6 days ago

#90 - John Strohfus @ Field Theory

On this episode, we have John Strohfus who is the Founder and CEO of Field Theory and Minnesota Hemp Farms Incorporated.

John is supporting regenerative agriculture as a row crop farmer managing 1,000 acres in Minnesota, by working as a broker and supply chain builder with multiple brands, and by selling CPG products in the Field Theory brand that contain regeneratively grown ingredients.

In this episode, John educates us on what really matters to farmers, gives his take on conventional regenerative versus regenerative organic, and breaks down what it takes to find, aggregate, and broker regenerative ingredients for other brands.

This was a super fascinating conversation and a great one to start of the new year. John’s three-pronged perspective as a farmer, broker, and brand builder really unlocked some amazing insights. We were pumped to have him join us and hope you learn as much as we did.

Episode Highlights:

🔥 Perspective from a farmer, broker, and brand builder

🌱 Bringing hemp back to Minnesota in 2016

🚜 What’s holding farmers back from going regen?

🎯 Why we need more demand for “conventional regenerative”

👏 The lasting impact of Simple Mills’ direct trade sunflower program

🏆 What John likes about the Soil & Climate Initiative verification

⚙️ Building new direct trade regenerative supply chains

😯 Why linking regen practices to nutrient density might not work

🤔 Is CPG harder than farming?

🚀 How private label demand could help boost regen adoption

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