About
I am a category designer on a mission to fight the nose-picking, credentialed naysayers…
Articles by Dan
Activity
16K followers
-
Dan Schultz shared thisIf you really want to build a brand, you need a metric unique to your company. One problem we see in #agribusiness today is that everyone is chasing the same metrics. We're suffering from Goodhart's Law: anytime a metric becomes a target, it stops being a useful metric. If you unconsciously adopt the same success metrics as every one of your competitors, you are going to be stuck competing on price alone and that's where many businesses in our industry are stuck today. We need more James Watt's in our industry today...Dan Schultz shared thisCustomers don't buy features. They buy outcomes. James Watt didn't sell engines. He sold the ability to replace horses—and that's why we still use the term "horsepower" today. A brilliant marketing lesson that's just as relevant today. The full Germinate Podcast episode is live now. https://lnkd.in/gZV2Vh9A #Marketing #Branding #BusinessStrategy #Leadership #Entrepreneurship
-
Dan Schultz reposted thisDan Schultz reposted thisIn this special episode of The Germinate Podcast, Joe Sampson and Jeremy Groeteke welcome Dan Schultz for a conversation about innovation, category design, leadership, and the future of agriculture. Recorded during The Momentum Network Webinar, Daniel challenges ag leaders to think beyond incremental improvements and rethink how they innovate, market, and grow. Learn why creating a new category may be more powerful than competing in an existing one—and how bold thinking can shape the future of agriculture. The full episode is live now.Ag Done Different: Why Incremental Thinking is Holding Agriculture BackAg Done Different: Why Incremental Thinking is Holding Agriculture Back
-
Dan Schultz shared thisEnjoyed this conversation with Joe Sampson and Jeremy Groeteke!Dan Schultz shared thisIn this special episode of The Germinate Podcast, Joe Sampson and Jeremy Groeteke welcome Dan Schultz for a conversation about innovation, category design, leadership, and the future of agriculture. Recorded during The Momentum Network Webinar, Daniel challenges ag leaders to think beyond incremental improvements and rethink how they innovate, market, and grow. Learn why creating a new category may be more powerful than competing in an existing one—and how bold thinking can shape the future of agriculture. The full episode is live now.Ag Done Different: Why Incremental Thinking is Holding Agriculture BackAg Done Different: Why Incremental Thinking is Holding Agriculture Back
-
Dan Schultz shared thisHerb Kelleher said he could teach anyone how to run Southwest Airlines with one sentence: “We are THE low-fare airline.” That sentence was the company strategy; it helped people make choices without waiting for headquarters. Most companies in #agriculture have strategic plans. Far fewer have a strategy clear enough to guide the salesperson, service technician, agronomist, or dealer standing in front of the customer. If your strategy can’t make that journey, it isn’t finished yet. Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers. #agtech #agriculture #marketing
-
Dan Schultz shared thisYour customer isn’t looking for a company story in which they’ve been given a supporting role. They’re already the hero of a story, their story. They want to finish before the rain. Make the right decision. Protect what they’ve built. Create a future worth passing on. Our job isn’t to make customers care more about our story. It’s to understand the story they’re already living—and find a useful place in it. Before asking, “What can we sell?” Ask: What does our customer want? Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers. #agtech #agricultureandfarming #marketing
-
Dan Schultz shared thisEveryone’s talking about digitizing agriculture. Almost no one’s talking about redesigning it. There’s a group of people in agriculture today who say things like: - “We have to digitize agriculture.” - “We need to lean into technology.” And then, in the same breath, they’ll say: “But the underlying economics of farming aren’t going to change. You’ll still be selling a commodity at the end of the day.” That mindset is the problem. What they’re really saying is: “Agriculture, as it is today, is good.” Really? Do you know any farmers? Have you been to a rural town lately? Or, for that matter, stood on a beach to see what our “modern food system” is producing? Not judging…just saying. The average farm profit today is near zero. For the third year in a row, fewer than 5% of farms are expected to be profitable. As many as 90% of farm families rely on off-farm income. And in some recent years, the median farm income has been negative. This is not a system that needs to be digitized. It’s a system that needs to be reimagined. We don’t need more dashboards, algorithms, or digital layers to make the same model slightly more efficient. We need to create new market opportunities; new ways for farmers to participate in the value they create. Technology shouldn’t just optimize the old system; it should rewrite the rules. Because the future of agriculture won’t be built by those who digitize the past. It will be built by those who redesign the future. #agtech #agricultureandfarming
-
