The Nexus of Energy and Agriculture at Ag Innovation Showcase, St. Louis, MO

June 1, 2010

Nidus Managing Partner Mich Hein moderated a panel of experts at the Ag Innovation Showcase in St. Louis on May 24th, 2010.   The panel included David Fischhoff, VP Technology Strategy, Monsanto; Miguel Oliveira, Director, Global Innovation, Bunge Limited; and Jake Tarr, Managing Director, Kinetic Ventures.  The panel explored the intersection of the energy and agriculture sectors and specifically how the ag sectors holds promise for sustainable production of food, feed and renewable fuels to help manage the carbon footprint.  The panel agreed that there are many opportunities for innovation that will benefit the industry in years to come but large amounts of capital will be deployed to take the innovation from concept to commercial viability.  Additionally, with respect to energy generated from agriculture, productivity becomes increasingly important. Decreasing production costs/increasing yields along with co-products will be needed to achieve a reduction of the carbon footprint.