Agriculture is a forward-thinking, tech savvy industry. As much as many people like to envision romantic rolling hills with red barns and overalls, that’s not really how it works anymore — especially with global food security at stake. We have robots that milk cows, tractors that drive themselves, drones that detect pests, remote camera monitoring for water systems … the list goes on. This ain’t your grandpa’s farm. And that’s a good thing!
What is your favorite farm innovation? Take a moment to think about how far we’ve come. If you’re a multi-generation farmer, think about what it was like when you were a kid compared to how the farm is run now. Crazy, right? Farmers today do so much more with fewer land and labor resources, too.
Do you know someone who’s an innovator in ag? Maybe it’s yourself or a business acquaintance somewhere around the world? The floating dairy farm in the Netherlands comes to mind for me. How about you? I’d love to see that someday!
The good news is that you can now celebrate and nominate them through The Top Innovators campaign, which recognizes global innovation in agriculture. Based in the UK, the campaign hopes to bring together the most innovative minds in agriculture to create a list of outstanding individuals for 2021 and to celebrate their achievements.
The campaign, which runs from now until March 5, is asking for companies, media, and individuals to nominate people they deem to have shown innovative spirit over the past year. Nominations can be made on behalf of any individual — from creative and efficiency-minded CEOs to exceptional developers, engineers, or regulatory managers. The campaign is intended to shine a light on people who are committed to improving the industry.
So what exactly are they looking for? We all have a different perception of what’s innovative, and they’re not just looking for those at the helm of innovative agricultural solutions — though they will certainly fit the criteria. Each nomination will be reviewed on its own merit against the context provided by the nominator. It could be that an individual has helped their team or company push a particularly innovative agenda internally, or perhaps identified a new opportunity or process for your business; regardless the goal is to showcase the talented minds we have across the agricultural industry.
Nominations will be gathered over the next few weeks, after which all applications will be reviewed by a panel of agricultural experts, including Chief Technology Officer at UPL Adrian Percy; Ph.D. Principle at Double Helix Consulting, Howard-Yana Shapiro; Director at Chaseman Global, Phillip Bills; and me, The Farm Babe on social media, public speaker and columnist right here at AGDAILY.
I’m extremely excited to be a part of this. It reminds me of the Alltech ONE symposium, which offers scholarships to students and the Pearce Lyons Accelerator program to help celebrate the future of food. We must always continue to uplift and celebrate the people who make agriculture innovative and improve our amazing industry.
Bills from Chaseman Global said: “We’re extremely pleased to be supporting The Top Innovators campaign alongside some truly exceptional people from the industry. As a leading search consultancy, we’re delighted to be celebrating the achievements of individuals and share their accomplishments on a wider stage. I look forward to seeing a number of nominations from all parts of the agricultural industry; after all it isn’t just the inventors, founders, and entrepreneurs who drive innovation — although I’m sure there will be many of those on the list.”
To nominate an employee, co-worker, or industry peer, or to self-nominate, go to www.thetopinnovators.com and fill out the nomination form.
The Top Innovators list will be released in April.
Michelle Miller, the Farm Babe, is a farmer, public speaker and writer who has worked for years with row crops, beef cattle, and sheep. She believes education is key in bridging the gap between farmers and consumers.
