From Farms to Incubators

Amy Wu

Description

• Advance reader copies
• Targeted endorsements
• Targeted reviews in book trade publications
• Targeted reviews in magazines and websites covering business, agriculture, technology, entrepreneurship, and women's interest
• Targeted reviews in major newspapers
• Targeted television, radio, and podcast interviews
• Regional author tour in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and Los Angeles
• Promotion on author's website
• Social media promotion

An exciting look at how women entrepreneurs are transforming agriculture through high technology.

Don't take the food you eat for granted. Farmers today face huge challenges in keeping your food supply secure—climate change, precarious water and soil supplies, and a growing global population projected to reach 10 billion people in 2050. Women innovators are tackling these problems to create a secure and sustainable food supply for the future. Using drones, artificial intelligence, sophisticated soil sensors, data analytics, blockchain, and robotics, these women are transforming agriculture into the growing field of agtech, the integration of agriculture and technology.

From Farms to Incubators presents inspiring stories and practical case studies of how women entrepreneurs from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are leading the agtech revolution. Each agribusiness leader profiled in From Farms to Incubators tells her own story of how she used agtech innovation to solve specific business problems and succeed. The women profiled speak frankly on the advantages and drawbacks of technological solutions to agriculture and offer lessons in making technology productive in real work. These business cases demonstrate the influence of female innovation, the new technologies applied to agribusiness problems, and the career opportunities young women can find in agribusiness.

A must-read book for everyone interested in tech innovation and food security, From Farms to Incubators offers exhilarating role models for young women, a thought-provoking glimpse into the future of food production, and a fascinating investigation of how women leaders are profitably disrupting the world's oldest industry.

Chapter One: The Search Begins

Chapter Two: Boosting Healthy Soil - Poornima Parameswaran and Diana Wu

Chapter Three: Forging a Path - Jessica González

Chapter Four: Artificial Intelligence in Food Inspection – Miku Jha

Chapter Five: Redmelon Dreams – Thuy Le Vuong

Chapter Six: A Pioneer – Pam Marrone

Chapter Seven: Cartoonist to Technologist – Martha Montoya

Chapter Eight: Fostering Healthier Bee Hives – Ellie Symes

Chapter Nine: Mobile App for Ranchers – Christine Su

Chapter Ten: Software for Small Farmers - Mariana Vasconcelos

Chapter Eleven: Seeds of the Future - Ponsi Trivisvavet

Chapter Twelve: Fatma Kaplan

Chapter Thirteen: Ros Harvey

Chapter Fourteen: Penelope Nagel

Chapter Fifteen: Other Voices

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Resources

Glossary

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Sujets

• Women in business
• Entrepreneurship
• Food industry
• Agribusiness
• Population growth
• General officer
• Technology
• Business
• Industrie agroalimentaire
• General
• Agriculture
• Leadership
• California
• Farmer
• Industrie

Informations

• Publié par: Linden Publishing
• Date de parution: 20 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 67
• EAN13: 9781610353816
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

Praise for From Farms to Incubators
I am very enthusiastic about holding up these stories to inspire others, especially the next generation of women using their STEM backgrounds to make positive impacts in our communities and our world.
-Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
Amy Wu tells the stories of the underestimated women who are the driving force and changing face of agriculture in California. This book will serve as inspiration for the countless minority women who seek to be heard in rural America.
-Christine Chavez, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez and farm activist
Finally, there s a book that celebrates the incredible women who will inspire the next generation of fabulous female foodpreneurs.
-Gail Becker, Founder and CEO, Caulipower
Amy Wu is a masterful storyteller and voice for the unsung heroes of agriculture today.
-Tonya Antle, Cofounder and Executive Vice President of the Organic Produce Network
Amy Wu has written a book that not only celebrates women innovators and entrepreneurs in food and agriculture, but also inspires the next generation of women to follow in their path.
-Kara Goldin, Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., and author of Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters
I have seen young women from around the world coming up with creative solutions to food system challenges. Their approach is refreshing and urgently needed to get rid of polarized thinking. From Farms to Incubators injects inspiration and empowers the next generation of female leaders in the food and agriculture space.
-Christine Gould, Founder and CEO of Thought For Food
By telling the stories of amazing women in agtech, like Amy Wu does in this book, we can help to prove that different approaches are to be celebrated and can yield great success.
-Louisa Burwood-Taylor, Head of Media and Research for AgFunder
Amy Wu has done a phenomenal job collecting the stories of women founders in agtech. Their creativity, vision, and passion for using technologies to solve some of the biggest challenges that farmers face is something that we celebrate.
-Carolyn Leighton, Founder and CEO, Women in Technology International
Amy s book of women in agriculture beautifully illustrates the diversity, passion, and commitment of an amazing group of women who are remaking modern agriculture through innovation and sustainable practices.
-Mareese Keane, Cofounder, Opengate
From Farms to Incubators not only shines a fascinating spotlight on a growing and evolving industry but is another necessary catalyst for gender equality, providing a platform to the often voiceless and inspiration for the next generation of female leaders in this space.
-Juliet Scott-Croxford, CEO, Worth Media
In her book From Farms to Incubators , Amy Wu has captured the stories of agtech s future pioneers. Using their life experiences to inspire others, these women are breaking down barriers while holding onto family values.
-Karen Washington, farmer and activist


