Podcasts about agriscience

Title: Rare Earths to Truffles: Diversified Investments You've Never Heard Of with Louis O'Connor Summary: In this episode of Raise the Bar Radio, Seth Bradley welcomes back Lou, an international investor, to discuss diversification, rare earth metals, and a unique agricultural investment opportunity. Lou, who splits his time between Europe and Latin America, emphasizes the importance of global diversification for peace of mind and flexibility. He highlights the geopolitical dynamics affecting rare earth metals, where China dominates the refining process, and discusses the increasing demand due to restricted exports. Transitioning from metals to agriculture, Lou introduces his truffle farm investment. Leveraging agri-science and Ireland's favorable climate, the project offers investors ownership of inoculated truffle trees with professional farm management. Returns are projected to begin in year 4-5 and continue for up to 40 years, offering IRRs between 14% to 69% based on historical truffle prices. Risks include mismanagement and natural elements, though strong biosecurity and proven success mitigate concerns. Lou finishes with a valuable mindset tip: improve by 1% daily to compound results over time. Bullet Point Highlights: Diversification across countries and industries provides flexibility and peace of mind China's control of rare earth refining and export restrictions create scarcity and opportunity Truffle farm investment offers strong IRR potential, with returns starting in years 4-5 and lasting 30-40 years Minimum $30K investment includes 400 saplings and full farm management with a 70/30 profit split Primary risks are mismanagement and nature, mitigated through biosecurity and replacement guarantees Lou's golden nugget: Focus on improving 1% daily to unlock exponential long-term growth Transcript: (Seth Bradley) (00:02.062) What's up, builders? This is Raise the Bar Radio, where we talk about building wealth, raising capital, and all in all, raising the bar in your business and your life. This is the No BS podcast for capital raisers, investors, and entrepreneurs who are serious about scaling their business and living life on their own terms. I'm Seth Bradley, securities attorney, real estate investor, and entrepreneur, bringing you world-class strategies from the best in the game.   If you're ready to raise more capital, close bigger deals, build a better you and create true financial freedom, you're in the right place. Let's go. Lou, what's going on, brother? Welcome back to the show.   Thank you very much Seth. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. Good to see you again.   Yeah, absolutely man. Great to catch up with you. Are you tuning in from where?   Well, in Europe still, you know, I'm back and forth between Ireland, Germany, mostly, a little bit of time in Panama as well, because my wife's from there, but I'm in temporary in Ireland, horse breeding country and agricultural heartland actually of Europe. And at the moment anyway, yeah, so in Europe.   (Seth Bradley) (01:16.664) awesome, awesome. That's the beauty of being on a video conference call that you can talk to anyone from anywhere in the world now. That's the one good thing that came out of COVID is it made it normal to do it.   Yeah, it's funny, unbelievable. Just yesterday I was contacted actually by CNBC in the US, I'm in Europe, about the metals. We're not talking about metals today, but I've spoken with you before about the rare earth metals. And I guess the US chamber, secretary chamber of commerce is in China this week because China is restricting the export of certain technology metals and that's their area.   And within a day, there's like an hour after I speak with you, I'm doing an interview with CNBC on, I think it's Power Launch or something they call it. So it's fascinating really how quickly you can sort of ping around the globe and find somebody and do this.   Yeah, yeah, very cool, very cool, man. Well, thanks for taking the time to tune in with us today. And we've got a brand new thing to talk about and we'll jump into that. But before we do, just for listeners who didn't listen to your previous episode, give us a little bit about your background and your story. Just a general synopsis,   Sure, thank you. Yeah, so I'm obviously, you can tell from the accent, I'm Irish or Scottish or Australian, but it's Irish. And I suppose you could say I'm bit of a world traveler who has come back home specifically for this project we're going to talk about. Ireland is known as sort of the breadbasket of Europe. But yeah, I lived in Germany for 10 years, lived in Central America and traveled extensively in South America during that time.   (Louis O'Connor) (03:05.422) But my niche, if you will, you know one other business we're involved in. And my niche, what I'm looking for is always what I call, I don't know what you might call it in the US, but we sort of call it a path of progress play here, which is if you sort of look at an industry or a product, what's happened in the last 10 years, or even a country or even a business for that matter, if you look at what's happened in the last 10, you can sort of   have a look at likely what's going to happen in the next 10. So I'm always looking for somewhere where demand is increasing and supply is either going to be limited or subject to disruption and somehow, and that's what we will be talking to an agricultural product and we'll talk more about it. But I like to be diversified in every way. So I have business in Germany, this agricultural product is in Ireland.   I do my banking in Belize and Panama and different parts of Europe. So just trying to be as diversified as possible.   Right, right. And that's part of your kind of plan as well, right? Like to be kind of this international man of mystery, right? Like you have different ties to a couple of different countries, which gives you flexibility in case something goes wrong in one of them, right? Like, you know, I think a lot of people were worried here for a while and I think it's still in the back of people's minds in the United States about, you know, the strength of the dollar and   You know, people were talking about getting a second citizenship and things like that. Can you speak to that a little bit about kind of, you know, how you've done that and what your kind of thoughts and feelings are around that?   (Louis O'Connor) (04:46.552) Sure, sure. Well, you my feeling always has this peace of mind, you know, I just want peace of mind. I want to be at peace with myself and the world around me. that's, I mean, I'm probably talking about more philosophically and spiritually as well, but also, you know, in business or residencies or banking. I suppose it's because I left Ireland quite young and I did live.   I didn't just go on a vacation somewhere. lived in Germany for 10 years. I learned the language. Ireland is an island, even though we're part of Europe, continental Europe is completely different. And then I went to Latin America, which is a completely different kettle of fish altogether. And I suppose it was those experiences that the perspective that gave me was that, that sounds very simple, really, root of entry, but there's...   there's good and bad, know, you we do certain things in Ireland very well, and maybe other things not so well in Germany, they do, you know, they've made better cars and better roads. And we do and you know, Latin America, I think they dance better and drink better maybe than you know, but so yeah, what I learned is, you know, you know, you can pick is a bit like life can be a bit like a buffet, and you can pick what you like, and you know what you don't like leave behind, you know, so and the idea, I suppose the point I should make is that   What I've learned is it's not expensive or difficult to be diversified. Like have your banking in different jurisdictions really doesn't cost anything. Having a second or third residency if you do the right homework on I'll go into more detail if you want. have residency still in Panama and I three passports. I'm working on the fourth and it has been a little bit of effort but not expensive or costly.   And will I ever use it? I worried that the world's going to end? No. But it's just that peace of mind you have when you've got these other options that, God forbid if something did happen here in Ireland or Europe, I have a residency in Panama, I banking there. So it's just that, suppose it's like having a parachute or a safety net that's always there.   (Seth Bradley) (07:00.13) Yeah, yeah, I agree. mean, that's, you know, especially the way that things are today and people kind of just worry about things generally, right? If you have that peace of mind and you have that, you know, second or third option, it's just something that can kind of let you sleep at night a little bit better. It's like having a nest egg or, you know, having a second, third, fourth, fifth stream of income.   things like that that can let you sleep at night and while other people are panicking and worrying and making, you know, maybe even bad decisions based on that, you know, based on those worries, you can sleep soundly and make decisions that are best for you.   Yeah, yeah, and you're not limited, know, if you're just, you know, like, I mean, it's funny though, as well, I think it's timely. I think the time has come. I you see people, you know, we were chatting earlier, you know, being involved in multiple different industries and, you know, with technology, we're allowed to do that. We can reside in one country, we can do our bank in another, we can do our tax responsibility somewhere else, we can do our business. So it's probably just in the last 20, 30 years that we can move so freely.   with all this stuff, know, you know, only maybe 25, 30 years ago, I wanted to, I couldn't really do business in Germany, but live in Ireland, it'd have to be one or the other. There was no internet, you know, everything. So, so yeah, I think, I think we're heading in that direction anyway. And it's just, yeah, there's great freedom in it and great peace of mind, even though, you know, I mean, I'll be in Ireland for, you know, my two kids are, there's another six or eight years.   before they finish school. So I plan to be here, but I just have other options as well, you know.   (Seth Bradley) (08:41.42) Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. And speaking of diversification, mean, your investments are very diverse, right? I mean, in the previous episode, we jumped into rare earth metals. And then in this episode, we're going to jump into something new. Before we jump into the new thing, though, give us a little update on what has changed in your business with the rare earth metals or if anything has changed or how those things are going.   Yeah, well, thanks. Thanks for asking, Seth. Since we spoke, actually, the big news is just in the last 60 days, I think I mentioned to you that China pretty much sort of dominates the rare earth industry. it's, I think really, it's possible and we understand now that China sort of saw before the EU and maybe before the US or they understood at least that rare earths would become   the backbone of manufacturing in the 21st century and they've been, you know, they've taken action on that. So we're in a situation now and it's not really an economic strategy. It's more of a geopolitical strategy that China has big plans for electric cars, big plans for solar, big plans for wind. you know, they, they've hundreds of million people, they're, taken out of the poverty, into the middle class all the time. So sort of   thinking strategically and long term, they rightfully secured their supply of rare earths. And what happened just in the last 60 days is the US sort of initiated a sort of a block. Now it was also supported by Holland and Japan and they're blocking sort of the latest sort of semiconductor technology from going to China. And in retaliation for that, China   You know, they have, you know, an ace up their sleeve, which is where it hurts. So the West has the technology and China has the raw materials. And just in the last 60 days, China has said they're going to, well, effective August 1, which is a month ago, they're restricting the export now of gallium and germanium, which is two of these technology metals, and that China, you know, is responsible for 95 % of the global production. so we're seeing the prices go up and this is sort of.   (Louis O'Connor) (10:57.826) what I talked to you about that these metals are in demand on a good day, you know, you will make a nice return. But if something like this happens where China sort of weaponizes these metals economically, then you'll see prices increasing quite dramatically, which they are. Yeah, that's that's what's happening there. It's basically a market where there's surging demand and you have sort of political landscapes affecting as well. So   It makes for interesting investment.   Yeah, yeah. Are these rare earth metals, are they not something that we can mine or is it something we're not willing to mine, like let's say in the West?   (Louis O'Connor) (11:44.142) Yeah, good question actually. that actually gets right to the heart of it, Seth, because despite the name rare earths, they're not all that rare. Some of them are as sort of common as copper and stuff, but there's about eight or ten of them that are rare and they are available in the US. But this is what's changed dramatically in the last 30 years is the rare earths don't occur naturally. So they always occur as a byproduct of another raw material.   They're sort of, they're very chemically similar. they're, sort of all stuck together. So they have to be extracted and separated and then refined and processed into, you know, high purity levels for jet engines or smartphones or whatever the case might be. what's happened where China dominates is, is China is responsible for 95 % of the refining. Now there's about 200 or sorry, $390 billion available in subsidies in the U S.   from the Inflation Reduction Act, which despite the name is all about energy transition. And that's all very well, except the human capital and the engineering expertise to refine rare earths is depleted in, it doesn't exist in Europe, and it's very much depleted in the US. Just to give you some context, there's 39 universities in China, where they graduate degrees in critical minerals.   So the Chinese are graduating about 200 metallurgists a week, every week for the last 30 years. I think the US has a handful of universities. I'd say there's probably 300,000 metallurgists in China and there might be 400 in the US and probably none in Europe at all. So it's not just a question of if they're there, it's how do we get them into 99.99 % purity? Without the engineering expertise, we can't, not anytime soon anyway.   Wow, yeah, yeah. mean, that just alone sounds like a recipe for a pretty good play for an investment. you know, there's these bottlenecks, right? Whether that's people that can refine it or the actual element itself or willingness to mine it, you know, all these different things come into play to make it a good investment. All right, let's switch over a little bit here. Let's talk about the new investment vehicle.   (Seth Bradley) (14:06.99) that you talked to me about. It's an agricultural play, correct? we're talking about truffles, talking about mushrooms, right? Tell me a little bit about it just to get started here.   Okay, well, you probably I mean, you know, truffles are in the culinary world, they're known as the black diamond of the kitchen, you know, they're, they're a delicacy going back to, you know, thousands and thousands of years. Traditionally, the black perigord, which is the Mediterranean truffle would have originated in France, but for the last sort of, you know, the last 100 years or so,   they've been growing abundantly in sort of South, Southwestern France, Northern Spain and Italy. So traditionally, you know, that's where they grow and they sort of, know, because the truffle, as you said, it's a mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with a a native tree, an oak tree or hazel tree or sometimes beech. So it's a very delicate balance, you know.   And although I have invested in agriculture before, we started, we, I mean, a collective does not just me involved here, and I don't want to sound like I take credit for any of this really. I was just a part of a team where we had some agri-science people, and we had sort of four generational farmers involved. But we were looking at, it is no question that climate, there's a climate change, right?   It doesn't matter to me whether people, whatever the causes of that are, the reality is if you talk to an olive grower or a truffle grower in Italy or France, they'll tell you the climate has changed because their harvests have been decreasing for about the last 30 to 40 years actually, but really more so in the last 10. So we were sort of, I'll tell you basically the AgriScience partner involved in this.   (Louis O'Connor) (16:10.958) As a test back in 2005, they started to plant and the trees inoculated, the baby trees inoculated with the truffle sort of in the root system as a test all over different countries, not just Ireland, England, UK, also the US. So this has been in sort of research and development since about 2005.   And we got seriously involved in about 2015 when history was made and this Mediterranean truffle was grown here in the British Isles for the first time. we then with our agriscience partner in 2015 planted a thousand trees in five different locations in Ireland where I am.   and one of them is about 20 minutes away from me here. They're all secret locations. I won't even tell you where they are because they really are. They're highly valued or highly prized. And so it takes about four or five years to see if you're a business. So yeah, we now are growing the Mediterranean truffle, not just in Ireland, but in other parts of the UK. But the real interesting thing, Seth, it's just now ready for scale. And all of the farmers,   who were involved in the original research. None of them are going to take it to scale. The one that's local to me is a lovely gentleman. in his 60s and he planted a thousand trees really just as a retirement. His daughter works in banking in Switzerland and so there's nobody really to take over the farm. So we're the first to do it with scale. So we're inviting in...   a portion of some investors in as well.   (Seth Bradley) (18:05.87) Gotcha. Are there specific, I assume there are, are specific growing conditions where these things can prosper? Like I can't, I'm in San Diego, I can't just plant them in my backyard and wait five years and be a millionaire.   Well, if you you if I hear you're growing truffles death, you know, we should assign an NDA we should assign. You could try but no, they wouldn't grow in San Diego because I mean, there's a very delicate balance and you're what you're you're what you're using here is agri science and nature. You're working with nature. And because the reason they've grown so well in demand is   No way.   (Louis O'Connor) (18:48.738) just because of that balance up they get a sort of a dry season or sort of they got to get a lot of rain and then they get the dry season and what's happened is they're getting more drought and less rain and it's just upset the balance. So it's a very, very delicate balance. But what people wouldn't know, I think, is that truffles have always grown wild in Ireland.   There was a time five or 600 years ago when Ireland was 85 % forest and our native tree is the oak and the hazel tree, is the tree that's also where the fungus grows. And what happened was when the Brits were before, you know, when shipbuilding was the thing and the British Navy were, you know, the Spanish were, so the Brits sort of chopped down a lot of the forest for the wood for shipbuilding. you know, our forests were depleted. But to this day,   Truffles do still grow wild here, but we're doing it differently. know, we're only planting on land where you have like certain protein and pH levels and limestone. And then we're planting baby saplings that are already two years old that were inoculated with the truffle fungus like at birth, like in the root system. And we only plant them after we see that the root system and the fungi are already thriving.   