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I’m a longtime entrepreneur with a track record that includes both success and failure…
Articles by Chris
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Why It’s So Hard to Get Honest Information About Food
Why It’s So Hard to Get Honest Information About Food
I’ve been on a ketogenic diet for the past 9 months. I’ve lost 35 pounds and have been tracking my health markers…
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Food in the modern workplace
Food in the modern workplace
For decades organizations have realized that the availability of food in the workplace does amazing things as it…
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Activity
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Chris Baggott shared thisI’m still in awe of this team and 10 years on nobody else has figured out how to deliver quality food fast and without fees Here’s to our leader Janet Monroe and the next decade!Chris Baggott shared thisSo this happened yesterday… Mayor Joe Hogsett officially proclaimed March 31, 2026: ClusterTruck Day Standing in our offices, he read the proclamation out loud, in the exact place where it all started, surrounded by our co-founders, investors, employees, delivery team and community partners. It was a proud moment. One I won’t forget. I kept looking around the room at so many familiar faces, thinking about all the chapters of our story. In 2016, nothing about this company was certain. We were building in real time. The menu, the systems, the software, the model. Some things worked, plenty didn’t, and we kept going anyway. Having the Mayor recognize our journey and the positive impact we’ve had on the city of Indianapolis meant so much to all of us. Standing there yesterday, hearing the proclamation, it felt like a real milestone. Proof of what this team has built together, and what’s possible when people commit to solving real problems, even when the path isn’t clear. This recognition belongs to all of the people behind ClusterTruck. The ones who took a chance early. The ones who stayed through the hard parts. And the team that continues to show up every day to make us even better. I’m especially grateful to our co-founders, Mike Cunningham and Chris Baggott, for being there with us yesterday, and to Dan McFadden, who couldn’t join but has been an essential part of this journey. Thank you for taking the original leap, and for trusting me now to carry us forward. We’ve come a long way from the opening day of our first kitchen.
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Chris Baggott shared thisAmazing job team! “The journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step”. I’m sure the same is true for ClusterTruck franchising!Chris Baggott shared thisA few weeks ago, I shared the news that my first signed franchise deal would be opening soon. This past Friday, February 27th, we brought it to life. ClusterTruck Carmel (aka first franchised location) is officially OPEN! It was a pretty surreal moment - watching a kitchen power up for the first time, seeing our first franchisee, Joe Curtis, his awesome GM Bayleigh Wilkerson, and their incredible team in action, fulfilling those first orders, and upholding the ClusterTruck standard. It takes a massive amount of hard work to get from a signed lease to Opening Day, and Joe’s team executed it flawlessly. Special shoutout to the team at Dittoe Public Relations for keeping us on track with an incredible Grand Opening plan. Here are a few snapshots from the day. To everyone in the Carmel and Westfield area—your food delivery revolution has arrived. What are you ordering first? 🍔👇 #ClusterTruck #FoodDelivery #GrandOpening #Franchising #CarmelIN #WestfieldIN
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Chris Baggott reposted thisChris Baggott reposted thisBuilding an emerging franchise brand has reinforced that scalability is about structure. Delivering fresh, high-quality meals on demand at scale is hard. Labor can be unpredictable, margins unforgiving, and frankly, if you’re not creating a great customer experience every time, what are you even doing? In 2025, we spent our time refining our systems to reduce friction and complexity. What’s been encouraging to me in recent conversations is seeing interest shift from what we offer to how we do it, our technology, operational processes, and the discipline that makes repeatability possible. As we enter the new year, we will continue to focus on: - franchisee-first unit economics - operational consistency at scale - evolving our technology We’ve chosen discipline over speed, knowing that when the foundation is right, growth follows naturally.