Dan Schultz shared thisEverything in #agribusiness is the way it is because somebody made it that way. The metrics we pursue. The systems we operate. The assumptions we accept as gospel. The products we build. The practices farmers adopt. At some point, someone, or some group of someones, decided there was a better way to see the world and then convinced the rest of us to see it too. • In the 1830s, harvesting grain by hand was simply how harvesting was done. Then Cyrus McCormick looked at the same field through a different lens. He helped introduce the mechanical reaper. • In the late 1800s, animal power was farm power. Then inventors began imagining the tractor. • In the 1970s, computers belonged to corporations, universities, and institutions. Then a generation of innovators rejected that assumption and created the personal computer. • In the 1990s, driving perfectly straight rows across a field was a skill. Then GPS guidance companies like AutoFarm began turning steering from an operator skill into something a machine could do automatically. • In 2007, mobile phones were covered in buttons. More buttons meant more functionality. Then Apple rejected the premise and developed the iPhone with no physical buttons. That is how meaningful innovation happens. What once seemed extraordinary or strange becomes expected. That’s the opportunity sitting in front of agriculture right now. And that’s why events like Trust In Food™ from Farm Journal are so important. Because we need more places where people are willing to question the present. - What do we believe today simply because we inherited the belief? - What metrics are we optimizing because someone decided decades ago they were the right things to measure? - What constraints have we mistaken for laws of nature? - What problems have we become so accustomed to working around that we’ve stopped trying to eliminate them? - And what would agriculture look like if we were willing to look at first principles? The next mechanical reaper, tractor, AutoSteer, or iPhone probably won’t look inevitable when we first see it. It may look unnecessary, impractical, or even ridiculous. That’s usually how a different future looks when you’re still standing in the present. The job isn’t to predict the future, it’s to create the conditions that allow us to build a new future. Thanks to Loran Steinlage for hosting and all the sponsors of today’s event! Make something different. Make people care. Make fans, not followers. Soil Action Advancing Eco Agriculture xarvio® Digital Farming Solutions BASF Ag Ventures Alliance Greenfield Robotics USDA
-
Dan Schultz shared thisMost #agtech companies don't have a distribution problem. They have a language problem. They build something genuinely new... ...then describe it with words their competitors already own. The result? The market doesn't see a breakthrough. It sees another option to compare. The companies defining the future of agriculture aren't just inventing new technology. They're inventing and developing new language. Because categories aren't built with products, they're built with words. What word does your company own in your customer’s mind?
-
Dan Schultz posted thisAgriculture is not facing a lack of new products, but a lack of new frameworks. These are what Warren Buffett’s late business partner Charlie Munger called “latticeworks on which to hang your ideas.” In other words, the operating system or type of thinking your customer should use to get the best results from your product. “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” - Albert Einstein Over the past few decades, hundreds of agricultural products have been released to the industry. Many of which have been incredible technologies that were extremely hard to make. Yet adoption has been a slow at best. Some say this lack of adoption is due to technical difficulties and the inability to translate hype into change. Some people blame the industry, saying it is opposed to change. I believe that the problem with adoption is that we have created new technologies that rely on old frameworks. - “Agriculture needs a digital transformation.” - We’re disrupting the agriculture industry.” We don’t need your digital transformation, we don’t need your disruption. Both of these approaches mean slapping a new coat of paint on an old and broken system. We need you to bring us new frameworks with which to view and overcome the problems we face. Be different, build new frameworks. #agtech #marketing #agricultureandfarming
Dan Schultz commented on a post
5d
Let’s catch up in the agronomy zone Nicholas Spoden!
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisInnovation inside the plant 🔎 ICYMI – InnerPlant Chief Commercial Officer Gary Schaefer appeared in the Tenacious Ventures podcast to discuss the science behind our disease-signaling plants. The conversation covered how InnerPlant uses its genetically-engineered crops as natural biosensors to quickly communicate their stress when attacked by fungal diseases. 🦠 With our #CropVoice system, Schaefer explained how the technology enables real-time detection of fungal infections before visible outbreaks appear in order to improve farming efficiency and disease management. At the backbone of these developments, working with farmers to introduce this smart detection platform to a competitive ag market has remained an invaluable asset. 🔑 Listen to how the team is unlocking key insights directly from plants to give farmers greater confidence and protection in managing their crops. 🔗 : https://lnkd.in/esRXSHn4
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisIt’s been an interesting start to the year. The crisis in the industry, at least in Canada and the United States is interesting, sobering and urgent, and it may be different than you think. #innovation #leadership #agriculture #cdnag #usag #selling Corteva Agriscience Vylor Bayer | Crop Science BASF Agricultural Solutions UPL FMC Corporation MNP RBC FCC / FAC TD ATB Financial BDC BDO Nufarm RealAgriculture Upstream Ag Insights Western Producer MediaAgriculture is Suffering From a Crisis… A Crisis of CuriosityAgriculture is Suffering From a Crisis… A Crisis of Curiosity