So if you get into the right soil and it's already thriving, then two, three, four years later, you'll get truffles.   (Seth Bradley) (20:17.216) the interruption, but we don't do ads. Instead, know that if you're raising capital for real estate, my law firm, RaiseLaw, is here to give you the expert legal guidance you need to raise capital compliantly and structure and close your deal. And if you're looking for a done-for-you fund-to-fund solution, Tribest is the industry's only all-in-one setup and fund administration solution. Visit Raise.Law and Tribest.com to learn more.   That's awesome. just, I think about like wine and like, you know, you can grow it, you know, vines in different places. Some places they grow, some places they don't, some places they grow and the result isn't good and some places they grow and the result is awesome. It's probably a very delicate balance between, you know, environment plus how they're raised, how they're taken care of and all those sorts of things.   It is 100%. I mean, first and foremost, mean, because of angry science and technology today, you know, I mean, we can plant baby saplings that are already and not, I mean, we're playing God a little bit with nature, but you know, I mean, it's just amazing, you know, like you could do it. And then, you know, the biggest threat is actually mismanagement. You know, if you don't then manage it correctly. If you have a root system inoculated with the fungus and you have the right soil conditions,   after that and it's management and it's sort of bio security meaning they have a very pungent smell. mean, squirrels and pigs and they love them. They love to eat. So you have to, mean, you're literally it's like protecting a bank, know, you have a bio security fence. You've you know, you limit visitations to the farm, you've, know, special footwear and cleaning and stuff. so yeah, it's serious stuff, you know.   Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. Well, let's dive in a little bit to the kind of the investment itself. Like what does that look like for an investor? Like what are your projected returns? You know, what, how does it all kind of, how does it all shape out? Like you've grown these wildly valuable truffles and now I guess the first step would be what's the business plan? Who are we selling these truffles to? What makes them so valuable? And then get into kind of the investor   (Seth Bradley) (22:33.794) portion like how would someone get involved in whether projector returns.   Okay, so we sell, first of all, the estate that the farm is, it's called Chan Valley Estate. People can Google it, it's beautiful. It's 200 acres of north-temporary farmland. The estate itself, it's a bit like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. It's a Georgian.   a three story Georgian home, it's over 200 years old. It's also a museum and we have events there and it's also a working farm. And it's a herbal farm. So we grow plants and herbs there that we then we have our own, we work the value chain where we also sell those herbs for medicinal purpose and we convert them into medicinal oils and things like that. So the location is already up and running.   And what we're doing with the truffles is for every acre, we can plant 800 trees. And so what we're doing is we're offering investors, well, a client, the minimum investment is $30,000 and the investor for that price gets 400 baby saplings already inoculated with the truffle fungus. And then they get the farm management   included up to the first four to five years. takes about, there'll be truffles after, bearing in mind that the sapling, the baby tree is two years old. So after three years in the ground, it's already five years old and there'll be truffles then and the returns don't begin until then. But what's included in the price is all the farm management, know, all the, you know, the,   (Louis O'Connor) (24:23.508) implementation of the farm, the irrigation, the electricity, the hardware that's needed. So all the management right up until there is production and then when they're producing, the investor gets 70 % of the growth and the farm management company, we get 30%. So it's a 70-30 split. Now the great thing about the oak and the hazel is they'll produce   for 30 to 40 years. it's a long term, it's a legacy investment, you might call it, because you won't see returns until the fourth or fifth year. But once you do, you'll see returns then for another 30 to 35 years. And they're very, very good. mean, we have three numbers in the brochure. We looked at what's...   price half the truffles never dropped below. So we have the very low estimate, which is they've never gone below this price. That brings in an IRR, which would be from day one of about 14%. And then the highest that they've sold for, you're looking at about 69%, but the average is about 38%.   So the returns will be very, very good once production kicks in and then they'll maintain. We've included an inflation for 30 to 40 years. I hope, I think I answered everything there.   Yeah, definitely. sorry. I gave you about six questions there to answer in a row. But yeah, I think you covered everything. And having an IRR, which is time-based on something that has this long of a horizon and even takes four or five years to even start producing, those are really, really strong numbers.   (Louis O'Connor) (26:23.63) Yeah, well, again, even the, you know, one of the reasons obviously we like truffles because they're very, very expensive. mean, they're a luxury product. You know, we're about an hour from Shannon Airport here, which is the transatlantic hub between Europe and the U.S. So we can have truffles in U.S. or anywhere in Europe or even the Middle East or the Far East, for that matter, in less than 24 hours. that's important as well. But they're a luxury item. There's huge demand for them. mean,   You know how the world is. mean, there are, unfortunately, you know, there's always sort of, people are getting richer and some people maybe are getting poorer. But the luxury, you know, high end market and the culinary, international culinary explosion means that, you know, there's huge demand for truffles. And also you have to factor in the fact that the harvests in the Mediterranean are less and less every year. And I mean, very, very sadly,   I mean, it's an opportunity for us, but very sadly that they've done very specific scientific studies and it's going to over the next 50 years, the truffle harvests in the Med will go will decline between 73 and 100%. So literally, they will not be growing truffles there in 50 plus years from now. So that's an opportunity for us. you know, again,   We've been working on this really since 2015. And it was only, you know, it was only 2019, 2020 when we began to get to truffles we knew because there was no guarantee, you know. But yeah, now that we're growing them, we just need to scale up.   Gotcha. Gotcha. what's kind of the I see that you know, for that minimum investment, you get X number of baby saplings. How many was that again? 400. That's what I Okay, 400. What's kind of the survival rate, I guess, of those saplings? Do you have kind of a percentage on that? Is it like?   (Louis O'Connor) (28:17.102) 400   (Louis O'Connor) (28:27.086) Yeah, well, we expect you got what's happening so far is within in about year three, which is actually year five, because the sapling, you should get three of the five trees producing. But once you have production, once that fungi is thriving, it will just continue to grow. So in year four, you should have four of them. In year five, you should have all of them producing.   Now we also put a guarantee in the farm management contract that if any tree, you know, if it dies or if it's not, you know, producing truffles, we'll replace it free of charge at any time. in the event, you know, for some reason, I mean, we put a tree in that's inoculated and it doesn't take, then we just replace it. So either way, over the first four to five years, we get them all. And the great thing is if you protect that soil from   pests and diseases and other sort of unwelcome sort of mycorrhizal or fungi, then it will thrive. It will thrive. It'll keep, you know, it'll spread, you know, it's a symbiotic relationship underground between the tree and the fungi.   Got it. Yeah, that's awesome to know. like survival is not one of the things that we should consider because if for some reason it wouldn't survive or is not producing, then it just gets replaced. So you actually are getting those full 400 saplings turning into trees that will be producing.   almost they mature and produce and you know as I said barring you know any pests or diseases or you know interference then they just continue you just protect them you just allow nature then to do its work.   (Seth Bradley) (30:18.848) Yeah, yeah. So what are some of the risks then? What are the downsides that you can foresee if something were to go wrong? What would it be?   Well, the greatest threat is mismanagement, literally. I obviously we're doing this with scale, so it's a professional endeavor, you know, people from time to time, know, I mean, some of the test sites here, mean, I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and they're not that hard to manage, but people just lose interest, or the younger kids don't want to farm. But the greatest threat is mismanagement. So as long as you put in these biosecurity measures,   and manage, you know, there's got to be some clearing done, there's got to be some pruning done, there's got to be tree guards. So there is a process involved in bringing them to nurturing them along and then keeping everything, you know, neutral, if you will. that's first, weather is always, you know, factor in agriculture. We don't feel it's as much of a threat here, because although we're for the first time,   growing the Mediterranean truffle. Truffles have grown, they grow here wild anyway. So the climate is right and has been right for thousands of years in Ireland. So, you know, and again, we'll have irrigation as well. You know, we get a lot of rain here. It's not likely we'll need any more rain, but yeah, we, you know, the agri-science will kick in there as well. And then, you know, as I said, like,   you know, biosecurity we call it, which is, you know, very, very serious fencing, limited visits to the farm, know, special footwear if people are going up to the area and sort of rinse. We have a pool area where they have to disinfect before they go into, you know, it's a very, very, very protected area from pests and from diseases or anything, you know, that could be brought in from the outside on whether that's machinery or humans.   (Louis O'Connor) (32:22.892) So yeah, it's almost like a laboratory. mean, you keep it very, very delicate balance and keep it very limited on who visits and, you know, people are a visit, but they have to be properly, you know, the feet have to be cleaned and footwear has to be worn and stuff like that. So, but, know, at the end of the day, Seth, it's, you know, well, any investment really, but agriculture, you know, the final say is in nature's hands, you know, not ours. mean, we...   We like to think, suppose, we're in the results business, but the reality is we're not. in the planning business and all we can do is plan everything as well as we can. It's just like, you if you planted a rose, you know, bush out in your backyard there today, you wouldn't stand outside and will it to grow, right? You know, grow quicker. You know, we have to allow nature and the cosmos to do its work. so yeah, nature has the final say, you know.   Yeah, yeah, no, totally, totally understand. And any investment has its risks, whether you're investing in truffles or real estate or any of the above. Quick question on this. Don't want to paint you like in a bad way at all, but we have had and it's not you, of course, of course, but we've had an influx of bad sponsors and people that are anything from mismanaging investor capital on one end, which can happen pretty easily. And there's not a whole lot of   Not a lot of bad blood there. Things happen. And then on the other side of the spectrum, we've seen everything from fraud to Ponzi schemes and all kinds of stuff lately. One thing that I tell investors is to make sure you know who you're investing with and make sure your investing dollars are actually getting invested where they're supposed to. Could an investor invest with you and actually go to the farm?   and see their saplings or see the farm and see this business.   (Louis O'Connor) (34:24.654) 100 % in fact, we would rather people do I mean, I it's not always possible. Right. But Shan Valley Estate, I mean, I'll give you the website and stuff after Shan Valley Estate. It's a 200 acre farm. It's already a museum. have events there. It's a herb dispensary as I said, as I said, it's our our manage our farm management partner is the Duggan family, their fourth generation farmers and they're being in temporary, you know,   longer than that even. absolutely, you you know, of course, there's legal contracts. mean, people get a legal contract for the purchase of the trees and then we have a legal contract for the farm management that we're responsible for implementing the project, we're responsible for bringing the hard, the trees to truffles to harvest. But we do, we just beginning, we just had our first tour, but it was sort of Europe from Germany. Last, sorry,   the 18th, 19th of August. But we will be having tours every quarter. And if anybody wants to come at any time, we'd be delighted to have them because it's like I said, it's like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. And we've accommodated, we converted the stables into accommodation, you know, because we have weddings and events and stuff there as well. It's not just a field that we bought.   Yeah.   And so it's a big deal. I'll give you the website. The location is spectacular and clients can, you know, stay the night, you know, and there's a three story Georgian estate house and the bottom floor is a museum. So it's like walking into a pharmacy from 1840, all the bottles and the counter is 200 years old, you know, and then the middle level, we've an organic vegetarian restaurant, all the   (Louis O'Connor) (36:17.24) food is grown on the farm. There's an old walled garden that they used to wall the gardens years ago to keep out the pests. And all the food that's served is grown on the farm. And then the top floor is accommodation as well and the stables have been converted. look, it's all about trust, Seth. And, you know, I would say to anybody, you've   I mean myself, if I have any doubt about anything, don't do it. And it might not be that somebody's a scam or a fraud, it's just if you're not 100 % sure about it, don't touch it. But what I would recommend is people do their due diligence because we've done ours. We've eight years invested in it, put a lot of time and effort into it. And at the very least, we'd like people to check it out and see it all the way through.   for what it is. yeah, we'll be, we're hoping to, we have a partner in Europe and we're to connect with somebody in North America. I don't want name anybody here because it might not come off, but there's a few sort of marketers and there's plenty obviously that we might sort of do a sort of an agreement with where they'll, you know, I mean, we could even have sort of investment real estate conferences on the farm.   you know, and do farm tours as well. so definitely 100 % we'd love for people to visit and, and they get to drink some Guinness and they're really brave, they can swim in the Irish sea.   Yeah, and I'm looking at the website right now. We'll drop that in the show notes, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, it's making me want to get on a plane right now and check it out. It's incredible.   (Louis O'Connor) (38:00.046) Yeah, that's the estate, shambali.ie. I mean, what I love about it's 100 % organic or members of the Irish Organic Association, track ref, fourth generation. You know, this is not me, I'm a part of this, but the farm management team are, you know, they're already like growing herbs and plants and converting them to medicinal, you know, oils and things. And this is just another, it's more of a farming enterprise, I suppose, than a farm.   And then the other partner is the Agri Science Partner, which is this team of scientists who basically made history by growing for the very first time eight years ago, the black, the Mediterranean truffle in Ireland, you know, so there's a lot of professionalism and thought and effort being put into a chap.   Love that. Love that man. Is there anything else about this type of investment that I didn't ask about that I should have?   I think you know Seth, you should be on CNN or something because I you did. I'm pretty sure you did, you definitely covered it. I mean I may have left something out but I think it's a good foundation for somebody if they're interested, I'll give them my email and you know it's not that expensive to get to Europe and it's a great way to mix a holiday and you know come to the farm and stuff you know.   Absolutely, absolutely. Well, since you're repeat guest of the guest of the show, we won't go into the freedom for but you have one last golden nugget for our listeners.   (Louis O'Connor) (39:34.446) You know, I knew you were going to ask me that, Seth, you caught me off guard. So I have one ready and I stole this from someone else. So I'm not going to take it. But I was listening to a guy last week and he, sort of a big operation in Europe. And he was talking about a phrase they have in the office and it's 1%. And they always look at each other and when you pass them, they go 1%. And I love what it's about. It's about the idea that in a way it sort of comes back to what we talked about earlier, which is forget about.   Yeah.   (Louis O'Connor) (40:04.664) the fact don't think you're in the results business. You're in the planning business. And the 1 % is every day, try and improve every little action. I'm not just talking about work. I'm talking about family, your spiritual practice, if you have one, increase it by 1 % every day. And you know, it's like compound interest, isn't it? That in a way, then you don't have to worry about the big picture. And the results will just look after themselves then, you know.   Yeah, yeah, I love that man. Always improve. mean, you you've got to take small steps to get to those big goals. And a lot of times you just need to ask yourself, did I improve 1 % today? If the answer is yes, then it was a successful day.   Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it's great because, you know, if I was to try and think now, or you were to try and think now, everything you have to do in the next three weeks, right, you just be overwhelmed, right. And sometimes my head is like that, you know, I mean, I've got meditation practice and stuff, but I watch my thoughts and you know, I mean, it's it's a fact. I mean, it's a human condition. I don't know, some disestimates of how many thoughts do we have a day? How many are repetitive and how many are useless?   A lot of them are repetitive, a lot of them are useless. So it's good just to narrow it right down to what's the next thing I can do right now and can I do it 1 % better than I did yesterday, you know?   Absolutely. Love that man. All right, Lou, we're gonna let us find out more about you.   (Louis O'Connor) (41:34.954) Okay, so they can email me. It's Truffle Farm Invest. Sorry, it's a new website www.trufflefarminvest.com or they can if somebody from your your audience wants to email me directly, it's louis at trufflefarminvest.com   Alright, perfect man. We'll drop all that in the show notes. Thanks again for coming on the show. Always a pleasure, brother.   Thank you very much, Seth. A pleasure.   (Seth Bradley) (42:08.088) Thanks for tuning in to Raise the Bar Radio. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Keep pushing, keep building, and keep raising the bar. Until next time, enjoy the journey. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Louis O'Connor's Links: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054362234822 https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-o-connor-a583341b8/ https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/08/30/strategic-metals-founder-louis-oaconnor-breaks-down-china-u-s-rare-metal-wars.html

