For founders, investors, and product teams whose technology has the science but isn't moving the way they expected. Twenty-five years inside Monsanto, Bayer, and Valent getting new agriculture into real growers' operations, and a 2,500-acre family farm that's still active. Most commercial advisors came up through marketing. I came up through the fields.
25+ years · 15+ launches · 8 crops · Monsanto · Bayer · Valent
A small fraction stays on the path to growth. The difference is rarely the science. It's the commercialization work done at each phase, and that's where I work.
“I have known Jon for more than 30 years, and his integrity, strong work ethic, and deep agricultural industry knowledge are among the reasons I asked him to consult on a project during my time with a regional grain processing company. We brought Jon in to lead the implementation of a sales-driven ESG program with specific customer-required goals, but without the internal bandwidth or expertise to execute it on our own. He quickly got up to speed, immersed himself in the work, and significantly reduced the burden on my team. Jon has a unique ability to combine strategic thinking with practical execution, and I look forward to working with him again in the future.”
“I worked with Jon for over fifteen years at Monsanto and Bayer on commercial launches of some of the company's most complex technologies. On the ThryvOn cotton introduction, he developed a detailed plan to focus the initial rollout into specific regions to avoid markets that would be slow to approve the technology, then communicated it to every stakeholder and gained their support. Jon's ag background gives him a unique understanding of the business from the producer to the retailer to the wholesaler to the manufacturer.”
“I've worked with Jon in the ag innovation space for several years, and he has always been one of my first calls when I'm trying to think through something. He has deep roots in the ag industry, from the farm side all the way to commercial launch. I've always thought of him as an ‘idea guy’ in the best sense. He isn't just generating ideas for the sake of it, but rather, trying to figure out what will actually work and why, a rare combination in this space.”
Tell me what you're trying to do: your challenge, your team, your timeline. I'll share how I've approached similar problems and whether there's a fit.
You work directly with me. When an engagement needs more than that, I draw on ACME Ag Consulting, a network of senior independent consultants from the St. Louis agtech ecosystem that I helped found. You get a colleague I've worked with for years, under one contract, with one point of contact. Every member is a seasoned operator, not a generalist.