Agbioscience

BONUS: Taranis’ recent fundraise brings new growth opportunities

Taranis recently announced a $40M Series D fundraise to fuel growth, focus on global expansion and invest in new technologies. This week, we are joined by Mike DiPaola and Opher Flohr, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Financial and Operations Officer, for a bonus episode to talk about the news, agtech’s evolution and what’s next for Taranis. 

33. Conquering on-farm complexity

Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance serve producers across the state, including value creation and innovation for their operations. This week we are joined by Ben Forsythe, Sustainability and Value Creation Director for the organization, to talk about AgriNovus’ newly announced Producer-Led Innovation Challenge.  The Producer-Led Innovation Challenge tasks innovators with optimizing existing on-farm data to create a farmer-focused platform that will increase data accuracy and reliability to impact speed and cost of capital from lenders..  The winning team receives $25K to help commercialize their solution. Are you ready to take on this year’s Challenge? Register your team for our accelerator program and the opportunity to pitch your solution in November! Learn more at agrinovusindiana.com/producer. 

32. Solving real problems with biologicals

Mick Messman spent some time in Indiana early in his career and as CEO of DPH Biologicals, he is back. This week, he sits down with Mitch Frazier to talk about investor interest in biologicals, their positive environmental impact, DPH Biological’s Indiana operation and what’s next for the company. 

31. Connecting food + human health

Teri Willey’s impressive career has touched many college campuses in our state, and well beyond. This week, the Managing Director of IU Ventures joins us to talk about the next chapter of tech transfer, IU’s investment portfolio and the emergence of new startups operating on the idea of food as medicine. 

30. A new partnership in animal health

United Animal Health has long been a leader in animal nutrition and now, they are looking to the future and adding new partnerships. This week, we are joined by Scott Holmstrom, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at United Animal Health, and Joel Harris, Co-Founder of Genvax.   They talk about Joel’s recent fundraise, including a strategic investment from United Animal Health, how the two companies align well for a partnership and the future of animal health. 

29. A front-row seat to Indiana’s agbiosciences

Melissa Proffitt’s career in law spans many industries, but agbioscience stands out to her. This week, the Partner-in-Charge of Client Relations at Ice Miller joins the podcast to talk about her path to becoming a lawyer, feeding the world and what sets Indiana apart. 

28. Introducing the winner of our HungerTech Challenge

AgriNovus issued a challenge to the tech community this year: unlock free delivery access to those participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a $100 billion federal program annually. Eleven teams answered the call and brought forth their solutions recently and a panel of judges selected a winner to receive a $25,000 prize to help launch their product to market. This week, we are joined by Geng Wang, the CEO of Civic Champs and winner of the HungerTech Challenge.  Geng talks about the “why” behind his organization, what called his team to sign up to participate and how they plan to proceed. Learn more about HungerTech at AgriNovusIndiana.com/HungerTech. 

27. Serving communities + creating change

Purdue University has been hosting the 4th cohort of The Mandela Washington Fellowship with agbioscience innovators from Africa spending time on campus this summer to hone and develop their professional and leadership skills. This week, we are joined by Boaz Berhanu and Molly Abende to talk about their experience with the program this summer.  They talk about the critical issues facing their respective communities, what they’ve learned from the program and how they plan to enact change at home once they return. 

26. The intersection of human + animal health

How does a medical doctor with decades of helping women conceive children apply their experience and a mindset for innovation toward pregnancy in cows? This week, we are joined by Jim Donahue, founder of Indianapolis-based ReproHealth Technologies.   He talks about how the idea came to be, the difference in treating humans versus cows and the future of the company and what they hope to achieve.  

25. A powerful engine for workforce innovation

When her career started as a basketball coach, one could argue it was foreshadowing a future in Indiana. President of Huntington University, Sherilyn Emberton, joins the podcast this week. She talks about the evolution of the university’s offerings, how they’ve evolved since COVID-19 and the importance of connecting their students to diverse and vast opportunities in agbioscience.