Title: Rare Earths to Truffles: Diversified Investments You've Never Heard Of with Louis O'Connor Summary: In this episode of Raise the Bar Radio, Seth Bradley welcomes back Lou, an international investor, to discuss diversification, rare earth metals, and a unique agricultural investment opportunity. Lou, who splits his time between Europe and Latin America, emphasizes the importance of global diversification for peace of mind and flexibility. He highlights the geopolitical dynamics affecting rare earth metals, where China dominates the refining process, and discusses the increasing demand due to restricted exports. Transitioning from metals to agriculture, Lou introduces his truffle farm investment. Leveraging agri-science and Ireland's favorable climate, the project offers investors ownership of inoculated truffle trees with professional farm management. Returns are projected to begin in year 4-5 and continue for up to 40 years, offering IRRs between 14% to 69% based on historical truffle prices. Risks include mismanagement and natural elements, though strong biosecurity and proven success mitigate concerns. Lou finishes with a valuable mindset tip: improve by 1% daily to compound results over time. Bullet Point Highlights: Diversification across countries and industries provides flexibility and peace of mind China's control of rare earth refining and export restrictions create scarcity and opportunity Truffle farm investment offers strong IRR potential, with returns starting in years 4-5 and lasting 30-40 years Minimum $30K investment includes 400 saplings and full farm management with a 70/30 profit split Primary risks are mismanagement and nature, mitigated through biosecurity and replacement guarantees Lou's golden nugget: Focus on improving 1% daily to unlock exponential long-term growth Transcript: (Seth Bradley) (00:02.062) What's up, builders? This is Raise the Bar Radio, where we talk about building wealth, raising capital, and all in all, raising the bar in your business and your life. This is the No BS podcast for capital raisers, investors, and entrepreneurs who are serious about scaling their business and living life on their own terms. I'm Seth Bradley, securities attorney, real estate investor, and entrepreneur, bringing you world-class strategies from the best in the game.   If you're ready to raise more capital, close bigger deals, build a better you and create true financial freedom, you're in the right place. Let's go. Lou, what's going on, brother? Welcome back to the show.   Thank you very much Seth. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. Good to see you again.   Yeah, absolutely man. Great to catch up with you. Are you tuning in from where?   Well, in Europe still, you know, I'm back and forth between Ireland, Germany, mostly, a little bit of time in Panama as well, because my wife's from there, but I'm in temporary in Ireland, horse breeding country and agricultural heartland actually of Europe. And at the moment anyway, yeah, so in Europe.   (Seth Bradley) (01:16.664) awesome, awesome. That's the beauty of being on a video conference call that you can talk to anyone from anywhere in the world now. That's the one good thing that came out of COVID is it made it normal to do it.   Yeah, it's funny, unbelievable. Just yesterday I was contacted actually by CNBC in the US, I'm in Europe, about the metals. We're not talking about metals today, but I've spoken with you before about the rare earth metals. And I guess the US chamber, secretary chamber of commerce is in China this week because China is restricting the export of certain technology metals and that's their area.   And within a day, there's like an hour after I speak with you, I'm doing an interview with CNBC on, I think it's Power Launch or something they call it. So it's fascinating really how quickly you can sort of ping around the globe and find somebody and do this.   Yeah, yeah, very cool, very cool, man. Well, thanks for taking the time to tune in with us today. And we've got a brand new thing to talk about and we'll jump into that. But before we do, just for listeners who didn't listen to your previous episode, give us a little bit about your background and your story. Just a general synopsis,   Sure, thank you. Yeah, so I'm obviously, you can tell from the accent, I'm Irish or Scottish or Australian, but it's Irish. And I suppose you could say I'm bit of a world traveler who has come back home specifically for this project we're going to talk about. Ireland is known as sort of the breadbasket of Europe. But yeah, I lived in Germany for 10 years, lived in Central America and traveled extensively in South America during that time.   (Louis O'Connor) (03:05.422) But my niche, if you will, you know one other business we're involved in. And my niche, what I'm looking for is always what I call, I don't know what you might call it in the US, but we sort of call it a path of progress play here, which is if you sort of look at an industry or a product, what's happened in the last 10 years, or even a country or even a business for that matter, if you look at what's happened in the last 10, you can sort of   have a look at likely what's going to happen in the next 10. So I'm always looking for somewhere where demand is increasing and supply is either going to be limited or subject to disruption and somehow, and that's what we will be talking to an agricultural product and we'll talk more about it. But I like to be diversified in every way. So I have business in Germany, this agricultural product is in Ireland.   I do my banking in Belize and Panama and different parts of Europe. So just trying to be as diversified as possible.   Right, right. And that's part of your kind of plan as well, right? Like to be kind of this international man of mystery, right? Like you have different ties to a couple of different countries, which gives you flexibility in case something goes wrong in one of them, right? Like, you know, I think a lot of people were worried here for a while and I think it's still in the back of people's minds in the United States about, you know, the strength of the dollar and   You know, people were talking about getting a second citizenship and things like that. Can you speak to that a little bit about kind of, you know, how you've done that and what your kind of thoughts and feelings are around that?   (Louis O'Connor) (04:46.552) Sure, sure. Well, you my feeling always has this peace of mind, you know, I just want peace of mind. I want to be at peace with myself and the world around me. that's, I mean, I'm probably talking about more philosophically and spiritually as well, but also, you know, in business or residencies or banking. I suppose it's because I left Ireland quite young and I did live.   I didn't just go on a vacation somewhere. lived in Germany for 10 years. I learned the language. Ireland is an island, even though we're part of Europe, continental Europe is completely different. And then I went to Latin America, which is a completely different kettle of fish altogether. And I suppose it was those experiences that the perspective that gave me was that, that sounds very simple, really, root of entry, but there's...   there's good and bad, know, you we do certain things in Ireland very well, and maybe other things not so well in Germany, they do, you know, they've made better cars and better roads. And we do and you know, Latin America, I think they dance better and drink better maybe than you know, but so yeah, what I learned is, you know, you know, you can pick is a bit like life can be a bit like a buffet, and you can pick what you like, and you know what you don't like leave behind, you know, so and the idea, I suppose the point I should make is that   What I've learned is it's not expensive or difficult to be diversified. Like have your banking in different jurisdictions really doesn't cost anything. Having a second or third residency if you do the right homework on I'll go into more detail if you want. have residency still in Panama and I three passports. I'm working on the fourth and it has been a little bit of effort but not expensive or costly.   And will I ever use it? I worried that the world's going to end? No. But it's just that peace of mind you have when you've got these other options that, God forbid if something did happen here in Ireland or Europe, I have a residency in Panama, I banking there. So it's just that, suppose it's like having a parachute or a safety net that's always there.   (Seth Bradley) (07:00.13) Yeah, yeah, I agree. mean, that's, you know, especially the way that things are today and people kind of just worry about things generally, right? If you have that peace of mind and you have that, you know, second or third option, it's just something that can kind of let you sleep at night a little bit better. It's like having a nest egg or, you know, having a second, third, fourth, fifth stream of income.   things like that that can let you sleep at night and while other people are panicking and worrying and making, you know, maybe even bad decisions based on that, you know, based on those worries, you can sleep soundly and make decisions that are best for you.   Yeah, yeah, and you're not limited, know, if you're just, you know, like, I mean, it's funny though, as well, I think it's timely. I think the time has come. I you see people, you know, we were chatting earlier, you know, being involved in multiple different industries and, you know, with technology, we're allowed to do that. We can reside in one country, we can do our bank in another, we can do our tax responsibility somewhere else, we can do our business. So it's probably just in the last 20, 30 years that we can move so freely.   with all this stuff, know, you know, only maybe 25, 30 years ago, I wanted to, I couldn't really do business in Germany, but live in Ireland, it'd have to be one or the other. There was no internet, you know, everything. So, so yeah, I think, I think we're heading in that direction anyway. And it's just, yeah, there's great freedom in it and great peace of mind, even though, you know, I mean, I'll be in Ireland for, you know, my two kids are, there's another six or eight years.   before they finish school. So I plan to be here, but I just have other options as well, you know.   (Seth Bradley) (08:41.42) Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. And speaking of diversification, mean, your investments are very diverse, right? I mean, in the previous episode, we jumped into rare earth metals. And then in this episode, we're going to jump into something new. Before we jump into the new thing, though, give us a little update on what has changed in your business with the rare earth metals or if anything has changed or how those things are going.   Yeah, well, thanks. Thanks for asking, Seth. Since we spoke, actually, the big news is just in the last 60 days, I think I mentioned to you that China pretty much sort of dominates the rare earth industry. it's, I think really, it's possible and we understand now that China sort of saw before the EU and maybe before the US or they understood at least that rare earths would become   the backbone of manufacturing in the 21st century and they've been, you know, they've taken action on that. So we're in a situation now and it's not really an economic strategy. It's more of a geopolitical strategy that China has big plans for electric cars, big plans for solar, big plans for wind. you know, they, they've hundreds of million people, they're, taken out of the poverty, into the middle class all the time. So sort of   thinking strategically and long term, they rightfully secured their supply of rare earths. And what happened just in the last 60 days is the US sort of initiated a sort of a block. Now it was also supported by Holland and Japan and they're blocking sort of the latest sort of semiconductor technology from going to China. And in retaliation for that, China   You know, they have, you know, an ace up their sleeve, which is where it hurts. So the West has the technology and China has the raw materials. And just in the last 60 days, China has said they're going to, well, effective August 1, which is a month ago, they're restricting the export now of gallium and germanium, which is two of these technology metals, and that China, you know, is responsible for 95 % of the global production. so we're seeing the prices go up and this is sort of.   (Louis O'Connor) (10:57.826) what I talked to you about that these metals are in demand on a good day, you know, you will make a nice return. But if something like this happens where China sort of weaponizes these metals economically, then you'll see prices increasing quite dramatically, which they are. Yeah, that's that's what's happening there. It's basically a market where there's surging demand and you have sort of political landscapes affecting as well. So   It makes for interesting investment.   Yeah, yeah. Are these rare earth metals, are they not something that we can mine or is it something we're not willing to mine, like let's say in the West?   (Louis O'Connor) (11:44.142) Yeah, good question actually. that actually gets right to the heart of it, Seth, because despite the name rare earths, they're not all that rare. Some of them are as sort of common as copper and stuff, but there's about eight or ten of them that are rare and they are available in the US. But this is what's changed dramatically in the last 30 years is the rare earths don't occur naturally. So they always occur as a byproduct of another raw material.   They're sort of, they're very chemically similar. they're, sort of all stuck together. So they have to be extracted and separated and then refined and processed into, you know, high purity levels for jet engines or smartphones or whatever the case might be. what's happened where China dominates is, is China is responsible for 95 % of the refining. Now there's about 200 or sorry, $390 billion available in subsidies in the U S.   from the Inflation Reduction Act, which despite the name is all about energy transition. And that's all very well, except the human capital and the engineering expertise to refine rare earths is depleted in, it doesn't exist in Europe, and it's very much depleted in the US. Just to give you some context, there's 39 universities in China, where they graduate degrees in critical minerals.   So the Chinese are graduating about 200 metallurgists a week, every week for the last 30 years. I think the US has a handful of universities. I'd say there's probably 300,000 metallurgists in China and there might be 400 in the US and probably none in Europe at all. So it's not just a question of if they're there, it's how do we get them into 99.99 % purity? Without the engineering expertise, we can't, not anytime soon anyway.   Wow, yeah, yeah. mean, that just alone sounds like a recipe for a pretty good play for an investment. you know, there's these bottlenecks, right? Whether that's people that can refine it or the actual element itself or willingness to mine it, you know, all these different things come into play to make it a good investment. All right, let's switch over a little bit here. Let's talk about the new investment vehicle.   (Seth Bradley) (14:06.99) that you talked to me about. It's an agricultural play, correct? we're talking about truffles, talking about mushrooms, right? Tell me a little bit about it just to get started here.   Okay, well, you probably I mean, you know, truffles are in the culinary world, they're known as the black diamond of the kitchen, you know, they're, they're a delicacy going back to, you know, thousands and thousands of years. Traditionally, the black perigord, which is the Mediterranean truffle would have originated in France, but for the last sort of, you know, the last 100 years or so,   they've been growing abundantly in sort of South, Southwestern France, Northern Spain and Italy. So traditionally, you know, that's where they grow and they sort of, know, because the truffle, as you said, it's a mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with a a native tree, an oak tree or hazel tree or sometimes beech. So it's a very delicate balance, you know.   And although I have invested in agriculture before, we started, we, I mean, a collective does not just me involved here, and I don't want to sound like I take credit for any of this really. I was just a part of a team where we had some agri-science people, and we had sort of four generational farmers involved. But we were looking at, it is no question that climate, there's a climate change, right?   It doesn't matter to me whether people, whatever the causes of that are, the reality is if you talk to an olive grower or a truffle grower in Italy or France, they'll tell you the climate has changed because their harvests have been decreasing for about the last 30 to 40 years actually, but really more so in the last 10. So we were sort of, I'll tell you basically the AgriScience partner involved in this.   (Louis O'Connor) (16:10.958) As a test back in 2005, they started to plant and the trees inoculated, the baby trees inoculated with the truffle sort of in the root system as a test all over different countries, not just Ireland, England, UK, also the US. So this has been in sort of research and development since about 2005.   And we got seriously involved in about 2015 when history was made and this Mediterranean truffle was grown here in the British Isles for the first time. we then with our agriscience partner in 2015 planted a thousand trees in five different locations in Ireland where I am.   and one of them is about 20 minutes away from me here. They're all secret locations. I won't even tell you where they are because they really are. They're highly valued or highly prized. And so it takes about four or five years to see if you're a business. So yeah, we now are growing the Mediterranean truffle, not just in Ireland, but in other parts of the UK. But the real interesting thing, Seth, it's just now ready for scale. And all of the farmers,   who were involved in the original research. None of them are going to take it to scale. The one that's local to me is a lovely gentleman. in his 60s and he planted a thousand trees really just as a retirement. His daughter works in banking in Switzerland and so there's nobody really to take over the farm. So we're the first to do it with scale. So we're inviting in...   a portion of some investors in as well.   (Seth Bradley) (18:05.87) Gotcha. Are there specific, I assume there are, are specific growing conditions where these things can prosper? Like I can't, I'm in San Diego, I can't just plant them in my backyard and wait five years and be a millionaire.   Well, if you you if I hear you're growing truffles death, you know, we should assign an NDA we should assign. You could try but no, they wouldn't grow in San Diego because I mean, there's a very delicate balance and you're what you're you're what you're using here is agri science and nature. You're working with nature. And because the reason they've grown so well in demand is   No way.   (Louis O'Connor) (18:48.738) just because of that balance up they get a sort of a dry season or sort of they got to get a lot of rain and then they get the dry season and what's happened is they're getting more drought and less rain and it's just upset the balance. So it's a very, very delicate balance. But what people wouldn't know, I think, is that truffles have always grown wild in Ireland.   There was a time five or 600 years ago when Ireland was 85 % forest and our native tree is the oak and the hazel tree, is the tree that's also where the fungus grows. And what happened was when the Brits were before, you know, when shipbuilding was the thing and the British Navy were, you know, the Spanish were, so the Brits sort of chopped down a lot of the forest for the wood for shipbuilding. you know, our forests were depleted. But to this day,   Truffles do still grow wild here, but we're doing it differently. know, we're only planting on land where you have like certain protein and pH levels and limestone. And then we're planting baby saplings that are already two years old that were inoculated with the truffle fungus like at birth, like in the root system. And we only plant them after we see that the root system and the fungi are already thriving.   