How Small Growers Think about AgTech, with Sam Godwin, Washington Apple Grower

02/07/24 • 30 min

There are few areas of the ag sector that are more in need of tech solutions than tree fruits. All around the world, factors like labor shortages, an aging farm workforce, mounting regulations, and rising costs have put fresh produce growers in a bind.

AgTech innovators have been hard at work on tools - especially harvesting tools - for years. But progress has been much slower than many hoped. One of the key problems from a grower perspective is the price tag– even when a robot comes along that can pick or prune, it’s too expensive for all but the biggest growers.

To understand this challenge better, today we’re diving into how growers think about tech solutions that are accessible to growers of all sizes. Sam Godwin, second generation apple, pear, and cherry farmer, and current chairman of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission.

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Previous Episode

AgTech News …So What? January 2024 with Shane Thomas

This week, in a new experimental format, we’re breaking down the freshest announcements from leaders in the agribusiness, agtech, and ag production worlds to share insights and ask “so what?” Sarah is joined this week by Tenacious Ventures Managing Partner J. Matthew Pryor and Shane Thomas, author of Upstream Ag Insights.

What John Deere’s announced partnership with Starlink means for farmers, ag retailers, and the future of connected agtech
What Jigsaw Farm’s evolving status as a vanguard of climate-smart agriculture tells us about future trouble in carbon and methane emission-reducing plans
How ag software roll-ups might be evolving as agtech matures

If you like - or don’t - this experimental format, let us know!

For more information and resources, visit our website.

Next Episode

Getting into the Weeds: AI, Computer Vision, and the Future of Non-Chemical Weeding

Weeds are a very expensive problem. According to one 2016 study, if weeds were left to grow unchecked in agricultural fields across just the US and Canada, the cost in lost productivity would total over $43 billion. And challenges are mounting. Though the last century has been ruled by crop protection chemistries that have kept weeds at bay– crafty wild plants have quickly adapted and the existing tools are under pressure from regulators and consumers. As farmers try to turn elsewhere, agtech is stepping into the void, expanding the weed-fighting toolkit with everything from water and heat, to lasers and robots.

To understand this challenge better, and to learn more about one of the emerging tools in the market, Tenacious’ Matthew Pryor joins Liam Hescock, Founder and CEO of Azaneo, an electric weeding company (and recent add to the Tenacious portfolio), and Guy Coleman, weed researcher extraordinaire.

For more information and resources, visit our website.