Eva Blanchard

Research and Development Engineer

Appareo

As a Research & Development Engineer for Appareo (a product development and technology company specializing in software and hardware for industrial and commercial electronics) Eva Blanchard focuses on researching new technologies and evaluating their feasibility and viability for potential development projects. Blanchard holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and a Master of Business Administration from North Dakota State University.

Trevor Suslow, Ph.D.

Vice President, Produce Safety

Produce Marketing Association

Widely recognized as a produce safety and postharvest technology expert, Dr. Trevor Suslow joined the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) from the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, where he is an Emeritus faculty member. Dr. Suslow’s career has focused on quality and safety of whole and fresh-cut produce from pre- to post-harvest. He helped found and was Director of Product Research at DNA Plant Technology Inc., an early agricultural biotechnology pioneer, where he worked for 15 years. Dr. Suslow earned his B.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences, and Ph.D.in Plant Pathology, from UC Berkeley in 1980.

Ben Scott-Robinson

Co-Founder

Small Robot Company

Ben Scott-Robinson is an accomplished digital entrepreneur focused on geospatial and mobility technologies. Scott-Robinson co-founded the Small Robot Company in 2017 which endeavours to replace tractors with accurate, smart, lightweight robots. He has 20 years experience in digital innovation, including the digital transformation of Ordnance Survey. Scott-Robinson is also an experienced technology entrepreneur having founded two agencies, two consultancies, an app start-up and a phone for the blind.

James C. Sulecki

Chief Content Officer and Head of Global Precision Initiative

Meister Media Worldwide

Jim Sulecki is Chief Content Officer and Head of Global Precision Initiative, Meister Media Worldwide, organizers of the PrecisionAg VISION Conference along with NXT Media Group. A one-time lead editor of multiple Meister Media publications including American Vegetable Grower® and CropLife® magazines, he has covered precision agriculture since the mid-1990s. Today as the company’s executive content lead, he maximizes the company’s editorial strength while developing new sources of content to serve the agricultural market’s growing demand for quality round-the-clock intelligence. He holds a BA in English from Cleveland State University.

Tyler Scheid

Solutions Consultant

Source Advisory

Tyler Scheid, Solutions Consultant at Source Advisory, works with clients to envision and execute technology strategy.  At his family company, Scheid Family Wines, Scheid focused on improving farming operations and integrating business systems with irrigation automation, field sensor deployment, conversion to paperless data capture of payroll/production data, Business Intelligence, and ERP System implementations. Scheid previously worked as an environmental consultant in the disciplines of field hydrology, river systems research and monitoring, watershed planning, GIS, and CAD. He earned both a B.S. in Geography from the University of Colorado and a M.S. in Watershed Science from Colorado State University.

Jordan Winkler, Ph. D.

Director of Platform Business Development

Descartes Labs, Inc.

Dr. Jordan Winkler is the head of business development for the Descartes Labs, Inc., a predictive intelligence company headquartered in Santa Fe, N.M. that makes data-agnostic platforms for global-scale analyses of supply and demand. Dr. Winkler, who has a background in spatial analysis and statistics, believes strongly in providing geospatial analytics solutions to new industries and helping to develop the next generation of geospatial products and thinkers. He earned his Ph.D. from Boston University where he pioneered new techniques for assessing the risk of climate change to agricultural productivity in China.

Dan Plath

Vice President

Washington Fruit and Produce Co.

Washington Fruit was incorporated in 1916 to grow, pack and ship high quality tree fruit.  The company has marketed apples, pears and cherries under the Independent label for over a century.

Today, Washington Fruit remains family-owned and operated.  The company is dedicated to our customers and employees through our core values of honesty and integrity.  Growing, packing and shipping the finest fruit to our customers around the world continues to be our top priority.

Central Washington is the company’s primary area of operation.  Orchard locations are throughout the Columbia Basin and the various plateaus and river systems from the Cascade Mountain Range.

Josh Ruiz

Vice President, Ag Operations

Church Brothers Farms

As VP Ag Operations of Church Brothers Farms, alongside of his team, he is responsible for all aspects of the farming and harvesting operations in the USA. Josh is constantly thinking about the next generation of harvest, growing, and methods to improve the current operations. While he is passionate about all crops, his most recent focus has been on the automation of Broccoli Harvesting.

Church Brothers Farms is a vertically-integrated family owned and operated company that produces a full line of fresh vegetables year round with an in-house farming/harvest program and state-of-the-art processing plant, True Leaf farms. We are a grower-owned processor, farming the majority of our raw product ourselves; adhering to industry-leading food safety and quality standards. The Church family has a legacy of service and innovation, we deliver produce with passion.

Jonah Kolb

Managing Member

Moore & Warner Ag Group, LLC

Jonah Kolb leads the day-to-day operations of Moore & Warner Ag Group, LLC, a privately held firm that manages direct farm holdings for families, private investors, and institutions. Kolb also advises start-ups, corporations, and investment funds pursuing opportunities in production agriculture, agribusiness, and agtech. Prior to his time with Moore & Warner, Kolb held positions at Cargill and the global investment firm D.E. Shaw & Co. He graduated from Dartmouth College and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.