Agbioscience

Convergence research: the idea of taking major agricultural themes and breaking them down into simple, digestible insights for various audiences. Necessary? Absolutely. And it’s the work that Dr. Trey Malone, Boehlje Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness at Purdue University, has been doing with his team for awhile now. He brings his expertise in the studio today to dive into the intersection of entrepreneurship, policy and a massive agbioscience supply chain. Many highlights follow, including: What the role of Boehlje Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness has meant to Trey in his career and how it has scoped the work he is leading at Purdue today The realization behind convergence research and how they’ve seen it pay off in practice Pressure points Trey sees creating the most concern for the industry at large and what the economics say about how industry is responding to them The idea of “real options thinking” as less about predicting the future and more about preparing for it by placing small bets to widen your options rather than focusing on one path for success How real options thinking applies across the value chain How Trey has seen agbioscience businesses respond to the demands of the consumer and their shifting behavior over the last five years What moves the needle for consumers versus what’s mainly just perceived to be marketing The Health Halo effect, hard seltzer drinks and what they’ve taught industry about labeling, marketing and how they interact with the consumer The gap Trey sees that academic research needs to address for industry in agricultural economics Research that Trey wishes everyone had their hands on and used with regularity to drive insight and decision making What’s ahead for his time this year

From the land to the animals, Dave Fischer has taken a committed approach to the family business. He joins us this week to talk Southern Indiana’s Fischer Farms, his rapid growing natural meat delivery business, the criticality of consumer voice, soil health and beyond. Highlights include: The history of Fischer Farms, Dave’s approach to leading the family operation and their scope of service today Regenerative agriculture, soil health and creating an environment where cows are a net positive for sustainability What innovation looks like in practice at Fischer Farms and their differentiated approach across the portfolio Fischer Farms’ growth story and how Dave has balanced scaling while maintaining innovative and sustainable practices The consumer voice and what Dave believes to be the role of the farmer and food brands in this space when it comes to food’s impact on health Fischer Farms’ retail business, focus on tight supply chain and direct to consumer approach How they’ve designed their retail operation for efficiency to guarantee quality products – while also maintaining their commitment to sustainability What technologies – from AI to automation – are transforming how Fischer Farms is operating their processing and packaging business The pursuit to innovate and find the next opportunity, finding great partners along the way and which organizations make sense for their collaborative approach Fischer Farms’ participation in the Beef Research Project with USDA and what they are aiming to accomplish What is happening this year – and it’s a big facility that cranks out a lot of burgers – and beyond

Our March recap is here and it's a busy one! Highlights include: The launch of AgriNovus research and 2026 Velocity. Apply to participate in this year's cohort here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/velocity/Indiana's announcement of a $1B investment in agriculture and bioscience to position the state as a global leader in One Health innovationCICP's launch of the Catalyst Scholars fund focused on advanced chemistry talent, research and commercialization in IndianaCal-Maine Foods' acquisition of Creighton BrothersCorteva Catalysts's investment in gene editing company TropicJoin us for Quadrant on 5/13 in Indianapolis! Register here: https://agrinovusindiana.com/quadrant/

The demand for biobased materials is growing on a global scale, with no signals of that pace slowing any time soon. One startup has leveraged the power of synthetic biology to turn industrial byproducts into biomaterials. This week, Ourobio CEO Alec Brewer joins us to talk the company’s founding, contributing to a circular economy and their innovation process – end-to-end. Highlights include: The company’s origin story out of the University of Virginia and how it has evolved Ourobio’s innovation process, end-to-end, that produces bio-based materials Pivoting as an entrepreneur and knowing when they needed to tilt their business model to capture and offer value The Ourobio differentiation, which includes safety, color of pigmentation of polymer and affordability Alec’s perspective on the regulatory environment, what needs to be defined and how this conversation should evolve as this market continues to grow Biggest headwinds Ourobio has faced as a startup and how they’ve navigated their challenges in the early stage Feedback from companies that are moving to more bio-based materials Where Alec sees the biggest opportunity for bioinnovation reshape traditional industries in the coming decade Tools and technologies that have had the greatest impact on accelerating innovation for Ourobio’s scale and precision How partnerships and collaboration have paved the way for Alec and the Ourobio team’s entrepreneurial success What success looks like at this stage for the company and what’s ahead for Ourobio that has Alec most excited