So if you get into the right soil and it's already thriving, then two, three, four years later, you'll get truffles.   (Seth Bradley) (20:17.216) the interruption, but we don't do ads. Instead, know that if you're raising capital for real estate, my law firm, RaiseLaw, is here to give you the expert legal guidance you need to raise capital compliantly and structure and close your deal. And if you're looking for a done-for-you fund-to-fund solution, Tribest is the industry's only all-in-one setup and fund administration solution. Visit Raise.Law and Tribest.com to learn more.   That's awesome. just, I think about like wine and like, you know, you can grow it, you know, vines in different places. Some places they grow, some places they don't, some places they grow and the result isn't good and some places they grow and the result is awesome. It's probably a very delicate balance between, you know, environment plus how they're raised, how they're taken care of and all those sorts of things.   It is 100%. I mean, first and foremost, mean, because of angry science and technology today, you know, I mean, we can plant baby saplings that are already and not, I mean, we're playing God a little bit with nature, but you know, I mean, it's just amazing, you know, like you could do it. And then, you know, the biggest threat is actually mismanagement. You know, if you don't then manage it correctly. If you have a root system inoculated with the fungus and you have the right soil conditions,   after that and it's management and it's sort of bio security meaning they have a very pungent smell. mean, squirrels and pigs and they love them. They love to eat. So you have to, mean, you're literally it's like protecting a bank, know, you have a bio security fence. You've you know, you limit visitations to the farm, you've, know, special footwear and cleaning and stuff. so yeah, it's serious stuff, you know.   Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's awesome. Well, let's dive in a little bit to the kind of the investment itself. Like what does that look like for an investor? Like what are your projected returns? You know, what, how does it all kind of, how does it all shape out? Like you've grown these wildly valuable truffles and now I guess the first step would be what's the business plan? Who are we selling these truffles to? What makes them so valuable? And then get into kind of the investor   (Seth Bradley) (22:33.794) portion like how would someone get involved in whether projector returns.   Okay, so we sell, first of all, the estate that the farm is, it's called Chan Valley Estate. People can Google it, it's beautiful. It's 200 acres of north-temporary farmland. The estate itself, it's a bit like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. It's a Georgian.   a three story Georgian home, it's over 200 years old. It's also a museum and we have events there and it's also a working farm. And it's a herbal farm. So we grow plants and herbs there that we then we have our own, we work the value chain where we also sell those herbs for medicinal purpose and we convert them into medicinal oils and things like that. So the location is already up and running.   And what we're doing with the truffles is for every acre, we can plant 800 trees. And so what we're doing is we're offering investors, well, a client, the minimum investment is $30,000 and the investor for that price gets 400 baby saplings already inoculated with the truffle fungus. And then they get the farm management   included up to the first four to five years. takes about, there'll be truffles after, bearing in mind that the sapling, the baby tree is two years old. So after three years in the ground, it's already five years old and there'll be truffles then and the returns don't begin until then. But what's included in the price is all the farm management, know, all the, you know, the,   (Louis O'Connor) (24:23.508) implementation of the farm, the irrigation, the electricity, the hardware that's needed. So all the management right up until there is production and then when they're producing, the investor gets 70 % of the growth and the farm management company, we get 30%. So it's a 70-30 split. Now the great thing about the oak and the hazel is they'll produce   for 30 to 40 years. it's a long term, it's a legacy investment, you might call it, because you won't see returns until the fourth or fifth year. But once you do, you'll see returns then for another 30 to 35 years. And they're very, very good. mean, we have three numbers in the brochure. We looked at what's...   price half the truffles never dropped below. So we have the very low estimate, which is they've never gone below this price. That brings in an IRR, which would be from day one of about 14%. And then the highest that they've sold for, you're looking at about 69%, but the average is about 38%.   So the returns will be very, very good once production kicks in and then they'll maintain. We've included an inflation for 30 to 40 years. I hope, I think I answered everything there.   Yeah, definitely. sorry. I gave you about six questions there to answer in a row. But yeah, I think you covered everything. And having an IRR, which is time-based on something that has this long of a horizon and even takes four or five years to even start producing, those are really, really strong numbers.   (Louis O'Connor) (26:23.63) Yeah, well, again, even the, you know, one of the reasons obviously we like truffles because they're very, very expensive. mean, they're a luxury product. You know, we're about an hour from Shannon Airport here, which is the transatlantic hub between Europe and the U.S. So we can have truffles in U.S. or anywhere in Europe or even the Middle East or the Far East, for that matter, in less than 24 hours. that's important as well. But they're a luxury item. There's huge demand for them. mean,   You know how the world is. mean, there are, unfortunately, you know, there's always sort of, people are getting richer and some people maybe are getting poorer. But the luxury, you know, high end market and the culinary, international culinary explosion means that, you know, there's huge demand for truffles. And also you have to factor in the fact that the harvests in the Mediterranean are less and less every year. And I mean, very, very sadly,   I mean, it's an opportunity for us, but very sadly that they've done very specific scientific studies and it's going to over the next 50 years, the truffle harvests in the Med will go will decline between 73 and 100%. So literally, they will not be growing truffles there in 50 plus years from now. So that's an opportunity for us. you know, again,   We've been working on this really since 2015. And it was only, you know, it was only 2019, 2020 when we began to get to truffles we knew because there was no guarantee, you know. But yeah, now that we're growing them, we just need to scale up.   Gotcha. Gotcha. what's kind of the I see that you know, for that minimum investment, you get X number of baby saplings. How many was that again? 400. That's what I Okay, 400. What's kind of the survival rate, I guess, of those saplings? Do you have kind of a percentage on that? Is it like?   (Louis O'Connor) (28:17.102) 400   (Louis O'Connor) (28:27.086) Yeah, well, we expect you got what's happening so far is within in about year three, which is actually year five, because the sapling, you should get three of the five trees producing. But once you have production, once that fungi is thriving, it will just continue to grow. So in year four, you should have four of them. In year five, you should have all of them producing.   Now we also put a guarantee in the farm management contract that if any tree, you know, if it dies or if it's not, you know, producing truffles, we'll replace it free of charge at any time. in the event, you know, for some reason, I mean, we put a tree in that's inoculated and it doesn't take, then we just replace it. So either way, over the first four to five years, we get them all. And the great thing is if you protect that soil from   pests and diseases and other sort of unwelcome sort of mycorrhizal or fungi, then it will thrive. It will thrive. It'll keep, you know, it'll spread, you know, it's a symbiotic relationship underground between the tree and the fungi.   Got it. Yeah, that's awesome to know. like survival is not one of the things that we should consider because if for some reason it wouldn't survive or is not producing, then it just gets replaced. So you actually are getting those full 400 saplings turning into trees that will be producing.   almost they mature and produce and you know as I said barring you know any pests or diseases or you know interference then they just continue you just protect them you just allow nature then to do its work.   (Seth Bradley) (30:18.848) Yeah, yeah. So what are some of the risks then? What are the downsides that you can foresee if something were to go wrong? What would it be?   Well, the greatest threat is mismanagement, literally. I obviously we're doing this with scale, so it's a professional endeavor, you know, people from time to time, know, I mean, some of the test sites here, mean, I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and they're not that hard to manage, but people just lose interest, or the younger kids don't want to farm. But the greatest threat is mismanagement. So as long as you put in these biosecurity measures,   and manage, you know, there's got to be some clearing done, there's got to be some pruning done, there's got to be tree guards. So there is a process involved in bringing them to nurturing them along and then keeping everything, you know, neutral, if you will. that's first, weather is always, you know, factor in agriculture. We don't feel it's as much of a threat here, because although we're for the first time,   growing the Mediterranean truffle. Truffles have grown, they grow here wild anyway. So the climate is right and has been right for thousands of years in Ireland. So, you know, and again, we'll have irrigation as well. You know, we get a lot of rain here. It's not likely we'll need any more rain, but yeah, we, you know, the agri-science will kick in there as well. And then, you know, as I said, like,   you know, biosecurity we call it, which is, you know, very, very serious fencing, limited visits to the farm, know, special footwear if people are going up to the area and sort of rinse. We have a pool area where they have to disinfect before they go into, you know, it's a very, very, very protected area from pests and from diseases or anything, you know, that could be brought in from the outside on whether that's machinery or humans.   (Louis O'Connor) (32:22.892) So yeah, it's almost like a laboratory. mean, you keep it very, very delicate balance and keep it very limited on who visits and, you know, people are a visit, but they have to be properly, you know, the feet have to be cleaned and footwear has to be worn and stuff like that. So, but, know, at the end of the day, Seth, it's, you know, well, any investment really, but agriculture, you know, the final say is in nature's hands, you know, not ours. mean, we...   We like to think, suppose, we're in the results business, but the reality is we're not. in the planning business and all we can do is plan everything as well as we can. It's just like, you if you planted a rose, you know, bush out in your backyard there today, you wouldn't stand outside and will it to grow, right? You know, grow quicker. You know, we have to allow nature and the cosmos to do its work. so yeah, nature has the final say, you know.   Yeah, yeah, no, totally, totally understand. And any investment has its risks, whether you're investing in truffles or real estate or any of the above. Quick question on this. Don't want to paint you like in a bad way at all, but we have had and it's not you, of course, of course, but we've had an influx of bad sponsors and people that are anything from mismanaging investor capital on one end, which can happen pretty easily. And there's not a whole lot of   Not a lot of bad blood there. Things happen. And then on the other side of the spectrum, we've seen everything from fraud to Ponzi schemes and all kinds of stuff lately. One thing that I tell investors is to make sure you know who you're investing with and make sure your investing dollars are actually getting invested where they're supposed to. Could an investor invest with you and actually go to the farm?   and see their saplings or see the farm and see this business.   (Louis O'Connor) (34:24.654) 100 % in fact, we would rather people do I mean, I it's not always possible. Right. But Shan Valley Estate, I mean, I'll give you the website and stuff after Shan Valley Estate. It's a 200 acre farm. It's already a museum. have events there. It's a herb dispensary as I said, as I said, it's our our manage our farm management partner is the Duggan family, their fourth generation farmers and they're being in temporary, you know,   longer than that even. absolutely, you you know, of course, there's legal contracts. mean, people get a legal contract for the purchase of the trees and then we have a legal contract for the farm management that we're responsible for implementing the project, we're responsible for bringing the hard, the trees to truffles to harvest. But we do, we just beginning, we just had our first tour, but it was sort of Europe from Germany. Last, sorry,   the 18th, 19th of August. But we will be having tours every quarter. And if anybody wants to come at any time, we'd be delighted to have them because it's like I said, it's like a smaller version of Downton Abbey. And we've accommodated, we converted the stables into accommodation, you know, because we have weddings and events and stuff there as well. It's not just a field that we bought.   Yeah.   And so it's a big deal. I'll give you the website. The location is spectacular and clients can, you know, stay the night, you know, and there's a three story Georgian estate house and the bottom floor is a museum. So it's like walking into a pharmacy from 1840, all the bottles and the counter is 200 years old, you know, and then the middle level, we've an organic vegetarian restaurant, all the   (Louis O'Connor) (36:17.24) food is grown on the farm. There's an old walled garden that they used to wall the gardens years ago to keep out the pests. And all the food that's served is grown on the farm. And then the top floor is accommodation as well and the stables have been converted. look, it's all about trust, Seth. And, you know, I would say to anybody, you've   I mean myself, if I have any doubt about anything, don't do it. And it might not be that somebody's a scam or a fraud, it's just if you're not 100 % sure about it, don't touch it. But what I would recommend is people do their due diligence because we've done ours. We've eight years invested in it, put a lot of time and effort into it. And at the very least, we'd like people to check it out and see it all the way through.   for what it is. yeah, we'll be, we're hoping to, we have a partner in Europe and we're to connect with somebody in North America. I don't want name anybody here because it might not come off, but there's a few sort of marketers and there's plenty obviously that we might sort of do a sort of an agreement with where they'll, you know, I mean, we could even have sort of investment real estate conferences on the farm.   you know, and do farm tours as well. so definitely 100 % we'd love for people to visit and, and they get to drink some Guinness and they're really brave, they can swim in the Irish sea.   Yeah, and I'm looking at the website right now. We'll drop that in the show notes, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, it's making me want to get on a plane right now and check it out. It's incredible.   (Louis O'Connor) (38:00.046) Yeah, that's the estate, shambali.ie. I mean, what I love about it's 100 % organic or members of the Irish Organic Association, track ref, fourth generation. You know, this is not me, I'm a part of this, but the farm management team are, you know, they're already like growing herbs and plants and converting them to medicinal, you know, oils and things. And this is just another, it's more of a farming enterprise, I suppose, than a farm.   And then the other partner is the Agri Science Partner, which is this team of scientists who basically made history by growing for the very first time eight years ago, the black, the Mediterranean truffle in Ireland, you know, so there's a lot of professionalism and thought and effort being put into a chap.   Love that. Love that man. Is there anything else about this type of investment that I didn't ask about that I should have?   I think you know Seth, you should be on CNN or something because I you did. I'm pretty sure you did, you definitely covered it. I mean I may have left something out but I think it's a good foundation for somebody if they're interested, I'll give them my email and you know it's not that expensive to get to Europe and it's a great way to mix a holiday and you know come to the farm and stuff you know.   Absolutely, absolutely. Well, since you're repeat guest of the guest of the show, we won't go into the freedom for but you have one last golden nugget for our listeners.   (Louis O'Connor) (39:34.446) You know, I knew you were going to ask me that, Seth, you caught me off guard. So I have one ready and I stole this from someone else. So I'm not going to take it. But I was listening to a guy last week and he, sort of a big operation in Europe. And he was talking about a phrase they have in the office and it's 1%. And they always look at each other and when you pass them, they go 1%. And I love what it's about. It's about the idea that in a way it sort of comes back to what we talked about earlier, which is forget about.   Yeah.   (Louis O'Connor) (40:04.664) the fact don't think you're in the results business. You're in the planning business. And the 1 % is every day, try and improve every little action. I'm not just talking about work. I'm talking about family, your spiritual practice, if you have one, increase it by 1 % every day. And you know, it's like compound interest, isn't it? That in a way, then you don't have to worry about the big picture. And the results will just look after themselves then, you know.   Yeah, yeah, I love that man. Always improve. mean, you you've got to take small steps to get to those big goals. And a lot of times you just need to ask yourself, did I improve 1 % today? If the answer is yes, then it was a successful day.   Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And it's great because, you know, if I was to try and think now, or you were to try and think now, everything you have to do in the next three weeks, right, you just be overwhelmed, right. And sometimes my head is like that, you know, I mean, I've got meditation practice and stuff, but I watch my thoughts and you know, I mean, it's it's a fact. I mean, it's a human condition. I don't know, some disestimates of how many thoughts do we have a day? How many are repetitive and how many are useless?   A lot of them are repetitive, a lot of them are useless. So it's good just to narrow it right down to what's the next thing I can do right now and can I do it 1 % better than I did yesterday, you know?   Absolutely. Love that man. All right, Lou, we're gonna let us find out more about you.   (Louis O'Connor) (41:34.954) Okay, so they can email me. It's Truffle Farm Invest. Sorry, it's a new website www.trufflefarminvest.com or they can if somebody from your your audience wants to email me directly, it's louis at trufflefarminvest.com   Alright, perfect man. We'll drop all that in the show notes. Thanks again for coming on the show. Always a pleasure, brother.   Thank you very much, Seth. A pleasure.   (Seth Bradley) (42:08.088) Thanks for tuning in to Raise the Bar Radio. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Keep pushing, keep building, and keep raising the bar. Until next time, enjoy the journey. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Louis O'Connor's Links: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054362234822 https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-o-connor-a583341b8/ https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/08/30/strategic-metals-founder-louis-oaconnor-breaks-down-china-u-s-rare-metal-wars.html

The Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Career ClusterTM is critical for addressing global necessities, such as food security and sustainability. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 1.4 million jobs in this Career ClusterTM. So many opportunities for your students to succeed.  Are you looking to prepare students for careers in agriscience? Jacob Falwell joins us in this episode to discuss all things soil and plant science. Dr. Jacob Falwell holds a bachelor's degree in agriculture science and a master's degree and Ph.D. in agriculture education.   He's been teaching all things agriculture at Calloway County High School for over 20 years. With his support, his students have won 79 Future Farmers of America (FFA) state championships in 49 areas over the past 20 years. He's been named the Kentucky Agriculture Teacher of the Year twice. If there's any question you have about agriculture education, he's your guy.   In this episode, Jacob shares how to get students excited and engaged in soil and plant science, plus what career opportunities are available, and the skills your students need to succeed. We dive into what to teach, how to pace your curriculum (everything from mini units to monster units, to hands-on days), and the struggles and triumphs of agriculture educators. Sharing more than two decades of experience in the agriculture classroom, Jacob is sure to give you advice to help you succeed in the coming school year.   Learn more about our Agriscience and Technology Careers program here.  Connect with educators like Jacob in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here.  Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here.   

In this episode, Ashli Winerich, Program specialist, Advocacy, Literacy and Ag-Based Experiences, Program and events Division of the National FFA Organization provides a highly engaging and informative overview of the recent National FFA Next Gen Conference held in Philadelphia. Specific topics covered include 1. FFA selection Process2. Special conference Ag field trips to Walter. B. Saul High School for Agriscience and the Elmwood Park Zoo.3. Mapping future conference locations and much more.!

When Berg, of Granton FFA, was in eighth grade, she simultaneously took agricultural and science classes. This experience kick started her interest in agriscience. After a recommendation from her advisor, she began to participate in the Wisconsin FFA Agriscience Fair. Her interests haven taken her to explore the fertilizers. Berg’s first experiment reflected the impacts of natural, inorganic and synthetic organic fertilizer on plant growth, of which she found natural fertilizer to be the best. Her following project was a comparison of natural fertilizers that are commonly used in gardening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Scott sits down with Norm Davy, president and chief commercial officer of Tidal Grow AgriScience, to discuss how the company is helping ag retailers and growers overcome rising input costs, pest resistance and soil health challenges through U.S.-made, bioengineered crop input solutions. He also reflects on leadership, grit, sustainability and the future of agricultural innovation.

Vic Verchereau welcomes Tony McCaul, who is the Executive Director at Critter Barn. Before joining Critter Barn, Tony McCaul worked with the Ottawa County ISD for 14 years as an Ag Tech teacher. Tony is a graduate of Michigan State University and Colorado State University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Agriscience, Agriculture Education, and Biology. As the Executive Director of the Critter Barn, Tony says, "we serve children and youth from all walks of life and engage them in activities on our farm. We celebrate our farming heritage and share stories of days gone by. We teach that agriculture is a gift of nature and give people of all ages the opportunity to witness the wonder of new life. Together we study the impact of the seasons and the role that plants, animals and the environment play in our sustainability." With 36 Acres and thousands of visitors, Tony is busy leading and setting the course for his team. Vic Verchereau, goes down on the farm to hear all about this story on the Leadership Lowdown! It's worth the trip to Zeeland Michigan to listen to the Critters! » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

Alethea Dunn of the Stewarts Creek FFA Chapter is the 2025 Tennessee FFA State Star in Agriscience. She was announced as the winner at the 97th annual Tennessee FFA Convention. Dunn explains what it means to win this award and describes her SAE on researching hypotonic produce.

Vic Verchereau welcomes Tony McCaul, who is the Executive Director at Critter Barn. The story began in 1984. The founder of the Critter Barn, Mary Rottschafer, explained "With the excitement of moving out in the country, came the hope of a larger garden and a do-it-yourself lifestyle. A surprise party planned by a group of friends changed the course of our lives forever. With a freshly painted barn and a few animals, our farm experience began unexpectedly. In just six years children from area schools were on our farm for school field trips, and today our educational farm is a West Michigan attraction to over 100,000 people. Today a dedicated leader continues the learning and fun! Before joining Critter Barn, Tony McCaul worked with the Ottawa County ISD for 14 years as an Ag Tech teacher. Tony is a graduate of Michigan State University and Colorado State University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Agriscience, Agriculture Education, and Biology. In this edition of Michigan Corners, host Vic Verchereau gets the scoop (or a shovel full!) from Tony. Grab the kids and head west! The Critters are ready to greet you and tell you all about the farm! » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

As farmers plan out their weed management strategies, Corteva Agriscience Market Development Specialist Scott Pringnitz says preparing an effective strategy for controlling early emerging weeds is a key to success this year. He tells Brownfield a full program approach will help growers keep fields clean all season long. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Para conocer las bondades de la innovación en nanotecnología con Agriscience, conversamos con su director Comercial, Juan Pablo Zúñiga.

We talk with Lizzie Schafer of the Taylorville FFA Chapter, who is a National FFA finalist for American Star in Agriscience.We learn about Bayer's Take Care, Now initiative. Michael Bernhard from the Kendall-Grundy Farm Bureau details his "Leaders to Washington" experience.  Paul Otto from Freese-Notis Weather discusses this week's mini-heatwave.

The National FFA Organization announced the 16 finalists for its 2024 top achievement awards: American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement, and American Star in Agriscience.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Nikki and Breanna share how to be a judge for National Chapter, Agriscience, and Proficiency Awards. Resources for this episode can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12RWU_xkgmUjCPDT0XuWinLcmY2i6XMsr?usp=drive_link Like Here by the Owl podcast on Facebook and Instagram. Have a future topic idea or wish to be a guest on the show? Message us on social media. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nikki-fideldy-doll/support

This week on AgweekTV, the USDA is making a huge investment in ag conservation programs. A North Dakota woman finds success in selling her beef and some very unusual eggs straight off the farm. Some aspiring chefs develop award winning recipes using soy. And we'll show you how some FFA students are using science and technology to solve real problems for farmers.  

