15. Connecting innovation to the farmer

The agbioscience economy is the only economy that touches every person on the Planet given that it centers on food. It’s necessary for life; and for generations, Indiana farmers have served a critical role in the global food supply chain. Now the state has a farmer leading the charge to shape the next chapter of the state’s ag economy and he joins us today. Don Lamb, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), talks with us about always wanting to be a farmer and the season of life being right for him to lead ISDA. Like many Indiana natives, he talks basketball as a metaphor for the role of production agriculture in the agbiosciences. He also gets into farmer adoption of new innovations, his advice to innovators that want to bring a product to market and the role of farmers when it comes to helping companies develop new innovations. He highlights soil conservation, mental health of the farmer and ISDA’s Indiana Grown initiative as three things he sees as big opportunities for the organization in the future.