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Chris Baggott reposted thisChris Baggott reposted thisIn early 2025, I joined Columbia Club's Columbian Business Network (CBN) committee. Along with my fellow committee members, we put in a tremendous amount of work to revitalize the CBN with new monthly events, speaker series, and networking opportunities for Club members and guests. By the end of the year, we tallied 12 events in total - packing the house for each one! We brought together nearly 1,000 attendees for professional networking and educational opportunities. This week, fellow Columbian and committee member Eli Miller, MBA took us all out to celebrate a successful year. Thank you to everyone who promoted and attended our events. Thank you to our speakers and presenters. And thank you to Club staff for your hard work behind the scenes. If you weren't able to attend in 2025, that's okay! We have plenty in store for 2026. We are kicking off our first event of 2026 with a name familiar to many here in Indiana. Join us Thursday, January 15, from 6-8 pm for a Fireside Chat with Nate Spangle Details here: https://lnkd.in/gFSP7Kck Jon Paquette Debbie Evans Jim Martin Eli Miller, MBA Theresa Goodwin, MBA Cris Dorman Tim Barnett
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Chris Baggott shared thisSo proud to have witnessed you nailing this! I will NEVER forget to taking a water sample at Disney!!Chris Baggott shared thisEntrepreneur vulnerability post loading... Isaac Pellerin and my conversation with Dave Kohl on the #MakeWaterWork podcast was a walk down memory lane. We talked about 120Water's founding as a consumer kit company nearly a decade ago and how we literally invented a new, affordable, way for consumers to access lab quality water testing at their door step. I was even able to dig up some old pictures of our kits and us fulfilling orders out the ClusterTruck conference room Chris Baggott and on my dining room table after my kiddos would go to bed. Watch the full podcast episode here: https://lnkd.in/gQePZiia Listen here: https://bit.ly/4iKAL1P As I think about those early days they were hard...really hard. Something in my gut knew this business needed to exist in the market, but there were some humbling lessons I needed to learn early on to keep myself going. Here are some I've been reflecting on: - Solving problems that matter makes hard work easier. While I didn't know exactly what the business model would evolve to, it was obvious the market conditions were changing and we had an opportunity to be part of the solution to protect public health for generations to come. I had not felt that in any of the start-ups I had previously been involved with and that was motivating! - Listen to the customer. I took every meeting I could with current and potential customers to better understand their problems and find common themes so we could build better solutions that drove differentiation and value in the market. - Stay flexible. Pivots are inevitable in entrepreneurship. Your idea may not be the best or right idea at the end of the day. Staying humble enough to recognize that is an important part of the journey. - Make and iterate on decisions. No one can truly prepare you for the breadth and volume of decisions you must make with limited time and data. Getting comfortable making decisions (especially the really hard ones) and managing the outcomes is a critical muscle you just have to develop. Remember: "A good plan executed today is better than the perfect plan tomorrow." - Failure is inevitable as an entrepreneur. Even if you ultimately succeed you will fail at something along the journey. Understanding that failure is temporary obstacle you must overcome to achieve your ultimate objective is a crucial mindset you need to have. For the other entrepreneurs reading the post, I'm curious what early lessons you personally needed to learn to keep the journey going? #FemaleFounder #Founderlife #Hustle #Entrepreneurship #Startup #WaterInnovation #Innovation
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Chris Baggott shared thisToday marks the 25th anniversary of founding ExactTarget. It started in a windowless sublease in Greenfield, Indiana. From there, it became an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange and, eventually, an acquisition by Salesforce. That arc still feels improbable when I say it out loud. What made it possible was people. I’m deeply grateful to my co-founders, Scott Dorsey and Peter McCormick, and to our “fifth Beatle,” Joanna Milliken Special thanks as well to Steve Fouty, Scott Bleczinski, and @Tracy Dolan, along with so many others (Craig, Curt, Shelly, Laura,DP….my gosh the list is long!) who shaped the company at critical moments. I’m equally thankful for our early investors—people willing to take a chance on a bankrupt dry cleaner, a couple of office furniture salesman, and an idea that hadn’t yet proven itself. And to everyone who joined early, then those who raised the bar again as the company grew—you defined the culture and expanded the vision far beyond what we imagined at the start. It was an extraordinary experience. I still can’t quite believe it’s been 25 years.