Anyone who has spent time in a classroom can tell you about the value of student engagement. According to a recent Gallup poll, students who are engaged in their learning are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades and do well in school. With 150 students now participating in the Stamford Agriscience Program, we learned why this type of instruction is so effective for local high schoolers. We spoke with Kyle Rogers, a sophomore in the program, as well as Virginia Cipolla, an Agriscience Teacher and the Program Coordinator for the Stamford Agriscience Program. IMAGE CREDIT:  iStock / Getty Images Plus

Sec. Arthur previews her upcoming interview before playing a game of "This or That" (00:00). Eliana Timmons of Stillwater FFA and Corbin Robbins of Chattanooga FFA join the show to talk about their recent ag honors. Corbin has been involved with the FFA Creed, while Eliana has competed in Agriscience (5:10). Sec. Arthur and ODAFF PIO Lee Benson react to the interview before Sec. Arthur provides an OYE wrap up (33:15).

As we step into 2024, the food industry is poised to be at the cusp of transformative changes, shaped by evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements and a growing emphasis on sustainability. In this episode of the Xtalks Food Podcast, Sydney talks about the top food industry trends to look out for in 2024. She interviewed Are Traasdahl, founder and CEO of Crisp; Brian Wenngatz, CEO of Sentera; Pat McCullough, CEO of ProducePay; and Michael Lines, CEO and President of Wellness Natural Inc., which owns SimplyProtein. After discussing each trend, the team weighs in to provide further insights.Traasdahl predicts that 2024 will mark a new era for the food industry, characterized by advanced demand sensing, smarter data use for sustainability and availability and more nimble supply chains amid consumer preference shifts. Wenngatz foresees an accelerated adoption of generative AI in agriculture. McCullough's predictions focus on key areas of innovation and sustainability. Lastly, Lines says 2024 will see the continued rise in demand for plant-based products, the importance of nutritious yet flavorful snacks and the focus on sustainability.Read the full article here:2024 Food Industry Trends: Navigating the Future of Tech, Sustainability and NutritionFor more food and beverage industry content, visit the Xtalks Vitals homepage.Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @XtalksFood Instagram: @Xtalks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xtalks.Webinars/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtalks-webconferences YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/XtalksWebinars/featured

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the weekend!This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for Saturday, November 4th, and Sunday, November 5th, 2023.According to the National Weather Service, Saturday mostly sunny, with a high near 55, cooling to a low of 35 Saturday night.Sunday will be partly sunny, with a high near 61, cooling to a low of 53 Sunday night.Iowa woman one of 4 finalists for top National FFA award in agriscienceUniversity of Iowa sophomore Jasmyn Hoeger is being recognized Friday as one of four finalists for a 2023 top achievement award from the National FFA Organization for her work developing an alternative treatment for livestock using UV light.Hoeger is the only finalist in Iowa for The American Star Award in Agriscience. This week, she was interviewed by a panel of judges and one of the finalists will be selected as the winner of the award at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis.Arab American caucus asks Iowa Democratic Party to apologizeA day after Iowa Democratic Party leadership condemned University of Iowa student Democrats for an “antisemitic” social media post, the chair of the state party's Arab American caucus accused his party leadership of misquoting the students and called for an apology.“The Iowa Democratic Party's statement misquotes and misconstrues the original statement,” according to an email that Newman Abuissa, of Iowa City, sent Friday morning to state party Chair Rita Hart.“We call on Rita Hart to correct the quote, and we stand with the IDP's Progressive Caucus in calling for Rita Hart to apologize to University Democrats at Iowa.”Democratic state party leadership did not respond Friday to The Gazette's request for comment.Vivek Ramaswamy launches $8M ad buy in Iowa, rents apartment in Des MoinesOhio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is launching a multimillion-dollar ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire as the 38-year-old Republican presidential candidate trails key primary rivals in recent polling.Ramaswamy's campaign said so far it plans to spend $8 million in Iowa and $4 million in New Hampshire on an ad buy that will include broadcast, cable, radio, digital and direct mail.The first ad in the series, “Truth,” begins airing Saturday, according to the campaign.Ramaswamy has rented an apartment in Des Moines for him and his family. The Washington Post first reported on the apartment, as the entrepreneur and author prepares for more frequent visits and tries to build momentum ahead of Iowa's first-in-the-nation GOP caucuses on Jan. 15. The campaign said it plans to shift resources to the state after next week's Republican presidential primary debate.Have a good weekend, everyone.

Olivia Pflaumer is an Agriscience teacher, former American Star Finalist, former FFA member and three time guest of the Off-Farm Income Podcast.  On today's show she returns to give us an update on her career.  Olivia first appeared on the show in 2016 when she was a junior in high school.  Three years later she was back as an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  Today, Olivia has completed college and student teaching, and she is an Agriscience instructor at the Global Impact Stem Academy in Springfield, Ohio.  Today, we get to catch up on all she has done and is doing.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode we are catching up with Olivia Pflaumer who is now an agriscience teacher in a STEM Program in Ohio.  This will be Olivia's third appearance on the show as she has been a high achiever for years now.  Olivia's first appearance was back in 2016, and as a nice tie in for tomorrow I decided to replay that interview today.  This will make for a great before and after picture of Olivia.

Hadley Steifvater is an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  She has grow up around her father's veterinary practice, raising livestock of her own and also helping to solve problems in the production agriculture world in her region of South Dakota. Hadley was homeschooled for the entirety of her primary school career, and her pathway into the FFA and agriscience research are a bit different than normal.  Hadley was actually recruited by the FFA Advisor for McCook Central High School, Terry Reickman, as her father had been the FFA and Terry had been his advisor too.  This recruitment took place her 7th Grade year, but it was not until 8th Grade that her parents allowed it. In the first year, another of Hadley's FFA Advisors, Tracy Chase, encouraged her to do an agriscience research project.  Hadley went on to win both state and national awards with that project in just the 8th Grade!  This set her on a course of seeking research projects, and soon she was researching the best methods of farrowing pigs and caring for newly born pigs on behalf of her father and for one of his customers. This led to Hadley researching block chains in the beef industry and assessing whether or not the origins of a steak could be traced back to the farm the calf was born on - a topic of particular interest to me. Hadley is now at South Dakota State University, majoring in Animal Science, and she is looking at a future career in the veterinary field as either a veterinary nurse or veterinarian.  

Audrey Pinger is a 2023 American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  This all began in the 9th Grade with her adamantly refusing to the join the FFA as her friends tried to get her to sign up.  Finally, after a lot of peer pressure (the good kind), she relented and became a member to join what would later become a nationally competing parliamentary procedure team. During this time Audrey was encouraged to do an agriscience research project by her FFA Advisor.  She ended going to and winning her state with the project, and this lit a fire.  Soon, she was running four separate agriscience research projects, and obviously those projects stood out as she has become one of only four finalists in the category out of over 800,000 FFA students in the nation! Audrey is currently studying to become an agriculture teacher at The Ohio State University, and she will also be receiving her American Degree this year.

Welcome to Episode 142 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode features cybersecurity tips for farmers and the story of an Iowa student who was inspired to pursue innovative cattle research following a near-death experience on her family's farm.   Resource mentioned in this episode: Iowa's Jasmyn Hoeger named a finalist for National FFA's American Star in Agriscience award

Join as National Meat Judging Champion Jake Bagby shares about his time on the Texas Tech University Meat Judging team and how that's set him up for success in the future. For a full episode transcript, visit our website at https://www.justinboots.com/en/kick-your-boots-up.html.

Some pretty strong  words from the board chair of Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Inc.  Mel Pittmann, farmer and board chair, visits with Bob Bosold about the future of the show.  He's particularly vocal with his criticism of UW-Extension support in the state. Henry Koerner from the Big Foot FFA had no exposure to agriculture until his agriculture education class.  That began to turn a page for the young man that's ushered him into the spot as Wisconsin's Star in Agriscience who will be competing on the national scene in October.Wisconsin is still hazy and it's not because of heat.  The state is feeling the effects of wildfires in Canada.  Stephanie Hoff talks about the situation with Craig Czarnecki from the DNR's Air Management Program. He says it's going to impact pets and livestock breathing the same as it does humans.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More coverage from last week's 95th Illinois FFA Convention, including conversations with IDOA Director Jerry Costello and Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton. We hear from new Illinois FFA Secretary Riley Kessler from Staunton and Discovery Star in Agriscience winner Henry Waters from the Pleasant Plains FFA Chapter. We also highlight the Jasper County Fair with fair board member Connie Elliott and preview a new market week with Comstock Investments Joe Camp.

FFA members in Wisconsin have a chance to apply for a Star Award across four categories. One of the categories is Star in Agriscience. Charitee Seebecker speaks to this year's winner -- Henry Koerner of the Big Foot FFA. With Henry's Supervised Agricultural Experience, Henry wanted to find solutions for hot issues in a variety of AFNR pathways. In regard to the plant science realm, Henry analyzed the effects of natural antimicrobials on plant tissue growth, finding that the cultures with honey and no added antimicrobials produced the most growth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this podcast Bryan Gibson, Farmers Weekly Managing Editor, talks to Hamish Marr, 2019 Nuffield Scholar about his Nuffield research on glyphosate, New Zealand's use of it as a strategic farming tool, and some of the challenges arable farmers are facing today.To read more about Hamish's work, head to: https://ruralleaders.co.nz/nuffield-scholars/2019-nuffield-scholar-profile-hamish-marr/

Grand challenge in this episode: Invasive Species - The Ultimate Challenger About the Challenge The purpose of this project is to leverage a preexisting online professional development resource and its large following of SBA educators to create a more effective model of professional development where teachers engage in immersive experiences in agriculture, capture those experiences via the formats already used by Owl Pellets, and share them with their peers to develop an ever-growing community of practice around grand agricultural challenges founds within teachers' local communities and FANH careers. One of the primary goals of this project is to re-engage SBA educators in the challenges, technology, and work of their local agricultural community – making grand challenges local. Visit the Teach Grand Challenges website. About the Guest Melanie Berndtson is a 15 year Agriscience teacher from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.  She teaches in a single teacher department with courses including animal science, plant science, natural resource management, environmental science, introduction to agriscience, and leadership courses.  She teaches 100 students a year and directs the Grand Canyon FFA chapter.  Melanie is passionate about curriculum development and has worked on several projects creating new educational materials in the small animal science field.  She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Greg and her beagles Sonny and Ivan when she is not teaching. 

Georgette Pyoos knew early on that a career in science, which ultimately led to agricultural science and research was her calling. As a junior researcher in animal breeding, genetics, and reproductive physiology at the Agricultural Research Council she joins us in this edition to share some advice for new and developing agriculturalist, specifically for livestock producers. We also get to know the woman behind her research and some inspiration for others who wish to follow in her footsteps…

Grand challenge in this episode: Food Banks About the Challenge The purpose of this project is to leverage a preexisting online professional development resource and its large following of SBA educators to create a more effective model of professional development where teachers engage in immersive experiences in agriculture, capture those experiences via the formats already used by Owl Pellets, and share them with their peers to develop an ever-growing community of practice around grand agricultural challenges founds within teachers' local communities and FANH careers. One of the primary goals of this project is to re-engage SBA educators in the challenges, technology, and work of their local agricultural community – making grand challenges local. Visit the Teach Grand Challenges website. About the Guest Lindsey Garner completed a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University in Environmental Studies and Agriscience in 2015 and then completed a Master of Arts Degree from Michigan State University in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Education in 2020. Lindsey started her journey as an agriculture, food and natural resource teacher in Michigan in 2016. She currently teaches at an urban career and technical center where she sees the impact of food inequity everyday with her own students and wanted to develop teaching resources for those who wondered where all of their donated foods came from to help raise awareness of those who go hungry.

During the 95th Tennessee FFA Convention, five state stars were announced. Hear from the State Star in Agriscience and the State Star Greenhand. Amy Beckham: FFA Stars. Hello there and welcome to Tennessee Home and Farm Radio, I'm Amy Beckham. Lillie Cagle: I'm just really grateful for this opportunity not only to represent my chapter of Bledsoe County and East Tennessee, but the entire state as the star in agriscience. Amy Beckham: During the 95th Tennessee FFA State Convention, five state stars were announced, and Lily Cagle of Bledsoe County was named the State Star in Agriscience. She explains what this award is all about. Lillie Cagle: Star awards would technically be whoever has the best proficiency and the best SAE. So, agriscience is really just understanding and researching more about the agriculture industry and finding solutions to that, and just compared to everybody else in the state, which I know the other candidates that are applying for this were just as amazing and I'm just very grateful for this opportunity. Amy Beckham: Lillie provides some insight into the research she has completed during her time in the blue jacket. Lillie Cagle: So I've completed three projects through agriscience research. The first one was comparing how high fat and low fat diets affect your brain. The second one was comparing the safety and effectiveness of ozone cleaning and the last one was the effects of acid precipitation on the environment and how we can reverse those. Amy Beckham: The state star greenhand is Cannon Wilhoit of the South Greene FFA chapter who is a freshman in high school and has already competed in several contests Cannon Wilhoit: I've competed in every contest that I could. I've been in soil judging, livestock, I've competed in creed. I've done multiple different CDEs and competed across the country with my Boer goats. Amy Beckham: And Cannon explains a little about what this prestigious honor means to her. Cannon Wilhoit: For me, that's just a way for me to be able to get the Boer goat name out there, especially in Tennessee because it's not a big name, but also to me, it just means that I'm able to promote the agriculture industry, which is what I'm all about. It's what I want to do with my future. Amy Beckham: And although just in her first year of FFA, Cannon has already seen an impact from being involved in the organization. Cannon Wilhoit: I've always loved agriculture and I knew I wanted to do something in it, and now I've been able to compete across the country and learn so much about FFA and the agriculture industry. Amy Beckham: Congratulations to those state stars and stay tuned for more of the award winners. For Tennessee Home and Farm Radio, I'm Amy Beckham.

