Q&A: New CEO of AgriNovus Indiana talks ag tech

INDIANAPOLIS — Mitch Frazier, the new president and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, has high hopes for agbioscience in the state.

Outstanding agriculture and technology sectors set the stage for innovations to be born here.

Frazier had a conversation with AgriNews about ag tech and what the future may hold.

Tell us about AgriNovus.

We are a non-profit focused on fueling growth in Indiana’s agbioscience economy. We do that in three key ways. First is business growth — supporting the agbioscience businesses here and creating an ecosystem that enables them to grow and attract more companies.

Second is entrepreneurship, which centers on connecting companies across the state, country and globe to the incredible talent, producers and universities in Indiana.

Third is talent development — our effort that centers on ensuring agbioscience businesses have the talent they need to thrive. Our goal is to create the infrastructure for agbioscience entrepreneurs to take ideas and turn them into companies.

What strengths does Indiana have to offer?

We have an incredible array of progressive producers. Whether it’s in livestock, produce or row crops — we have an incredible talent base and strong network of colleges and universities.

We also have tremendous technology talent in the state. We have a unique opportunity at AgriNovus to bring all of those parties together to fuel the next generation of the agbioscience economy.

What’s something you’ve learned in your new role as CEO of AgriNovus?

I’ve been on the job nine weeks now and have been blown away by the diversity of agriculture across Indiana — from produce to row crops to livestock — and the tremendous interest in fueling growth across the state.

There’s innovation happening at every step of the production process. Whether it’s at the producer level, supplier level, or academia, companies and organizations are working together to drive innovation. That collaboration creates an opportunity for AgriNovus to add even more fuel to the fire to accelerate economic growth.

What do you envision the future of ag innovation in Indiana?

I can’t speak to 20 years from now, but I can tell you where we’re headed in the near-term. You see it in the things we’re doing. You see it in the Producer-Led Innovation Challenge that AgriNovus is hosting, along with our partners at Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Purdue Foundry.

We are all working together to connect producers with Indiana’s technology talent to solve real challenges on the farm. We’re also doing it with Forbes. The last couple of years we’ve hosted the Forbes Ag Tech Summit.

Soon, we’ll announce the next chapter of our work with Forbes that will build upon our strength of bringing together producers, experts and innovators to solve real challenges in agriculture.

That, to me, is our competitive differentiation. Indiana, compared to others across the country and around the world, can bring together people quickly and in unique ways to make a difference.

The tremendous producers and technology innovators here are eager to work together with academia to solve real challenges. I had the chance to work alongside many progressive producers at Reynolds Farm Equipment and have met many more since.

Couple their strengths with our technology talent — many of whom are a generation or two away from the farm or rural America — and we have a unique opportunity to grow our economy, serve producers and drive net farm income.

Is rural broadband connectivity a challenge in Indiana for technology?

Rural broadband is a key to realizing our full potential. It’s not just for agriculture — there’s a tremendous amount of data being generated on the farm every day, but it’s more than the production system.

Think about the producer’s family being able to access telemedicine or his children being able to attend school online. Rural broadband is critical and a catalyst for growth. We have to continue to link arms and drive rural broadband further and faster.

What goals do you have for the future of AgriNovus?

Our metric of success is growth in the agbioscience economy. We will issue a later this year that will update our 2014 report that defined Indiana’s agbioscience economy.

We’ll use data from that initial report compared to this year’s report to measure how we’re doing and to identify where we need additional focus. We’ll continue to update research in the years ahead to ensure we’re making progress.

Another way we’ll measure success is through the jobs and capital investment we’re attracting from agbioscience businesses. Everything we do will support growing the agbioscience economy.

That level of clarity and precision gives us a lens to focus how we’re going to market, how we’re working with partners, how we’re serving producers and innovators. If an activity grows our agbioscience economy, we’ll do it. And our goal will be to do it better than any place on the planet.

Anything else you’d like our farmer readers to know?

Call me, text me, email me, Tweet me — whatever it is. Producers in Indiana and across the Midwest understand the evolution underway in agriculture; it’s been happening for decades.

Indiana has the unique position to connect our strengths in agriculture, technology, manufacturing and logistics to shape the future of agriculture. It’s up to us — producers, innovators, non-profits and government — to work together and grow the agbioscience economy.

I just ask for engagement. The more we can work together — just like we are doing with our Producer-Led Innovation Challenge — the faster we can shape innovation and define the future together.

Learn more about AgriNovus at: www.agrinovusindiana.com.