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Chris Baggott shared thisII’ve always loved the 1983 movie WarGames. Maybe it was a secret crush on Ally Sheedy, or maybe it was the moment in history it captured — when computers were just beginning to show what they might become. For those of us who were paying attention back then, it felt like the dawn of something big. There’s a line at the end of the film that has stayed with me for more than 40 years. After running every possible scenario for nuclear conflict, the supercomputer reaches a simple conclusion: “The only winning move is not to play.” I’ve been thinking about that line lately as AI is being positioned as the future of healthcare — particularly in drug discovery and the “war” on chronic disease. AI might become incredibly powerful. It may model biology more deeply than any tool we’ve created. But if it does, I think it will eventually arrive at the same conclusion as the computer in WarGames. You can’t win a war that shouldn’t be fought. Most chronic diseases — what The Peter Attia Drive calls the Four Horsemen (atherosclerotic disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic disease) — are not caused by a lack of advanced pharmaceuticals. They’re the predictable outcome of the environment we’ve created: ultra-processed food, broken soil, disrupted sleep, immobility, chronic stress, and a food system built for shelf stability instead of human health. We’ve built an arms race of medical “weapons” to treat the symptoms of a system that keeps creating the same problems. If AI ever truly sees the whole picture, it won’t double down on escalation. It will point backward — toward the inputs. Toward nutrient-dense food. Toward real movement. Toward sleep. Toward strong soil. Toward the basics of human biology we ignored in our rush toward convenience. Sometimes the smartest strategy isn’t to keep playing the game. It’s to recognize that the game itself is unwinnable — and take a different path. I wrote a longer piece about this idea, if you’re interested in the connection between AI, WarGames, and the future of human health. https://bit.ly/4idX2EH (Does anyone else see a Max Yoder vibe in that picture?😁)AI, Chronic Disease, and the Only Winning Move: Restore the InputsAI, Chronic Disease, and the Only Winning Move: Restore the Inputs
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Chris Baggott reposted thisHappy Halloween! 🎃 Don't be scared by all the Ross Malikowskis 👻Chris Baggott reposted thisHappy Halloween! Our teams have been celebrating throughout the week, participating in a variety of ways and having fun all across the country: 🎃 PCI San Diego sponsored and volunteered for a carnival benefiting the Monarch School Project, a school dedicated to providing unhoused youth with a holistic education designed to meet their academic, social, emotional, and life skill needs. 🎃 PCI Portland & PCI Vancouver teamed up and threw an office party with an epic spread and an unbelievable 'scare-cuterie' board. A handful of the team also dressed up as their GM, Ross Malikowski. 🎃 PCI Promatec stayed well-insulated with some Halloween socks, and celebrated with costumes and bingo! 🎃 Corporate held a costume and department theme contest and invited families to trick or treat, including one of our newest PCI members who was 'waffle-y' cute. 🎃 PCI Bay Area participated in a costume and pumpkin carving contest and their entry was scary good. 🎃 The PCI Columbus team hosted a pumpkin carving party, spending some quality time together and delivering some truly original work in the process! #PCIProud #HappyHalloween #Halloween #FunCompany #ThrivingTogether
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Chris Baggott reposted thisWhat’s been tough, especially here in Indy, is finding SDR roles that truly jumpstart your career. Ones that give you the room, momentum, and opportunity to grow. This is one of those rare roles where that’s exactly what you’ll find. And to top it off, you’d be working under one of the most forward-thinking and impactful GTM and people leaders I know, Charlie Parker.Chris Baggott reposted thisI’m excited to share that we’re expanding our team! 🎉 Opening new roles always reminds me why I love this team. Watching our SDRs grow, take on new challenges, and step into bigger opportunities has been incredibly rewarding — and their success is exactly why we’re growing again. We’re looking for the next wave of Sales Development Representatives to join us in Indianapolis (hybrid)! It’s an exciting time to join Tenon, where we empower marketing and communications teams to work smarter on ServiceNow. Know someone who might be a great fit? Tag them or share this post! https://lnkd.in/gAhMc_JG