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisLEADERSHIP! This week, we welcomed a powerhouse Californian delegation, including Karen Ross Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, alongside the California Agtech Alliance. I have to say I’m a total fan! Spending time with Karen on Tuesday was an absolute privilege. Her leadership, generosity, knowledge and ability to bring people together are genuinely inspiring. I couldn’t help but think how different my own early career might have been if I’d had access to that kind of leadership and mentorship. It simply wasn’t there. Karen is a powerful reminder of the impact great leaders can have - not just through what they achieve, but through the people they choose to bring with them. This delegation should not be underestimated. The calibre, influence and appetite for collaboration are significant, and having them here in our region is a wonderful opportunity to showcase what we’re doing across food, fibre and AgTech. Thank you so much to the Department of Primary Industries (Queensland) for bringing the cohort to Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise Karen Ross Priscilla K. Jo Sheppard Kym Coyne Astrid Hughes Nilesh Prasad Anna Geddes
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisI'm excited to share that I've been promoted to National Integrated Marketing Manager for Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC. This opportunity is a reflection of the outstanding leaders, teammates, and business partners who have supported and challenged me throughout my career. I'm especially grateful to Helena's leadership for their vision and confidence in launching this new department, as well as their support of initiatives like the FieldLink Podcast, which has become a meaningful way to connect and share stories across our organization. I'm honored by this opportunity and excited to lead a talented team as we continue building what's next. #Leadership #Marketing #CareerGrowth #FieldLinkPodcast #Teamwork #AgMarketing #AgMedia #AgCommunications #AgriBusiness
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisInnovation only matters if growers adopt it. It was great to be back at the WHIN Ag Summit 2026. This year's event once again highlighted one of the things I value most about the WHIN approach: Connecting innovators with growers and evaluating technologies through real-world grower on-farm testing. There is no substitute for hearing directly from farmers about what solves a real problem, what creates value, and what is still searching for a use case. The grower panels were clearly a highlight of the event, and reinforced an important lesson for all of us in AgTech: Often, the greatest value comes from technologies that fit naturally into existing operations while delivering a clear ROI. One example discussed was nitrogen management. Many growers see immediate value in sensing technologies that enable better variable-rate nitrogen applications. A fully autonomous sensing-and-application robot may well be part of the future, but for many operations the adoption journey happens one practical step at a time. It was great catching up with Johnny Park, Jason Tennenhouse, Jack Stucky, Audette Taylor and the whole WHIN team, who continue to be outstanding thought partners and friends, and seeing the progress being made by innovative companies including AgZen, Solinftec, TerraClear Inc, BioScout, Autonomous Pivot and many others who were as vendors at the summit. I left with new ideas, new connections, and renewed appreciation for the importance of farmer-driven innovation. #WHINAgSummit #AgTech #Innovation #Agriculture #PrecisionAg #GrowerFirst #Partnerships #TransformativeTechnologies #Bayer
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisFort Worth-based Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions recently closed a $15 million Series B round led by Lewis & Clark Partners and established Ranchbot Technology Holdings Inc. as its corporate umbrella. The company, founded in Sydney in 2014, makes satellite-based water-monitoring technology for livestock producers. #Ranchbot, #SeriesB, #Lewis&ClarkPartners, #FulcrumGlobalCapital, #agtech, #FortWorthCompany #FortWorth #startups #VC https://lnkd.in/grQxHfHzFort Worth-Based Ranchbot Closes $15M Series B, Establishes U.S. Holding Company to Advance ‘The Technology Layer for the Modern Ranch’Fort Worth-Based Ranchbot Closes $15M Series B, Establishes U.S. Holding Company to Advance ‘The Technology Layer for the Modern Ranch’
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisToday at Ruggedize, Curtis Garner, CCO and Co-founder of Verdant Robotics™, joined industry peers to discuss what it takes to build robotics for real agricultural environments. For agriculture, physical AI has to perform beyond the lab. It has to handle dust, heat, vibration, crop variability, tight windows, and the operational realities growers manage every season. That is where Verdant is focused: plant-level precision that can see, decide, and apply in the field, helping growers reduce waste, lower labor dependency, and make precision pay. Great to be part of the conversation shaping the future of ag robotics.
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisI’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Strategic Planning Manager- Sales and Marketing at John Deere!
-
Dan Schultz liked thisDan Schultz liked thisWe're heading to Farm Progress Show in Boone, IA! From September 1-3, SWAT MAPS will be at booth 442 ready to chat with you about all things precision ag. Are you an agronomist visiting the show? We'd love to meet you! Let's chat about our partnership opportunity that pairs your agronomy expertise with a premium, proven solution trusted by farmers worldwide. #FPS26 #SWATMAPS #precisionag
Experience & Education
Languages
-
English
-
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Tim Hearden
Responding to complaints from growers and handlers over their accuracy, the Almond Board of California has decided to stop funding midsummer crop estimates conducted by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, ending an arrangement with the agency that started in the 1960s. https://lnkd.in/gN7-sWhD
3 Comments
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content