Jocelyn Boudreau is the CEO of Hortau irrigation management systems. He has spoken about precision ag at a number of regional and global events, including the Rural Opportunity Investment Conference at the White House in 2015. Boudreau holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Masters degree in soil physics from Laval University (Québec, Canada). He co-founded Hortau in 2002 in Québec, and currently works out of the company’s U.S. headquarters in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Founded in 2002, Hortau is a leader in precision irrigation management systems for commercial agriculture. Hortau’s patented irrigation management, automation and weather monitoring solutions help growers manage crop stress in real time using soil tension, ensuring optimal production while reducing water use, energy consumption and environmental impact.

With U.S. operations based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Hortau has offices, representatives and technicians throughout North America, including a Canada headquarters in Lévis, Québec. Learn more at www.hortau.com.

John Stone is Senior Vice President, Intelligent Solutions Group, a position he has held since November 2016. In this role, he is responsible for managing the growth and profitability of the company’s Intelligent Solutions Group and lead efforts to deliver innovative technologies that enhance the performance of John Deere equipment and allow customers to improve their operational performance and better manage costs.

Stone joined Deere & Company in 2002 as a project manager and held leadership positions in Waterloo, Iowa, and Mannheim, Germany. In January 2007, he assumed responsibility for the acquisition and integration of the Ningbo Benye Tractor and Automobile Company in China. Most recently, he was Global Director, Utility Tractor Product Line, during a period of rapid growth of that business. In June 2015, he was appointed Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Business Development.

Prior to joining Deere, Stone worked for General Electric as a Six Sigma Black Belt and before that was an officer in the U.S. Army.

Stone has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land — those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world’s dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at www.JohnDeere.com.

Vincent Restucci serves as the Director of Procurement & Business Technology for R. D. Offutt Company (RDOC). His responsibilities include oversight and stewardship of the purchasing function for farming operations inputs including crop protection products, plant nutrients, non-potato seed sourcing, and energy products. Additionally, he is working on a team to evaluate the next generation of tools to increase farm efficiency, measure farming practices, and document stewardship.

Prior to joining RDOC, Restucci worked for over ten years at the J.R. Simplot Company’s AgriBusiness group where his responsibilities included business development, national accounts, and grower targeted marketing. During his tenure he championed and served as the Managing Director for the USADS LLC joint venture, which creates and deploys data systems to track farm inputs, crop production costs, crop contracts, and land applied wastewater applications.

Restucci holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. He received his agronomy training from Purdue University through the American Society of Agronomy. Mr. Restucci served in the US Army for over eight years, both active and reserve, as a Chief Warrant officer. He was a helicopter pilot flying medical evacuation aircraft.

Founded and led by a Minnesota native, R.D. Offutt Company celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2014. Just as it did when it started in 1964, R.D. Offutt Company continues to seek out innovative, better ways to produce potatoes while maintaining its commitment to the communities in which it resides and the land on which the company was built. Over the past half-century, the North Dakota –headquartered producer (with potato production in eight states) has integrated virtually every aspect of production from field to fork. It operates its own stand-alone retail system, an irrigation management division, a crop storage system, a branded equipment dealership, and potato processing position through strategic partnerships.

Manu Pillai is co-founder, and currently drives revenues for WaterBit, Inc. Over the 25 years prior to WaterBit, Manu worked in consumer, industrial and telco grade electronic systems and software from design to deployment. He has led or been a key team member in the definition, development and manufacturing of over 100 products to the global market. Manu has a BE(EE) from University College, Dublin, Ireland and an MBA from Santa Clara University, California.

WaterBit, Inc., is focused on sensing and control systems for high granularity irrigation automation. WaterBit has an emerging portfolio of connectivity products, connected sensors and application software. Sensing systems include proprietary sensors for soil and irrigation as well as the integration of interesting 3^rd party sensors.

WaterBit is currently shipping a zero maintenance, 30 second-install, integrating data logging, actuation, telemetry and solar into a single compact unit with long range radio support. Installation takes about 30 seconds, close to ground level and out of the way of machinery, with nothing to configure by the end user.

David Larson is Vice President of Precision Solutions & Telematics – Technology Systems and Services, a role he assumed in 2016 after five years as VP Agricultural Product Portfolio Planning for CNH Industrial.