Host and American Family Farmer, Doug Stephan www.eastleighfarm.com begins with news about how the war between Russia and The Ukraine war is affecting our American farmers, new laws that enforce distance between cars and farm equipment, Illinoi's Clover Hill Farm was destroyed by a recent tornado and local town folk and farmers are helping them to rebuild. Next, we meet Melanie Berndtson, Grand Canyon Pennsylvania FFA Advisor, and Agriscience Teacher at Wellsboro Area High School. https://www.wellsborosd.org/ Melanie grew up splitting her time between a suburban community in New Hampshire and the small farm her father owned. While her friends and classmates were preparing for careers in nine-to-five office jobs, Melanie was most excited about her weekends on the farm and working with animals. Over the course of her 15 years at Wellsboro, she has become passionate about helping students and other teachers understand how sustainable agriculture can help build strong and vibrant communities. Finally, Farmer Doug opines about Tax time and the need to plan ahead for next year's Taxes.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3010081/advertisement

In this episode, we hear from North Dakota State University assistant professor Dr. Brooke Thiel on how agriculture teachers implement and engage in agriscience research in the classroom.

Hello, this is Titus Montgomery from the Red Oak FFA Chapter wishing you guys a very happy welcome back to the Brag On Ag Podcast. For the first official episode of 2023 I knew I needed to go above and beyond with this episode. My guest is one of my best friends, and someone I call a brother. Caleb Horne is the current Oklahoma FFA Northwest Area Vice-President, the 2022 National FFA Prepared Public Speaking Champion, a former National FFA Creed Speaking finalist, a four time state champion in prepared public speaking, a state champion in the Agriscience fair, and a state proficiency award finalist. He is a graduate from the Morrison FFA Chapter in the Northwest area of Oklahoma and is currently a freshman in college at Oklahoma State University. You can find him on Instagram @caleb_horne_11

Welcome to Episode 8 of the BioHackers Podcast!In this episode, David and Alex welcome inspirational bioinformatics professor Tyesha Farmer from Alabama A&M University. Together, they discuss the importance of academic mentorship, the global impact of agriscience, and the power of enabling everyone with the opportunities of a science-based education.  Watch the Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bPrLkt07cPo Here is a list of topics: Welcome to Episode 8 (00:00)The Open-Source Movement (1:28)Connecting Marginalized Students to the Right Tools (4:31)Welcome Tyesha to the Show (7:33)How Dr. Farmer Expanded Research Opportunities (9:45)The Story of Dr. Farmer's Journey to a Science Career (10:57)Dr. Farmer Finding Her Identity in STEM (22:27)Providing Access to STEM Opportunities Through Virtual Research (29:51)Scaling Mentorship Opportunities (31:27)Building an International Community of Researchers (34:40)Digital Credentials (37:40)Educating after a PhD (44:00)  The Importance of Agriscience Education (46:00)How Alex Started His Science Career in Agriscience (51:24)  What is a BioHacker to You? (58:40)  Closing Thoughts (59:59) Enjoy the Show! 

Leaundre Delonia is the state runner up in the OKFFA Chapter Secretary contest, a competitor in the Tulsa State Fair with both indoor and livestock exhibits, a state competitor in the Agriscience fair, a competitor in both meats and livestock judging and a competitor in public speaking. He is the president of the Okmulgee FFA Chapter which is the national model of excellence Chapter here in Oklahoma. You can find him on Instagram @thatboydre14

In the 1980's the "Future Farmers Of America" changed their name to simply the "FFA" because they knew that they were helping to create opportunities for students, inside and outside of agriculture, that went beyond traditional farming.  What a move by this organization!  Looking at the results they are getting in 2022 with their top achieving students, you can see just how much further the influence of the FFA has been able to spread since making that move. Today's guest, Marin Lonnee, is a perfect example of the results of this decision.  Marin was introduced to the FFA through a middle school agriculture class when she was in the 6th Grade.  That class exposed her, not only to the FFA, but to agriculture, research and her own, innate talents.  The spark that lit the fire with that first class has resulted in years of research by Marin.   Marin's research has not always been solely focused on projects that fit within the parameters of the FFA, but most of the time it has been.  Regardless of where it fit, her research has always included a social component with a practical impact on people and the betterment of their lives.   Today, Marin is an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  In speaking with her about what she has done, the reasons she has chosen her research project and her vision for their applications it is no mystery at all why she has been nominated for this prestigious award! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agriscience Research HIGH SCHOOL: Oconee County High School; Watkinsville, Georgia MASCOT: Warriors FFA ADVISOR: Chelsea Bengaud CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MARIN LONNEE: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Oconee County High School Website: Marin's FFA Advisor's Email Address: cbegnaud@oconeeschools.org Oconee County High School Telephone Number: 706.769.6655 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA  Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”.U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:  

Our guest today has an amazing story of becoming involved in agriscience research, not limiting his research interests to one aspect of agriculture and of doing good in the community.  He also has an amazing story of legacy.  Ryan Hess is part of the Stephenville FFA Chapter, and as an American Star Finalist in Agriscience Research he not only is the third finalist from Texas in three years, but he is the third finalist from Stephenville High School in three years! As if his contributions and findings in research were not enough, Ryan has been very involved in both the FFA and his community.  He was pivotal in the town of Stephenville in getting funding for and installation of calisthenics equipment along their river trail.  Also, he has served in many officer roles over the years, including that of Texas State Officer. Ryan is not studying Ag Communications at Texas Tech University, along with his preceding American Star Finalists from Stephenville High School.  He hopes to continue his research in the area of social interaction and find new and better ways to share the message of agriculture with the world. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agriscience Research HIGH SCHOOL: Stephenville High School; Stephenville, Texas MASCOT: Honey Bees FFA ADVISOR: Ryan Best CONTACT INFORMATION FOR RYAN HESS: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Stephenville High School FFA website: Ryan's FFA Advisor's Email Address: ryan.best@sville.us Stephenville High School's Telephone Number: (254) 968-4141 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA  Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:    

Lexie Zuniga is a State competitor in the Agriscience fair and Ag Comm.CDE, a competitor in numerous other CDE's such as livestock judging and cattle grading , and competes in public speaking. She will be an incoming senior at Fairview this fall and is the president of the Fairview FFA Chapter. You can find her on Instagram @lexie_zuniga

Connect with your local CSA here.

For any new farmer grasping your seasonal crop rotation cycle is vital to stay adrift. Plus, it helps to diversify your farming operation and this week we share a winter crop guide for beginner farmers. And while I have you attention crop farmers, this week's AECI Plant Health segment focuses on downy mildew on broccoli and cauliflower. Simon Lowe, technical advisor at AECI Plant Health joins us to identify it and ways to treat this common threat, especially if you're a new farmer.   Our book of the week is, Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong by Kristen Hadeed. And, our farmer tip of the week comes from Dr Ethel Phiri, lecturer at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Agriscience.

Today my guest is Courtney Blagg from Oologah, Oklahoma. Courtney is a goat showman, a multiple time State Champion in the Agriscience fair, a competitor in Prepared Public speaking, and is a Junior from the Oologah FFA Chapter in the Northeast Area of Oklahoma. She is currently the Chapter Reporter, owns her own cake making business, raises show goats as part of her SAE, and has competed multiple times in the Agriscience fair. You can find her on Instagram @court_blagg_

In this episode of the Indiana Pioneer Agronomy podcast, hosts Ben Jacob and Brian Shrader discuss Enlist, burndown recommendations and priorities and overall optimization of crop protection. Joining this episode is Brad Burkhart, Market Development Specialist at Corteva Agriscience.

Listen to part one of this two-part podcast here: https://pioneer-agronomy-indiana.simplecast.com/episodes/history-of-plant-breeding-in-the-eastern-corn-belt

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this, the last episode for 2021, our hosts Chris Scuse, Territory Manager in DelMar, Va, and Emily Allegar, Territory Manager in Pennsylvania, reflect back on the year and look forward to 2022.

Have you always wanted to try Agriscience Fair projects but are hesitant to take that first step? In this episode, Jason shares ways to "tame the beast". Resources for this episode can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JnqijQQqGy1a7Tv3_F-2JupSM_Kv83V3?usp=sharing Like Here by the Owl Podcast on Facebook and Instagram. Have a future topic idea or wish to be a guest on the show? Message Here by the Owl Podcast on social media.

Young talent finding their way to the agbioscience sector doesn't just happen – it takes boots on the ground and effort in spreading awareness about the career opportunities available. On this week's episode, Gerry Dick with Inside INdiana Business is joined by Sylvia Harris, a Field Atlas Ambassador and senior at Huntington University.  They dive into Huntington's fast-growing agriculture program, connecting students to the agbiosciences through Field Atlas and what it's like for soon-to-be college graduates searching for their first career.   Want to learn more about Field Atlas? Visit myfieldatlas.com. 

Today's guest, Chase Krug, first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in episode #203 when he was a freshman in high school in 2016.  Back then he was already doing research and had been awarded an SAE Grant to study the Colorado Potato Beetle as well as blight in potatoes.  Over the past five years he has continued his passion for both research and plant breeding, and has added 13 more research projects for a total of 15 (he had one before the potatoes). If you are wondering, this is not the norm, this is exceptional.  So exceptional in fact that right after Chase graduated from high school he was sent to India, by himself, to work on plant breeding and research new varieties of mung beans through an internship he had been granted.  Chase has continued to be recognized and be awarded internships and jobs such as working for the the USDA - ERS and publishing recommendations for countries like Egypt.  And now, he has been nominated as an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.

Ever wondered what you could see if you were a fly on a wall. Pollination Robots are a new thing being introduced into the Agriculture realm when technology meets insects to increase pollination tactics. While this is could be a win for AgriScience, what is your opinion on privacy issues if this technology could get into the wrong hands? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blackmantel/support

Did you know that Wisconsin Farm Technology Days actually started as a plowing contest back in the 50's?  Bob Bosold talks with two retired western Wisconsin farmers that were part of the grand event when it first began. U.S. Ag Secretary, Tom Vilsack, announced millions of dollars in federal aid that's pointed toward expanding meat and poultry processing capacities.  The announcement was made on Friday in Iowa, along with 3 Wisconsin counties being declared as primary disaster areas due to drought. Finally, a school district in Sharon, Wisconsin is looking to add agriculture curriculum to their K-8 line up!  Dr. Sara Andrus, district administrator explains their $700,000 grant reward from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for the creation and expansion of the Virtual Academy of Agriscience and Technology (VAAST) charter school. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eden Research PLC's (LON:EDEN) Sean Smith joins Proactive London about their 'big news' of an agreement with Corteva Agrisciences for its seed treatment application. He says this deal has been in the works for a number of months and means providing the US giant with exclusive commercialisation, supply and distribution rights covering the EU, UK and Serbia. It followed the successful 2019 evaluation of the Eden product, which is based on its Sustaine encapsulation technology, natural, plastic-free, biodegradable microspheres.

Lia Biondo handles the day-to-day operations for the Western Skies Strategies Washington, D.C. office. She manages the premier public policy portfolio and engages on a daily basis with Congress, Federal Agencies and the White House, helping associations and individuals successfully navigate Capitol Hill and build relationships with key Administration officials and industry leaders. Ms. Biondo directs the WSS Washington, DC fellow and intern program and presents regular lobbying educational workshops. She also co-chairs one of the leading national natural resource policy advisory committees. Ms. Biondo has contributed to pieces that have been spotlighted by CNBC, The Washington Post, the BBC, and RFD-TV. Ms. Biondo is a native of the “Mitten State,” she graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Environmental Studies and Agriscience. When she’s not in the District, you’ll find her at the barn, in the woods, or on the water. This episode is hosted by Dr. Shawn Baker MD. Find him at https://shawn-baker.com

INTRODUCING MATTHEW GRAB: You may wonder how we can produce so much food in the United States on an ever-shrinking footprint of ground with fewer and fewer people being involved in production agriculture.  The answer is the natural curiosity of the American Farmer coupled with a passion for agriculture and an innovative mind. These characteristics that have made the American Farmer great are evident throughout the spectrum, from the 80-year-old farmer who is trying hard not to retire to the 16-year-old who is dreaming of how they can become a farmer. In today's interview, I am lucky enough to interview one of these farmers.  At age 18, Matthew Grab is already accomplishing amazing things in the FFA and in agriculture.  He lives on his family's grain farm in Freeburg, Illinois and one of the crops they grow is soybeans.  As part of Matthew's supervised agricultural experience, he and a friend decided to see how hail damage would impact the yield on soybeans. The two of them set up a test plot of soybeans to experiment on, but the question was, how were they going to replicate hail?  A very fun and innovative solution was thought up.  They would shoot the soybean plants with a shotgun from a distance to simulate hail stones comes down and ripping the soybean leaves. Their initial hypothesis was that hail damage would decrease yield.  This is a very natural hypothesis.  However, they ended up demonstrating that at the stage of development that they simulated the damage the yield wound up increasing.  This was very interesting, so the next year they replicated the experiment on a larger scale using a herbicide at a very low rate.  This also increased the yield.  They entered this experiment into the FFA's National Agriscience Fair, and they won! It is this type of natural curiosity and love for what they do that has always led the American Farmer to produce more with less.  And it is this type of innovation and spirit in Matthew's generation that gives me the confidence to know that we will find a way to continue to feed the world as our world's population continues to grow.

