryan Delany – as he works through his relationship between his personal ethics and their fit within his professional career as a trader.

Ryan Delany is a US Marine Corps veteran and Founder of the Coffee Trading Academy, an information and training service focused on providing an independent voice in the coffee market.

Ryan spends some time in this episode unpacking the origins of his military service, from family ties to the Tuskegee Airman in WWII and slavery in the US to why he felt compelled to service in order to protect this heritage and the rights his relatives fought for. It was this military service and his subsequent education at Columbia and Harvard, as well as a career in stock and coffee trading, where he realized that his personal and professional ethics didn’t have to be separate; they could influence each other.

He makes a strong case for the value of a trader in the coffee supply chain and why he ultimately decided to start a training academy to help others understand this industry the way he does. His program intentionally points out the importance of mindset and ethics in this field, something he feels is lacking in other industry publications.

Have a listen as Ryan describes this unique heritage and his arguments for the profession of traders