Interview with Steve Rao: Former CEO of Farm MarketiD
3/24/2024: 4th Episode of my Ag Uncensored Podcast
Opening Thoughts:
Well I got a little behind in sending this Newsletter version of my latest Podcast out due to the fact that I was at the World Agritech Summit this last week. I thought I’d have time to put it together during, but what do you do.
A little more on that before more on Steve (who was also there and fortunately had some good reaction from the podcast already) that I want to share. I plan to do a more newslettery post around my thoughts on World Agritech next week so look for that midweek I’d say. It’ll be fun as always.
Now to this convo with Steve…we’ve known each other for quite some time and even worked close on some things between Farm MarketiD and Satshot back in the day. We actually came close to some really big things like doing the R7 project for Winfield to a very large marketing/mapping play with Pioneer. Sooooo close, yet not quite. It was a great experience none the less.
The thing that makes Steve and his experience interesting I feel is that he’s been dealing with another side of AgTech that is seldomly talked about yet is used constantly by many. That is marketing data on who a grower is and what they own and/or farm. Trust me, it’s used by many of the big players and is critical to how information has gotten out from them to growers either by mail or digitally.
Regardless, plenty of topics to listen to during the talk and I think there are many parts where you’ll learn new things about how intricate and complex Ag Data actually is and beyond. Take a listen for sure…
Here is a Summary:
In this podcast episode, Nathan Faleide interviews Steven Rao about his experience in the agriculture industry as the former CEO of Farm MarketiD and the use of data in agribusiness. They discuss the challenges and misconceptions surrounding farmer data, the importance of transparency and value in data sharing, and the integration of personal data with agricultural data. They also explore the role of consumer data and analytics in understanding farmer personas and making better business decisions.
The conversation highlights the need for data collaboration and the potential of machine learning in agriculture. Overall, the episode provides insights into the evolving landscape of data in the agriculture industry. The conversation explores the challenges of standardization in agriculture, the need for standards and data infrastructure, and the limitations of AgTech software for small farmers. It also discusses the role of private equity in AgTech, the lack of venture funding, and the failure of big AgTech companies.
The conversation concludes by highlighting the need for investment in innovation and predicting future trends in AgTech. In this conversation, Steven Rao and Nathan Faleide discuss the challenges and opportunities in the agriculture technology industry. They explore the need for a CRM system in agriculture and the slow adoption of popular CRMs in the industry. They also discuss the potential of taking investment to scale ag tech companies and the impatience of working in agriculture. The conversation highlights the evolution of ag tech over the years and the beginning of a new era in the industry. They also touch on the importance of AI and sustainability in agriculture and the need for better financial services for farmers. Finally, they discuss the challenges of land rental and wealth transfer in agriculture.
Takeaways
Transparency and clear communication about data usage are crucial to build trust with farmers.
Farmers are willing to share data if they see the value and benefit in return.
Data collaboration among companies and farmers is essential for making better decisions and improving profitability.
The integration of personal data with agricultural data can provide valuable insights and enable targeted marketing and research. Standardization is a major challenge in agriculture, particularly in precision agriculture where every square inch of soil is different and data needs to be delivered to specific equipment.
The lack of standards in agriculture hinders cooperation and levels the playing field for those with less data, making it difficult to achieve maximum yield potential.
Private equity investment in AgTech is limited due to the high risk and low scalability of many AgTech companies, resulting in a lack of funding for early-stage ventures.
The failure of big AgTech companies to deliver returns on investment raises concerns and may discourage further investment in the industry.
There is a need for increased investment in data infrastructure and innovation in order to address the complex data challenges in agriculture and drive the growth of the industry. The agriculture industry needs a CRM system to manage sales, marketing, and customer interactions.
Popular CRMs like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics are not widely used in agriculture.
Taking investment can help scale ag tech companies and drive innovation in the industry.
The agriculture industry is evolving and entering a new era of technology and sustainability.
There is a need for better financial services and risk management solutions for farmers.
The challenges of land rental and wealth transfer in agriculture need to be addressed.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
02:03 Farm Market ID and Data Compilation
05:03 Challenges and Misconceptions about Farmer Data
08:19 Transparency and Value of Data
10:15 Data Privacy and Perception
12:27 Consumer Data and Analytics
23:23 Data Collaboration and Machine Learning
25:17 Evolution of Agriculture and Data Challenges
28:35 The Challenge of Standardization
29:13 The Need for Standards in Agriculture
30:19 The Difficulty of Implementing Standards
32:01 The Complexity of Precision Agriculture
33:22 The Challenges of Data in Agriculture
35:40 The Fragmented Nature of Agriculture
37:05 The Limitations of AgTech Software for Small Farmers
38:15 The Role of Private Equity in AgTech
40:23 The Need for Investment in Data Infrastructure
41:22 The Challenges of Raising Money for Big Data Problems
43:14 The Lack of Venture Funding in AgTech
45:02 The Failure of Big AgTech Companies
50:11 The Need for Private Equity Involvement in AgTech
53:28 The Lack of Investment in Innovation
56:33 Predicting Future Trends in AgTech
57:46 Building a CRM system for agriculture
58:14 The slow adoption of popular CRMs in agriculture
58:59 The challenges of developing ag-specific CRMs
01:00:03 The potential of taking investment to scale ag tech companies
01:01:07 The impatience of working in agriculture
01:01:30 The evolution of ag tech over the years
01:02:26 The opportunity for growth in ag tech
01:03:26 The beginning of a new era in ag tech
01:04:54 The need for innovation in ag tech
01:05:25 The potential of AI and sustainability in agriculture
01:09:08 The importance of financial services for farmers
01:11:10 The opportunity in AI and data management in agriculture
01:13:23 The need for standardized data collection in sustainability
01:14:21 The role of AI in managing agricultural data
01:15:13 The future of carbon credits and sustainability in agriculture
01:19:17 The importance of financial services for farmers
01:22:45 The need for better solutions to manage financial risk in agriculture
01:26:36 The challenges of land rental and wealth transfer in agriculture
Watch and Listen:
Here are the links below to listen and view the podcast and/or scroll down to read the summary and watch it here!
www.AgUnsenored.com - All podcast links here to subscribe to.
Ag Uncensored YouTube channel - A link to this specific episode and my page
Podbean - https://aguncensored.podbean.com/e/steverao/
Apple - (The link is suppose to embed, if not just go to the website to the link)
Closing Thoughts:
Not much more to add here beyond I hope you also take a listening to some of my shorter videos during my (trying for) daily AgTech Dogwalks. I’m trying to talk about little quips I think about daily or talk through items others have shared that interest me. You can find them on my YouTube channel or on Linkedln.
Other than that, look for more thoughts and memes on World Agritech next week.
What is the Newest Podcast Coming:
The one and only Kip Pendleton coming on Monday the 25th. This was a fun and you’ll want to listen for sure.
Remember to subscribe, like, share, and check out more at www.AgUncensored.com or through Youtube, Linkedln, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the handle @AgUncensored.