PODCAST: New Era at AgriNovus Indiana
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAgriNovus Indiana’s new chief executive officer says the global pandemic has revealed how the delicate balance of the global food supply can be upended by a “massive force of disruption.” But Mitch Frazier also says the ag ecosystem in Indiana is well-positioned to seek and find solutions.
“To bring innovators together, academic leaders together, technology companies together, link arms with producers and make that innovation happen here,” says Frazier. “Where we can boost resiliency in the food supply chain, where we can work to create new markets and new uses for the crops that are produced here.”
Frazier is now entering his third week as head of the state’s initiative to promote the agriculture, biotechnology, and sciences sectors.
He most recently served as CEO Fishers-based Reynolds Farm Equipment, one of the biggest John Deere dealerships in Indiana. He also served in the U.S. Army and with Governor Mitch Daniels administration.
Frazier succeeds Beth Bechdol, who left AgriNovus in February to take a position with the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
“As I zoom out and look at the asset base that exists within Indiana, we’ve all talked a tremendous amount about the incredible technology talent that exists in Indiana. We know we have an amazing group of academic leaders and higher education leaders who are really pushing that front edge of technology and innovation,” says Frazier, who joined Gerry Dick with Inside INdiana Business for this week’s Ag+Bio+Science podcast presented by AgriNovus Indiana.
The organization says plenty of challenges lie ahead: producer profitability, talent retention, and a vulnerable supply chain in a COVID-19 world.
“Make no mistake Indiana is competing each and every day for jobs, for talent, for capital investment,” says Frazier. “When we look at challenges, we need to be incredibly crisp about who we are, what we do and why we’re different.”
Frazier says the agbioscience sector offers a multitude of career options, calling it an “industry of industries.”
Find out what that means in the newest Ag+Bio+Science podcast which will be available Monday morning. Click here for more information on how you can listen.