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Chris Baggott liked thisCounting down to May 11 - MD NEW VENTURE PITCH NIGHT! 🚀 A huge thank you to Potomac24 for being our incredible media sponsor and capturing the "behind-the-scenes" grit that goes into building a venture. 📸🎥 I am so proud of our entrepreneurs, fellows, and mentors. Your tireless work over the last 14 weeks is what makes this ecosystem thrive. From refining value propositions to surviving "honest enough to sting" feedback, you’ve put in the work to ensure May 11 is a massive success. I personally cannot wait to see the company exhibits and the final pitches! 🎤✨ 🎟 Join us: If you haven’t registered yet, there are only a few seats left! Don’t miss your chance to see these innovators in action. https://lnkd.in/epwAxwZX #MarylandNewVenture #Entrepreneurship #PitchPractice #Innovation #bwtech #StartupLife #MarylandTech Sheik Akij Sam Negahban Aaron Miscenich Lauren WeinbergChris Baggott liked this🎥 From Practice to Pitch: Inside Maryland NEW VENTURE’s Preparation Night at bwtech@UMBC There's a quieter side to building a venture that most people never see. Not the demo day. Not the funding announcement. The Monday afternoon practice — where founders pitch in front of a mock judging panel, get feedback that's honest enough to sting, and rebuild before the real night arrives. Last night at bwtech@UMBC, Maryland NEW VENTURE Cohort 6 did exactly that. Marjie Cota, Program Director, bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park opened the session by reminding founders how far they've come — value propositions, market analysis, business models, competitive landscapes, asks. Twelve weeks of work walking onto the stage with them. Chris Ewing, Entrepreneur in Residence, bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Parks and Mentor of Maryland NEW VENTURE said something that stuck: for many founders, the challenge isn't building the product. It's explaining it. That's the work that happens before May 11. 🎬 Potomac24 captured the moment — featuring Dong Li (PocketCardio), Erica J. (Think Happy. Live Happy. Inc.), and Velma Funebe (iBraid), Omkar Pardeshi, Omkar Kalekar, Bhavana Reddy Register for the event: https://lnkd.in/ekB6VnnW 🎥 Watch Pitch Practice Session on Potomac24From Practice to Pitch: Inside Maryland NEW VENTURE’s Preparation Night at bwtech@UMBCFrom Practice to Pitch: Inside Maryland NEW VENTURE’s Preparation Night at bwtech@UMBC
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisThanks to Scott Bryan and the entire Imagine H2O team for having me kick- off the 2026 Startup Bootcamp. What a talented group of entrepreneurs in this year's cohort. My reflections are below and I can't wait to see what this group will accomplish! #WaterInnovation #WaterAI #MakeWaterWorkPodcast #Founders #WomeninWaterWater Entrepreneurship in 2026 - My Reflections from IH20 Startup BootcampWater Entrepreneurship in 2026 - My Reflections from IH20 Startup Bootcamp
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisIf you don't know, the month of May in Indianapolis means one thing - racing. 🏎️ All month long, we rally together, pulling off countless events, promotions, and publicity, culminating with The Greatest Spectacle in Racing - The Indianapolis 500. I'm pleased to be able to play a small part this year. On Thursday, May 7, I'll be hosting IndyCar driver Conor Daly at the Columbia Club for a fireside chat as part of the Columbian Business Network. We'll be talking about racing, but with a unique twist - we're going to be exploring the business of racing, and what it takes to build, fund, and sustain a race team from his perspective. Link to register is in the comments. If you can't make it, I'll forgive you, but only if you order The Conor Daly burger from ClusterTruck. I'm told it's pretty tasty 😉🍔 #Indy500 #MonthOfMay #IndyCar #BusinessOfRacing #Indianapolis #ClusterTruck
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisYou are more likely to hurt your career by avoiding AI than by engaging with it. Someone still has to decide how it is used. Someone has to train it, guide it, and evaluate the outcomes. I had a customer tell me this week: "I do not know exactly what we want AI to do yet. I just know our boss said we’re fired if we’re not looking into it with an open mind." That is where most organizations actually are right now. Curiosity is becoming the baseline expectation. When I talk with people who are “against” AI due to fears of unknown (training their replacement 🤔) I always say: “AI is going to replace your low value, lowest revenue generating activities. Giving you time back to focus on the highest revenue generating activities but also to enjoy your life! If you feel most of your day to day is more manual, administrative, and repetitive, all the more reason to ensure you’re the one knowledgeable enough to train and implement it. Because with all new tech, roles and responsibilities are created that we arn’t even thinking about yet.”
