In the crowded and fast-moving waters of the seed industry, farmers are in search of seed businesses that help them navigate critical decisions. This is at odds with the ways we traditionally try to win their business – through products, programs, and “better than” messaging. Attempting to build our differentiation around these anchors our customers, prospects, and businesses to the past – and limits our ability to grow. What if instead of anchoring to our products, we sailed toward our customers? What if we focused on what they wanted first, and sought the products to deliver that to them second? Winning the customer intimacy battle will be the key to independent brands’ future success. In this breakout we’ll share why we believe this, ways you could go about it, and how Epiphium can help your business lift the anchors that are weighing you down… so you can navigate the changing ag currents with confidence.

Katie Sauer is a sales and marketing consultant who is passionate about helping independent brands succeed. She applies 18 years of sales, marketing, and communication experience to help seed companies navigate the complexities of the market, gain valuable insights into their own businesses, and create and implement strategic plans that will carry their brands into the future. Prior to consulting, Katie spent 1 6 years at Monsanto, where she held roles in marketing, account management, communication, and sales support in various areas of the company, including direct - to - farmer brands, corporate affairs, and licensing . Following that corporate experience, she spent 2 years in the start - up space, where she focused on commercial developmen t and marketing at Inari. Katie holds a B.A. in communication from Truman State University and an MBA from Saint Louis University.

2 Sessions:
Crystal Ballroom B
1/8/2024 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Crystal Ballroom B
1/8/2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

A life long central Illinois farmer, Jim is best known to Independent Seed Companies from his former roles at Monsanto as President of Corn States, and VP of US Row Crops. Jim has continued in the Ag-Tech Innovation space with senior roles at 360 Yield Center, and GreenLab, along with 5 years as VP of Seed Marketing at WinField.

1 Session:
Crystal Ballroom I
1/8/2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

- Discover potential points of generational conflict and tactics to handle them
- Learn how to strengthen cross-generational communication to foster company wide ideation
- Obtain specific strategies to leverage multi generational differences like optimizing recruitment and retention

Modern day workplace has four generations working under one roof: Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials and now Generation Z. All work together to accomplish common organizational goals, however, with differences in each of these generation’s viewpoints, upbringings, culture, ideas, beliefs and experiences, it is likely to see some tiffs or clashes within the organization. Hence, makes managing four different generations in the workplace an extremely difficult task to accomplish, though not impossible. With right guidance, support and advice, the task of managing these four generations under one roof is achievable. The support may come in various forms, one of which is this program.

This program focuses on managing four different generations in the workplace where author and practitioner Jeff Butler, backed by a decade of psychological research, shares insights about motivations, differences, and communication styles of these four generations. You will learn how organizations across various industries are thriving with a multigenerational workforce and how yours can too. Through this program you’ll find specific actionable strategies to manage your cross-generational challenges and turn your multigenerational workforce into a competitive advantage.

2 Session:
Crystal Ballroom A
1/8/2024 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Crystal Ballroom A
1/8/2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Mike is a dynamic, action-oriented and outcomes-driven executive leader, passionate about building high performing teams, driving explosive growth and profitability at innovative agriculture companies. Mike has a wide range of experience building and leading teams in multi-national companies, small innovative start-ups and the largest ag tech startup in history. He is skilled in building commercial teams in high growth companies, strategy, P&L management and operations. Mike's core principles focus on leadership, ownership, accountability, problem-solving, collaboration, coaching, providing the customer with a great experience and working with a sense of urgency. He's comfortable working in an ambiguous environment, under pressure and bringing order to chaos. He's built a track record of hiring A+ talent and has built the highest level of trust with employees by providing continued growth through thoughtful coaching. Mike currently leads commercial sales for Pattern Ag and is responsible for scaling the business. Previously served dual roles at Indigo as the Head of Sales and Service and Head of North American Carbon in the Crop Production business. In these positions he led nearly 100 people and was accountable for executing sales for the North American Crop Production business. He was the first commercial employee at Indigo in 2017 and helped scale the company and successfully built six teams. Among those teams were the first two field sales and service teams, Systems Deployment, Agronomy business unit and North American Carbon. Mike led two reorganizations of the North American commercial business as it continued to grow and expand. He also took on the added responsibility of overseeing Commercial Enablement & Training, reorganizing to focus on high-impact learning, to exceed targets.

1 Sessions:
Crystal Ballroom G
1/8/2024 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
 

Veteran agtech executive Gary Schaefer was hired to the Innerplant role of Vice President of Revenue and Partnerships. Schaefer leads the team driving the commercialization of InnerPlant’s technology and build on the company’s traction around industry partnerships. “My career has always centered on helping deliver ways to solve problems for farmers and make their work easier and more efficient,” says Schaefer. “I’m excited by the opportunity to expand InnerPlant’s alliances and build new ones to leverage their unique and powerful data for the benefit of farmers and the industry.” Schaefer was most recently the Vice President of Corporate Development for agtech startup Enko following executive roles at crop-protection firms Syngenta and Valent. He holds a BS in Food and Resource Economics, as well as a Masters of Agribusiness from the University of Florida.

1 Session:
Crystal Ballroom G
1/8/2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Dr. Cengiz Koparan is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Precision Agriculture Technology at the University of Arkansas since 2023. He serves in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology with input from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University. His research program investigates use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Ground Vehicles for improving agricultural practices by developing novel methods, concepts, and technologies. He specializes in computer-assisted agricultural machine systems in precision agriculture and the application of these technologies in improving agricultural systems.

2 Sessions:
Crystal Ballroom H
1/8/2024 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Crystal Ballroom H
1/8/2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Han Chen is the Co-founder and CEO of ZeaKal, Inc. Han brings with him over seventeen years of management and venture experience. He has been a pioneer in changing how agricultural trait technologies are commercialized, focusing on innovative public-private partnerships between industry, venture, and research. To date, Han has started and successfully raised financing for three start-ups, totaling over thirty million dollars in capital. Han is also the Co-founder and Managing Director of Kapyon Ventures, a technology incubation firm behind the pre-venture development of ZeaKal. Prior to founding ZeaKal and Kapyon, Han was the Investment Manager for Finistere Partners, a San Diego-based life science venture capital firm. He was responsible for seeding the deal flow of a nine-million-dollar strategic investment fund that resulted in the formation of several start-ups, generation of millions in research funding, and several technology licensing opportunities. Han graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College and has a Master’s degree in International Business from the University of California, San Diego. He is also a CFA Charterholder.