Subscribe To Our Weekly Email INTRODUCING MATTHEW GRAB: You may wonder how we can produce so much food in the United States on an ever-shrinking footprint of ground with fewer and fewer people being involved in production agriculture.  The answer is the natural curiosity of the American Farmer coupled with a passion for agriculture and an innovative mind. These characteristics that have made the American Farmer great are evident throughout the spectrum, from the 80-year-old farmer who is trying hard not to retire to the 16-year-old who is dreaming of how they can become a farmer. In today's interview, I am lucky enough to interview one of these farmers.  At age 18, Matthew Grab is already accomplishing amazing things in the FFA and in agriculture.  He lives on his family's grain farm in Freeburg, Illinois and one of the crops they grow is soybeans.  As part of Matthew's supervised agricultural experience, he and a friend decided to see how hail damage would impact the yield on soybeans. The two of them set up a test plot of soybeans to experiment on, but the question was, how were they going to replicate hail?  A very fun and innovative solution was thought up.  They would shoot the soybean plants with a shotgun from a distance to simulate hail stones comes down and ripping the soybean leaves. Their initial hypothesis was that hail damage would decrease yield.  This is a very natural hypothesis.  However, they ended up demonstrating that at the stage of development that they simulated the damage the yield wound up increasing.  This was very interesting, so the next year they replicated the experiment on a larger scale using a herbicide at a very low rate.  This also increased the yield.  They entered this experiment into the FFA's National Agriscience Fair, and they won! It is this type of natural curiosity and love for what they do that has always led the American Farmer to produce more with less.  And it is this type of innovation and spirit in Matthew's generation that gives me the confidence to know that we will find a way to continue to feed the world as our world's population continues to grow. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE:  Agriscience Research, Ag Mechanics & Repair HIGH SCHOOL: Freeburg Community High School, Freeburg, IL MASCOT: Midgets FFA ADVISOR:  Dusti Ingles CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MATTHEW GRAB: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Freeburg Community High School website: Missy's FFA Advisors' Email Address: inglesd@fchs77.org Freeburg Community School's Telephone Number: FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA  Donate to FFA - FFA students can start small businesses through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% and the rest of the world.  FFA provides the needed education, training, and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and ensure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers, and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the food search is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue   More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:  

Have you ever thought about where your food comes from? Have you thought about the processes and the people involved with getting it to your plate? In our Season 2 premiere, CareerTech Horizon takes a dive into Oklahoma agriculture, the challenges the industry faces and the new opportunities for people to get involved in it. State Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur gives us a look at the industry and how it fared during the pandemic. John Patrick Lopez of Lopez Foods tells us about food processing. Some things changed with technology, but he still needs hard-working people, too. OSU's Cynda Clary takes us through the many jobs available in agriculture, many of which don't involve farm work. CareerTech's Scott Nemecek explains how they are training the next generation of ag workers. Nikki Snider of the Oklahoma Pork Council works to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, TuneIn or Stitcher or ask your smart speaker to play "CareerTech Horizon.” Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @CT_Horizon, or on Facebook to stay up to date with this ongoing project. Visit our website for show notes, episode trailers and bonus content "Beyond Your Horizon" at http://cthorizon.org Beyond Your Horizon: Articles, Videos, and Related Stories Trends and Employment Opportunities in Oklahoma Agriculture -- Full Panel Discussion with CareerTech Horizon's Rob McClendon Inside the Food Industry at Shawnee Mills -- CareerTech Horizon's Blane Singletary shows how STEM and food go together like peanut butter and jelly! My Oklahoma FFA Story -- Students interested in agriculture share how their experiences changed their lives. Classic Horizon Stories Hal Clark: Ag Environmental Stewardship [2017] -- Hal Clark has spent a lifetime raising cattle in the wide-open spaces and bitter extremes of our state’s panhandle. Rural Physician Shortage [2017] -- From Blue Coats to White Coats, FFA students are sought out to fill the medical needs of their rural communities. Devon Energy Invests in Agriscience [2015] -- FFA members bridge the gap between agriculture and STEM.

Intimidated by initiating a chapter-wide agriscience fair? Looking for ways to make your students' agriscience fair projects less overwhelming? Megan Moorman, agriculture teacher at Westfall High School, Ohio provides listeners in this episode with tips and tricks on how she helps her students achieve success in the Agriscience Fair at the state and national level. Resources from this episode: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dF1jA2B9ZRtF8AI4_Oky7uajtvJjqNiB?usp=sharing --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

For the first time ever- Oklahoma FFA had three National Finalists in the National FFA American Stars Competition- and at the 2020 National FFA Convention- two of them- again for the first time ever- were called out as the winner in their category. Host Ron Hays talked after the Stars announcement with Will Shelby of Madill FFA, the American Star in Ag Placement and Nicole Stevens of Yukon FFA, the American Star in Agriscience. Today's Podcast is powered by BancFirst.

SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING NICOLE STEVENS!  Since I left my public service career and ventured into entrepreneurship I have become an astute observer of things.  Now that I no longer have a public service type job with tons of security built into it, I live in the world of providing real value and performance in order to continue receiving a paycheck.  It is this new reality that has caused me to really start looking at people who succeed and take measure of what makes them stand apart. It is these observations that really make this time of year fun for me.  As you know, I am privileged to be able to interview all of the FFA's American Star Finalists every year.  I usually do pretty good and am able to interview almost all of them.  These students are the best of the best, and I always find myself surprised hearing their stories and realizing just how much they have done to reach this level. Our guest today is one of those students.  Nicole Stevens is one of the four finalists for the title of American Star in Agriscience Research.  Now there are a lot of different types of research projects out there.  Some are complex and some are simple.  They all count towards a supervised agricultural experience.  In this episode, Nicole will even tell you about one of her very first research projects and just how simple that it was. By the time we finish our interview with Nicole she will have told you that she has conducted 22 research projects over the past 10 years in the FFA.  That is more than 2 per year in addition to everything else she had been doing.  When I asked her how she got all of this done she replied that sometimes she had to sacrifice sleep to make it happen. Imagine being so devoted to researching something that you sacrificed sleep to find out the answers.  It is work ethic like this that sets American Star Finalists and National Proficiency Winners apart.  If you ever want to know just how highly successful people achieve those results, look no further than the 16 students nominated for this prestigious award over four categories every year! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agriscience Research HIGH SCHOOL: Yukon High School; Yukon, Oklahoma MASCOT: Millers FFA ADVISOR: Scott Stevens CONTACT INFORMATION FOR NICOLE STEVENS: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Yukon High School Website: Nicole's FFA Advisor's Email Address: scott.stevens@yukonps.com Yukon High School Telephone Number: (405) 354-2587 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA  Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward. REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: “The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

From singing opera to embracing technology and diving into drones, meet Dr. Magan Lewis, a STEM loving FarmHer. Join in the discussion about how she is helping implement new technology to agriculture across the globe. We’ll also dive in to why she is passionate about introducing STEM to young girls and how she is getting that done

Gregory Clifton SmithBecoming an educator was a natural transition after being a City Planner with the NYC Parks Department Street Tree Division and the Supervisor of Horticulture at the Bronx Zoo. The most logical transition into education was becoming a Career and Technical Education instructor at the Philadelphia School District’s W. B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences. Additionally, I've worked in the food and wine service industry at the acclaimed Standard Hotel’s Standard Grill in New York City and Robert Mondavi's Woodbridge Estates in California. Currently, I am a Career and Technical Education teacher with a focus on Natural Resources Management and Food Science at the largest secondary Agriscience program in the United States, which also houses the largest single-school chapter of the FFA. I'm a multifaceted educator who likes to bring everything to the table when educating and influencing my students’ involvement in learning. I believe learning can be both educational and entertaining, which is why I construct multimedia STEAM-based lessons that employ creativity, real-world experiences, and active learning opportunities that are coherent, cohesive, and connected to 21st Century skills. The foundation of my teaching pedagogy is to create engaging project-based learning experiences, rooted in real-world experiences and focused on developing essential skills like communication, research, critical thinking, and problem-solving in order to prepare my students for life after graduation. My educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science from Hampton University, a Master of Environmental Studies from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Science, and I am currently working on a Career and Technical Education certification and a second Master at Temple’s School of Education. Additionally, I have been recreationally trained in photography, video production, and multimedia at Delta College in Stockton, California. As evident by my academic past and present, I truly enjoy learning, and subsequently through my current experiences as Saul High School, I have learned I am a great instructor. In 2020, I was acknowledged by the School District of Philadelphia as a 2020 Lindback Award winner for Distinguished Teachers.To learn more about what I am doing to actualize this mission, please visit www.gregclifsmith.com and follow me on IG @smith.at.saul.Today's episode is SPONSORED by Mateo Records. Be sure to purchase Joshua Mateo's new single, "Let's Dance Together" on iTunes HERE and album "In Session" wherever you buy music.Individual Sponsors:Adriane Birt, MDJames J. RollinsWant to support the show through a monetary donation? Feel free to donate via PayPal.ALSO, we are stoked to welcome sponsorship at the Corporate, Community Partner or Individual levels. Please use the email below to connect us to any potential opportunities. Thank you. More Please, in advance.Thank you for listening! Share your thoughts and follow Klay on your favorite social media: @PlanAwithKlay and use the hashtag #PlanA101. Want more Plan A? Subscribe to Klay's website: KlaySWilliams.com. Support the show (https://paypal.me/PlanAEnterprises?locale.x=en_US)

Because of COVID 19, the 2020 Oklahoma State FFA Convention was not held in downtown Oklahoma City this spring- and it was early June until the Oklahoma FFA was able to name their 2020 Stars in the four traditional categories. In today's Road to Rural Prosperity- we introduce you to two of them- the 2020 Star in Agriscience, Jentry Squires of Kingfisher and the 2020 Star in Ag Placement, Landri Chaplin of Weatherford. KC Sheperd zoomed with them to give you a chance to learn about their award winning programs- and their love for the Blue and Gold. A future Podcast will feature our other two stars. Today's Podcast is powered by OPRSC- the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center.

Ensuring you are consuming clean cannabis is an important factor to consider when utilizing cannabis for health and wellness as well as medicinal purposes. We brought Frank Traylor, CEO of Agriscience Labs, the oldest ISO-accredited cannabis testing lab in the nation on our show to discuss cannabis testing rules and regulations. Frank discusses the new heavy metal testing requirements in Colorado which now require testing to determine if there are traces of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in the product. Traylor also provides insight into testing requirements that may be in the pipeline for hemp. We dive into the details around how a cannabis product gets tested and approved to be sold at a licensed dispensary. If you are interested in learning more about this important process keeping consumers safe check out the latest episode of Lit & Lucid! #CannabisTestingLab #ColoradoCannabis #HeavyMetalsTesting #CleanCannabis #Agriscience --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lit-and-lucid/support

Amelia Hayden is the WI National Officer Candidate as well as the only star finalist from WI, in the category of AgriScience.  Find out more about her path to get to this point. Farm Aid was this past Saturday, and some farmers, like Sarah Lloyd were able to share their story and message with artists on the main stage. Bryce Knoor, commodities specialist shared his insight into how the markets are doing and why. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 91st Tennessee State FFA Convention state winners are announced and one of those is the state Star in Agriscience – this year that star is Kaitlin Taylor of the Oakland FFA Chapter. The post FFA Shining Stars appeared first on Tennessee Farm Bureau.

Polk County Public Schools intern Madison Dvorak sits down with the President of the Polk County Youth Fair Paul Webb to discuss the Youth Fair and what it's all about.  

It's time to meet Carrie Preston! Carrie shares with us about lessons learned on the farm and through teaching about agricultural science. Topics include: What interests people most about her farm How Carrie chose to become an agriscience educator Transitioning into farming What sports teams her household roots for An activity that is a relief from camo and guns A surprising destination their family is looking forward to The secret ingredient to cooking an animal we're not sure how to classify One of the most beautiful places she's seen Resources mentioned in this podcast: United Dairy Industry of Michigan grants: https://www.milkmeansmore.org/ FFA: http://www.michiganffa.com/ 4-H: https://www.canr.msu.edu/4h/ MMPA Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator program: https://www.mimilk.com/membership/member-involvement/young-cooperators/ Farm Bureau: https://www.michfb.com/mi/

It’s time to meet Carrie Preston! Carrie shares with us about lessons learned on the farm and through teaching about agricultural science. Topics include: What interests people most about her farm How Carrie chose to become an agriscience educator Transitioning into farming What sports teams her household roots for An activity that is a relief from camo and guns A surprising destination their family is looking forward to The secret ingredient to cooking an animal we’re not sure how to classify One of the most beautiful places she’s seen Resources mentioned in this podcast: United Dairy Industry of Michigan grants: https://www.milkmeansmore.org/ FFA: http://www.michiganffa.com/ 4-H: https://www.canr.msu.edu/4h/ MMPA Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator program: https://www.mimilk.com/membership/member-involvement/young-cooperators/ Farm Bureau: https://www.michfb.com/mi/

The third installment of ACTE’s Career Exploration in Middle School podcast series features Agriscience Teacher and FFA Advisor, Dr. Robin C. McLean. Dr. McLean opens up about what it means to teach agriculture to middle school students and how to use the classroom to promote career exploration. You can follow Dr. McLean on Twitter.

Listen in as Dr. Hock from Kansas State University eases the fear often associated with the Agriscience Fair. Yes, you and your students can succeed in this contest!

Vance Crowe has a fascinating agricultural success story. Although he grew up in Central Illinois, he did not grow up on a farm or study agriculture in college. However, through a series of unique experiences he is now the Director of Millennial Engagement with Monsanto. Most of you have probably heard of Monsanto, and may even hold strong opinions about the work that they do. Listen to Vance. He is a thoughtful, articulate, intelligent ambassador for the future of agriculture. I am honored to have him on the podcast. In addition to discussing AgVocacy (advocacy + Ag….apparently spell check acknowledges it as a word...Cool!), we discuss dedicating your career to solving problems and seeking truth. Enjoy this fascinating interview. Follow Vance on Twitter @vancecrowe. Thanks for listening! We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to the Future of Agriculture Podcast. The response has been outstanding. Please feel free to leave a note in the comment section below. The best way to spread the word about our Podcast is to share your favorite episode using the social media share buttons in the podcast player you are using. You can also leave a review on iTunes. This helps us spread the word about the people, perspectives, and innovations that will provide our future food, clothing, fuel, shelter, and natural resources.