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisI spend about 25 hours a week talking to customers about AI and what it means for their business. One thing especially stands out. The most innovative leaders are not the ones who fully believe in it. They are the ones who are skeptical but still willing to explore. They do not assume the hype is true. They also do not ignore the shift. They invest time and money to figure it out for themselves. That mindset is what separates curiosity from avoidance. And it’s extremely impressive to see. Especially when it's coming from the small, family owned manufacturing business, or lawn care business, in the midwest who is happy and traditionally not looking for change.
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Chris Baggott liked thisTo our friends at the Maryland Department of Commerce, thank you for the continued support! Hope you can join us for the virtual showcase!Chris Baggott liked thisRegister for the next STARTUP Accelerator Showcase with bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. The next showcase will be held virtually on May 6, celebrate entrepreneurs as they showcase their startups! https://ow.ly/Oses50YKwS3
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisIt is with deep sadness that we share the passing of our Partner, CFO, co-founder, and dear friend, Alan “Al” Krause. Al was more than a leader at Clearwater Capital Partners. He was a steady presence, a trusted voice in the moments that mattered most, and someone who made everyone around him better. His integrity, optimism, and quiet strength shaped not only our firm but the people within it. Outside of work, Al was devoted to his family above all else. He is survived by his wife, Kelly, and their daughters, Kaitlin and Kaeli, with a grandson, Henry Alan, on the way. He built a life rooted in love, service, and community, and that legacy will continue far beyond our walls. We will remember Al for his generosity, his professionalism, and the lasting impact he made on all of us. Service Details Saturday, April 11, 2026 St. Peter Catholic Church, Geneva, IL Visitation: 9:30 AM | Funeral Mass: 10:30 AM In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cancer Support Center: https://lnkd.in/gZ65Ma2R
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Chris Baggott liked thisChris Baggott liked thisSo this happened yesterday… Mayor Joe Hogsett officially proclaimed March 31, 2026: ClusterTruck Day Standing in our offices, he read the proclamation out loud, in the exact place where it all started, surrounded by our co-founders, investors, employees, delivery team and community partners. It was a proud moment. One I won’t forget. I kept looking around the room at so many familiar faces, thinking about all the chapters of our story. In 2016, nothing about this company was certain. We were building in real time. The menu, the systems, the software, the model. Some things worked, plenty didn’t, and we kept going anyway. Having the Mayor recognize our journey and the positive impact we’ve had on the city of Indianapolis meant so much to all of us. Standing there yesterday, hearing the proclamation, it felt like a real milestone. Proof of what this team has built together, and what’s possible when people commit to solving real problems, even when the path isn’t clear. This recognition belongs to all of the people behind ClusterTruck. The ones who took a chance early. The ones who stayed through the hard parts. And the team that continues to show up every day to make us even better. I’m especially grateful to our co-founders, Mike Cunningham and Chris Baggott, for being there with us yesterday, and to Dan McFadden, who couldn’t join but has been an essential part of this journey. Thank you for taking the original leap, and for trusting me now to carry us forward. We’ve come a long way from the opening day of our first kitchen.