The future of the agbioscience workforce will look different than it does today – as it does than it did ten years ago. At the heart of its change and evolution are college students and young professionals pursuing new fields of studying, from business to biology, and asking themselves one critical question: how do I apply what I’m learning today to my future in the working world? This week we are joined by AgriNovus’ Career Success Manager, Karis Witte, to dive into the organization’s career exploration platform, Field Atlas, exposing young talent to the agbioscience industry and connecting their hearts and minds to a future that matters. Highlights include: The story of Field Atlas and who it aims to serve Biggest headwinds agbioscience companies are facing when it comes to finding talent and buildling a workforce of the future Who Field Atlas is designed for and what makes it different than other talent programs and platforms The brand’s growth into experiential programming and how exposure has created a new dimension of industry recruitment for agbioscience companies Field Atlas as a brand “for students, by students” that is enabled by a network of campus Ambassadors The feedback Karis gets about the impact of Field Atlas – from students, colleges, universities and companies The Company Tours available to students and how that program has created new impact on students with no prior background in agbioscience Launching the Agbioscience Mentorship Program (AMP) and creating new, meaningful connection for late college students and young professionals that are looking to advance their careers How Karis sees Field Atlas evolving as it grows in the coming years What’s ahead in 2026

There is an increasing desire from consumers to better understand food’s overall impact on their health; however, there haven’t always been the proper tools – until now. This week, we are joined by FoodHealth Company’s CEO and co-founder, Sam Citro-Alexander, to talk about the launch of their consumer and brand facing tech-platform, FoodHealth Score, which rates products and suggests smarter swaps in real-time as you shop. We also get into leveraging innovation to better connect the value chain and empowering consumers and food brands alike to make better informed decisions based on data. Want to try out FoodHealth Score for yourself? Download the Chrome extension for free here! Highlights include: What FoodHealth Company does and who they aim to serve through technology Gaps in the market that Sam identified that led to her endeavoring this new startup and systems change How FoodHealth Co. Works across the food system to drive better health outcomes – from consumers to food brands alike Sam’s launch of their flagship product, FoodHealth Score, and what the feedback has looked like across the value chain Retailers and brands using data to better inform purchasing and formulation decisions How FoodHealth Co. Is thinking about impact measured through their platform What food is health means to Sam and her team The role she sees farmers playing in the FoodHealth Score and the opportunity to better align food production and health The company’s $7.5M Series A funding round from 2025 and how it’s enabled them to grow and scale How Sam views partnerships and collaboration as a necessary tool to the growth of FoodHealth Company Where she believes they’ve just started to scratch the surface on their full potential when it comes to FoodHealth Score What’s ahead for the company with the launch of FoodHealth Score in 2026

The USDA estimates that 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is lost each year, a massive addition to landfills and negative contributor to environmental health. What if that waste stream was handled differently and innovated into dependable feed ingredients for farmers? This week, CEO of Nutrition 101 Rick Shipley, joins the podcast to talk upcycling feed, servicing the entire value chain and flying under the agbioscience radar. Highlights include: How Nutrition 101 leverages food waste management to serve the entire food value chain What conversations look like with producers in this era and how their team is positioned to help drive on-farm impact in a time of unique challenges for their operations Nutrition 101’s relationship with processors on the other end and how they create opportunities for growth, sustainability and more Rick’s tenure as CEO (8 months) and how he sees the company as a differentiator in the agbioscience industry The company’s roots originating on the farm and how that translates to solving problems and generating better feedback to shape priorities for the future What success looks like for the Nutrition 101 team when it comes to working with producers and processors alike How Nutrition 101 focuses on solutions that are practical, effective and easy to implement – and why that’s so critical The company’s acquisition of Value Feeds in 2025 and what it will enable them to do on their growth trajectory Rick’s belief in the company’s greatest untapped potential to date How Rick sees the industry leveraging tech, automation and other innovations to grow a young base of talent interested in focusing on animal nutrition and agriculture Nutrition 101’s impact growing over the next decade as the role of the farmer evolves What’s ahead for the company in 2026