A farmscape of lettuce in the Salinas Valley, California. Photo courtesy of Dexter Farm.
FROM FARMS TO INCUBATORS
Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food Is Grown

Amy Wu
From Farms to Incubators
Copyright 2021 by Amy Wu.
All rights reserved.
Images in frontispiece collage courtesy of Trav Williams/Broken Banjo Photography
Published by Craven Street Books
An imprint of Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary Street, Fresno, California 93721
[phone] / [phone]
CravenStreetBooks.com
Craven Street Books and Colophon are trademarks of Linden Publishing, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-61035-575-9
135798642
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file.
Contents

Creating Fertile Soil for Untold Stories to Grow
Agtech and the Spirit of Innovation
Introduction
Innovation Meets Agriculture
Poornima Parameswaran And Diane Wu
Jessica Gonzalez
Miku Jha
Thuy-Le Vuong
Pam Marrone
Martha Montoya
Ellie Symes
Christine Su
Mariana Vasconcelos
Ponsi Trivisvavet
Fatma Kaplan
Ros Harvey
Penelope Nagel
Other Trailblazers In Agtech
Epilogue
The Road Ahead
Acknowledgments
Contributors to From Farms to Incubators
Glossary
Supporters of From Farms to Incubators
Index
For Dad.
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Creating Fertile Soil for Untold Stories to Grow

Foreword by Lia Huber
A my Wu had been an investigative reporter for twenty years at major media outlets when she got a call from an editor at the Californian asking if she d be interested in moving to Salinas to cover agriculture.
It was 2016, and the agriculture technology (agtech) sector was burgeoning in the region. Agtech ticked several boxes on Amy s interest list: business, government, agriculture, and technology. She said yes and headed to the Central Coast from the Central Valley.
But there s a backstory here of a rising tide, brought on by the creative thinkers in Salinas and amplified by Development Counsellors International (DCI). It would become the fodder for Amy s future.

Photo courtesy of Lia Huber
The Spark That Put Salinas on the Agtech Map
Three years earlier, in 2012, economic hardship struck the Salinas Valley-known mainly as the Salad Bowl of the world -when Capital One, the region s main employer, closed its offices and left nearly 900 people out of work.
Salinas s city leaders had already been looking to shift the region s economic trajectory, and Capital One s departure made the case for doing so even more compelling.
Reeling from the loss of one of the city s largest employers, the City of Salinas launched its agtech innovation ecosystem initiative with the threefold aim to attract and support entrepreneurs and start-ups; seed and grow educational and training programs; and rebrand and establish the region as an agtech hub.
City leaders brought together a strategic coalition of stakeholders with vast expertise, such as John Hartnell of Silicon Valley-based consulting firm SVG Partners and Bruce Taylor of Taylor Farms. And they brought in DCI to spearhead rebranding and outreach.
At first, it was an uphill climb. No one had heard of the term agtech , and Salinas didn t have a big research university to give it gravitas. But DCI persevered, and the first big hit came in 2013 when it brought a reporter from the Financial Times to Salinas, resulting in the front-page article titled Silicon Valley Links with Salinas Valley to Make Farming Smart .
Just a couple of weeks later, the San Francisco Chronicle followed suit and soon the trickle of press became a torrent, with major feature stories in CNBC, Wired , the Los Angeles Times , and more. As the narrative about Salinas s and the region s credibility as an agtech leader grew to a national- even global-scale, there became more and more to write about.
So much so that when DCI pitched Forbes Media on the idea of holding an agtech summit in Salinas (Forbes had been considering the Midwest) and connected the team with those spearheading the agtech innovation ecosystem efforts in Salinas, Forbes said yes. And in July of 2015, the first Forbes AgTech Summit was held in downtown Salinas.
Which means Amy arrived in Salinas at the perfect time.
Explosive Growth
I ve always been interested in innovation and how it impacts society, says Amy. Over the next three years, Amy witnessed-and covered-plenty of it. Like the opening (and prolific growth) of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology incubator. And the highly successful CSin3 program, which has paved the way for students who may have fallen through the cracks (40% of the program s students are female, 93% are minorities, and 74% are the first generation in their family to attend college) to earn a bachelor s degree in computer science in three years from California State University, Monterey Bay, and Hartnell College.
Another big boost to agtech start-ups was the launch of the THRIVE Accelerator Program, a highly competitive four-month program culminating in a business pitch at the Forbes AgTech Summit and up to $200,000 in seed capital.
The more involved Amy got in the agtech scene, the more she began to wonder how many agtech startup firms were led or launched by women. Being Chinese American, she recognized that the entrepreneurial road was exponentially more difficult for minority women in a new field spanning two arenas-agriculture and technology-that had traditionally been dominated by men. I kept wanting to ask these women, What s motivating you to climb Everest?
So, in 2017 she began seeking out minority women entrepreneurs in agtech, hoping to learn about them and tell their stories.
The Incubation of From Farms to Incubators
Amy sought out grants to fund a documentary, From Farms to Incubators: Telling the Stories of Minority Women Entrepreneurs in Agtech in the Salinas Valley and Beyond . And for the next several months, she searched for minority women who had started companies in agtech and listened to their stories.
A common thread I found among these women entrepreneurs was that they were intent on wanting to use their skills and education and professional background to create something that made an impact, says Amy. They re truly on a mission to make a difference and solve problems in the food system.
Which is a good thing, because the food system is facing unprecedented c