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TynerPondFarm
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Education
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The Evergreen State College
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Activities and Societies: Worked as River Guide and did a bunch of Paddleing. Skiied a lot :-) Spent Semister in Middle East
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Jefferson Braga
Good report and source for whats ahead this year in Ag. Weather Shifts While Markets Slide Sideways https://lnkd.in/g_bmhvqG 2. Markets slide sideways: Anecdotal harvest reports say corn and soybeans yields aren't always coming up to levels USDA predicted in the August and September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports. With no official updates in those numbers because of the government shutdown, we're looking for more than anecdotes. But even the potential of lower-than-expected yields has a hard time moving markets significantly as export opportunities continue to flounder. ... 5. Reports due this week: Here are the reports scheduled, though if the government shutdown continues some may not be released as planned. Monday at 9 a.m., U.S. Leading Economic Indicators for September. At 10 a.m., Grain Inspections. The USDA NASS weekly Crop Progress report is unlikely unless the shutdown ends. On Tuesday no reports scheduled. Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m., the EIA weekly petroleum report with ethanol production and stocks is scheduled. Thursday at 7:30 a.m., Grain Export Sales is released, also the Initial Jobless Claims. At 9 a.m. Existing Home Sales is due. At 10:30 a.m. is Weekly Economic Index. Friday, at 7:30 a.m. Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Core CPI are scheduled. At 8:45 a.m. S&P Flash U.S. Services PMI for October and Flash Manufacturing PMI for October. At 9 a.m. is Consumer Sentiment. At 2:30 p.m. the CFTC Commitment of Traders report -- again, only if the government has reopened.
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Jessica Niekrasz
Interesting read on Iowa’s ethanol industry and the role carbon sequestration could play in unlocking future growth. CCS will likely be part of the long-term solution. At the same time, there are near-term, complementary options that can improve economics and carbon intensity while that infrastructure takes shape. Colocating ethanol plants with biogas facilities is one example ... not a replacement for sequestration, but a practical “yes/and” that can lower fossil energy use, manage waste streams, and improve CI today. Feels like the industry will need multiple pathways, not a single bet. #Ethanol #Biogas #LowCarbonFuels #EnergyTransition
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Bill Kirk
27 Sep '25 Captain's Blog Video Update: We met so many incredible Ag business leaders at the Women in Agribusiness Summit this week, definitely checkout their conferences - exceptional. We spoke on our 2026 Ag outlook and more high risk for corn prices going into 2026. The U.S. and World 2-week outlooks show a generally mild and dry pattern in the U.S. (slightly more favorable than last year for Fall merchandise) with hurricane threats for the Carolinas (near miss) and Bermuda (near miss). Have a great week ahead! - Captain Kirk out #retailsales #hurricanes #supplychainriskmanagement #categorymanager #weatherforecast #severeweather #WIA #agriculture #farming #Ag #Brazil #wt360
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Jackson Baris
The U.S. EPA has awarded $3.7 million in grants to four organizations in Michigan and Ohio to help farmers adopt nutrient management practices aimed at reducing harmful algal blooms in the Western Lake Erie Basin, where agricultural runoff is the leading cause of pollution. Notable initiatives include Ohio's H2Ohio program targeting 10,000 pounds of phosphorus reduction and The Nature Conservancy’s peer-to-peer network engaging 200 farmers to implement edge-of-field regenerative practices like vegetated buffers and two-stage ditches. #Regenerative #regenrativeagriculture #food #agriculture #news https://lnkd.in/eci92vhs
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Iris Meck
For Certified Crop Advisors (CCA), continuing #education is important. It helps you grow, adapt, and stay up to date in the fast-changing #agriculture industry. Attending the Advancing Women Conference West 2026 allows you to earn CEU credits and learn about more than just traditional #agronomy topics. This conference offers valuable discussions and practical insights on: - #Leadership in #agriculture - #Communication and influence - #Resilience in today’s agricultural landscape - Business skills for agricultural professionals - The future of the industry This professional development strengthens your technical skills and enhances the broader abilities that help agricultural professionals lead and make a difference. Join us at #AWCWEST2026 for learning, connection, and growth: https://lnkd.in/g73khqhM #AWCWest2026 #CertifiedCropAdvisor #CCA #AgLeadership #Agriculture #ProfessionalDevelopment #WomenInAg
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William Aderholdt
Success in #agriculture is not about the highest yields, its about driving profitability. Doing more with less. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that total production costs for corn will rise about 3% in 2026 from 2025, while soybean costs are projected to increase 3.1%." Producers may see higher profitability 📈 by growing less per acre, but optimizing their bottom line. The margin needs to grow. #agtech is helping to increase the number of decisions we can make on the farm as we continue to enter the 4th Agricultural Revolution. This is about AI enablement to empower farmers to do more with less. https://lnkd.in/gTtVxxkk
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