Mr. Larson has previously served in numerous management positions in the agricultural products, services, innovation and technology fields for CNH, Case Corporation and John Deere.

He holds an Ag Engineering Technology degree from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.

Through a dozen global brands, including Case IH and New Holland agricultural, and Case and New Holland construction brands, CNH Industrial is a global leader in the capital goods sector. CNH Industrial designs, produces and sells agricultural and construction equipment, commercial vehicles, buses and specialty vehicles, in addition to a broad portfolio of powertrain applications. More information can be found at: www.cnhindustrial.com

Jorge Heraud is passionate about combining agriculture and high-technology.  He is the co-founder and CEO of Blue River (www.bluerivert.com).

Blue River Technology Inc. is a start-up that creates smart machines that use Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence to detect and treat each plant in a Plant-by-Plant basis – a cheaper and better alternative to broadcast chemical application.  In its first application, Blue River’s See & Spray machines identify and spray herbicides to only the weeds and not the crops. Each year $25 billion are spent in herbicides.  Blue River’s high-technology approach cuts chemical usage by a factor of 10, which saves money in chemicals and seeds, allows the use effective chemicals, and helps the environment.

Prior to Blue River, Jorge worked at Trimble Navigation as Business Unit Director for Precision Agriculture, and Director of Engineering, designing and delivering high-technology products including Automatic Steering, GPS receivers, displays and Variable Rate Controllers.

Jorge holds Master’s degrees from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering and Business. He lives in Sunnyvale, CA with his wife, and two kids.

Blue River Technology Inc. (www.bluerivert.com) is a start-up that creates smart machines that use Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence to detect and treat each plant in a Plant-by-Plant basis – a cheaper and better alternative to broadcast chemical application.  In its first application, Blue River’s See & Spray machines identify and spray only the weeds and not the crops. Each year $25 B are spent in herbicides.  Blue River’s high-technology approach cuts chemical usage by a factor of 10!, which saves money in chemicals and seeds, allows the use effective chemicals, and helps the environment.

Eric Hansotia is Senior Vice President, Global Crop Cycle and Fuse Connected Services.  In this role, he provides leadership and strategic direction for AGCO’s global harvesting, crop care, Fuse, and dealer technical support businesses.  He is located in Duluth, GA.

Mr. Hansotia graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also earned an MBA from the University of Iowa.

AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural solutions and supports more productive farming through its full line of equipment and related services. AGCO products are sold through five core brands, Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra®, supported by Fuse® precision technologies and farm optimization services, and are distributed globally through a combination of over 3,000 independent dealers and distributors in more than 150 countries. Founded in 1990, AGCO is headquartered in Duluth, GA, USA. In 2016, AGCO had net sales of $7.4 billion.

With over 25 years+ industry experience, Steve Brumer leads the IoT Practice at 151 Advisors – a global advisory and execution firm that advises companies on establishing new market positions and accelerating the growth of products and services.

Brumer’s specialty is Monetizing the Connected World. Creating real-world executable plans that drive revenue growth in new or existing markets to enable companies to realize their full commercial potential.

151 Advisors provides technology companies with a combination of advisory and execution services to ensure companies are focused on the right markets, establishing new market positions and accelerating the growth of its products and services. With decades of experience building ideas into successful businesses and working across the full tech ecosystem to drive revenue growth,151 Advisors helps companies execute and add value to their strategic sales and business development initiatives.

Matthew is Director of Business Data for the International Farming Corporation, a private equity group that specializes in agricultural investments. Starting as an agronomist in 2013, he’s helped build data operations within the business and across multiple farming entities that span over 200,000 acres, growing 70 different crops in 17 states and on two continents. Matthew has more than 15 years’ experience in complex asset management of natural resources, holding a B.S. in International Agriculture and Development from Cornell University and an M.S. in Soil Science from North Carolina State University.

International Farming Corporation, LLC (“IFC”) is an asset management company that specializes in the agricultural sector.  IFC was founded to acquire, farm or lease out for production, top producing farmland in diversified locations throughout the United States.  IFC purchases and owns farmland, partners with farmers to help maximize farm profitability through progressive farming techniques, and works closely with farmers to adopt the IFC franchise model which includes best practice business and agronomic protocols. This active management strategy benefits our farming partners as well as our investors who trust us to provide consistent strong returns in the alternative investment industry.