358. Keystone Cooperative’s Phil Brewer on farmer-led innovation + the evolution of service provider to on-farm business partner

With 2.4 million U.S. agriculture jobs to fill each year and an unemployment rate that still remains below 5%, leaders in agbioscience and farmers are facing a challenge. Like the rest of the economy, they’re in a battle for talent. One unique ally in agriculture is the cooperative system, a collective buying group and service provider network that’s serving American farmers. Phil Brewer, Vice President of Strategy at Keystone Cooperative, joins us to talk about the evolution of the cooperative from what it was – to what it is. We get into:  

• Keystone Cooperative’s footprint across Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan and the health of farmers heading into planting season 
• The evolution of the cooperative system over the last two decades – from service provider to business partner 
• How the farmer-led model of a cooperative ultimately drives adoption of new innovation and fills gaps for its members on their operations  
• Areas where Keystone needs to move quicker and capture market opportunities to deliver value to farmers 
• How they approach working with small companies and early-stage, venture-backed innovators