Agriculture will arguably be one of the most important industries of the 21st century.
The global population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, up from 7.3 billion today, and current projections indicate that we will need to grow twice as much food by 2050.
What’s more, the powers that be in the agriculture industry are taking on a different role than they have played in the past. Gone are the days when we could expect big, industry-shaping innovation to come out of corporate R&D departments. With the recent mega-mergers, there just isn’t enough competition anymore. The market has changed to allow entrepreneurship to set the pace for agricultural innovation.
iSelect invests in the entrepreneurs making those innovations happen.
From improvements in nutritional value, to better resource efficiency, to improved yield, to better cost controls, many areas of the agriculture industry are ripe for disruption. It’s happening already, with harvesting automation systems, sensor-based farm management tools and other advanced technologies already appearing on the increasingly-sophisticated market for farm equipment.
There is now an enormous market for technologies that increase yield, improve nutrition, and bring resource efficiency to the agriculture market.
iSelect focuses on early-stage agriculture companies that are poised to help push the next agricultural revolution forward. This includes firms that focus on increasing yield, crop analytics, alternative commodity production, biological plant and soil inputs, and the disruption of the agricultural supply chain.
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iSelect Companies
Selection Team

Bill Northcott is the Chief Innovation Officer at Agrible. He works on developing and researching the science and feasibility of new products. Bill is a sixth generation farmer and currently manages a 500 acre corn/soybean…

Chris Harbourt, Ph.D., co-founder of Agrible, Inc., is a world-class scientist and engineer with an eye on innovation and growth. Chris brings over 25 years of agricultural experience to Agrible and is heavily involved in…

Mr. Tom Willis serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Conestoga Energy Partners LLC. Mr. Willis is responsible for all aspects of the business. He joined Conestoga in November 2006. He possesses widespread knowledge in…

Todd is a recognized expert in functional genomics, bioinformatics, and plant systems biology, and is focused on accelerating discovery and development by more accurately predicting plant performance. He has built capabilities and toolsets that manipulate…

Tim is Vice President of G.M. Lawerence and Company, with a demonstrated history of working in the farming industry. He is skilled in management, agricultural production, precision agriculture, agribusiness, and strategic planning. Tim graduated with…

Mr. Steve Barr is a Co-Founder of Osborn & Barr Communications, Inc. and served as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Barr has more than 35 years of marketing and communications planning experience. He is a…

Dr. DiNicola has over 20 years of experience in the agri-food industry and a decade of experience in sustainability and agriculture development. Through DiNicola LLC, she consults for established and emerging companies and public institutions…

Kevin has over 20 years experience in the grain and livestock industry. He is the publisher of The Van Trump Report, a daily agricultural newsletter that contains some of the best and most comprehensive agricultural…

Eric is the Chief Executive at Pipeline Foods. Eric started his career at The Pillsbury Company where he received his classic commodity merchandising training and became the Manager of Market Development for their Speciality Commodities…

Dr. Bruce German is a Professor and Chemist of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis and researches the role of fats and other components in the diet. He develops ways to…

Alex is the Co-founder of Geltor and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to co-founding Geltor, Alex obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, where his research led him to launch the…

Charles R. (Chas) Eggert is leveraging his extensive experience in the global specialty chemicals and food ingredients industries as well as private equity investing in his role as an operating partner with iSelect Fund. He…

Andy Daniels is a seasoned business executive and successful entrepreneur, an active angel investor, and serves on multiple governing boards with companies in the areas of venture capital, wealth management, agriculture, healthcare, technology innovation, commodity…

Rachel is a Senior Associate at The Context Network, a business management and strategy consulting firm providing services to the world’s leading agriculture, biotechnology and food companies. She was previously an International Sales & Project…

The founding president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri where he served as Emeritus President and Director for 10 years. Roger is currently Executive Director at World Food Center at University of California,…

Tom Adamitis is Managing Director at Yield Lab. He formerly served as the Global Vice President of Raw Materials and Energy Procurement for Anheuser-Busch InBev, one of the world’s largest consumer product companies. He supported…

Chris is the president of Eckert’s Inc., a family farm in southern Illinois. The Eckert’s farm has been in the family for seven generations. They farm 600 acres of fruit and vegetable crops as well…

Before joining OTMIR in 2016, Brian Buntaine worked for more than 15 years in the life sciences industry. He began his career as a lab manager at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2003, Brian joined…

Dr. Brendan A. Niemira is the Research Leader of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research Unit. He leads a team of 30+ scientists, engineers, technicians, postdocs and students in Wyndmoor,…

Dr. Bob Whitaker joined Produce Marketing Association (PMA) in 2008 as Chief Science & Technology Officer, responsible for food safety, technology, supply chain management and sustainability. Bob has served on the Center for Produce Safety…

Berwick Settle is a Dairy Farm Management Specialist, managing a large scale dairy operation in Beijing, China.

Barry Goldman is the Vice President and Head of Discovery at Indigo. Using novel computational, sequencing and laboratory technologies, he is responsible for identifying the microbes that enable Indigo’s first generation of products. Barry brings more than…

Glenn Swanson serves as the President of Daniels Trading. He brings a well-rounded commodity and foreign exchange background to the firm’s day-to-day operations. Glenn has an in-depth knowledge of trading technology and the order execution…

Braden Hudye is a managing partner of The Hudye Group, a 3rd generation family owned company involved in Agriculture, Commercial Real Estate, Multi Family Residential Real Estate, Development Property, as well as other equity investments…
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