59. Leaving Academia to Build the Future of Ag Software with Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao

59. Leaving Academia to Build the Future of Ag Software with Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao

What pushes a tenured associate professor of agricultural engineering to "eject from the aircraft" and start a software company? For Kaustubh Bhalerao, it wasn't a singular moment, but a persistent drive to move beyond journal articles and into the field where his work could solve real-world problems for farmers and soil labs. In this episode, Dr. Craig Lemoine sits down with Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao, Ph.D. at the Land Expo to discuss his journey from academia to entrepreneurship and how technology is fundamentally reshaping the agricultural landscape. Kaustubh shares a fascinating look at how he uses AI not just as a tool for automation, but as a "second brain" and a thinking partner to build anti-fragile software and defensible business workflows. Key takeaways: * How a Jesuit education and academic mentorship shaped Kaustubh’s view of impact. * The process of building geospatial modeling and digitizing workflows for an underserved ag industry. * Practical ways to use generative AI for back-office automation and code maintainability. * How AI tools can help investors better understand their risk appetite and lifestyle goals. * Why tangible assets and family networks are becoming the ultimate hedges against a volatile labor market. Connect with us! * Dr. Kaustubh Bhalerao on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaustubh-bhalerao-58241811/] * Soil Diagnostics [https://www.soildiagnostics.com/] * Dr. Craig Lemoine on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lemoine-cfp-r-phd-mrfc-bb1a765/] * Agriculture Focused Financial Planning [https://affp.illinois.edu/] * Land & Everything Else YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@LandAndEverythingElse]

58. Liquidity, Land, and Ag's Next Chapter with Jackson Takach

Agricultural lending doesn't make headlines the way Wall Street does. But behind every farm mortgage is a system designed to keep capital moving, lenders solvent, and farmers farming. That system nearly broke in the 1980s. Congress responded by creating Farmer Mac, and the market has never been the same. In this conversation, Dr. Craig Lemoine sits down with Jackson Takach, Chief Economist at Farmer Mac, to trace the arc of agricultural finance from the farm crisis through COVID, the commodity boom, rising interest rates, tariff disruptions, and into a 2026 landscape full of uncertainty and opportunity. Jackson brings two decades of perspective to the conversation and doesn't shy away from what worries him or what excites him about the year ahead. Key topics: * What Farmer Mac does and why the secondary market for ag mortgages matters * How COVID triggered a refinancing boom that saved many farm operations real money * Why rising interest rates froze land supply and pushed farmland prices higher anyway * How tariffs hit soybean, cotton, and rice producers hardest and drove up Chapter 12 bankruptcies * What 2026 looks like across corn, soybeans, biofuels, proteins, and specialty crops * How farmers are tapping land equity to manage working capital as input costs stay elevated Connect with us! * Jackson Takach on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksontakach/] * Farmer Mac [https://www.farmermac.com/] * Dr. Craig Lemoine on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lemoine-cfp-r-phd-mrfc-bb1a765/] * Agriculture Focused Financial Planning [https://affp.illinois.edu/] * Land & Everything Else YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@LandAndEverythingElse]

57. Trading Grain and Commodities with Dave Chatterton

Markets now react to headlines in milliseconds. Algorithms scan reports, execute trades, and flood exchanges with activity before most humans finish reading the news. Yet agriculture still moves on a different clock. Crops grow over months, risk builds across seasons, and farmers face decisions that affect an entire year’s income. In this conversation, Dr. Craig Lemoine sits down with commodity trader Dave Chatterton to explore how farmers manage price risk and how commodity markets evolved from noisy trading pits to high-speed electronic systems. The tools changed dramatically. The relationships and judgment behind them still matter just as much. Key topics: * How farmers use futures, options, and marketing strategies to manage price risk before harvest * The role grain marketing plays in determining a farm’s annual profit * What changed as commodity trading moved from open-outcry pits to algorithmic markets * Why information floods markets today and how professionals filter what actually matters * The growing interest in farmland from investors, family offices, and financial advisors * Why agriculture remains a relationship-driven industry even as technology accelerates trading Connect with us! * Dave Chatterton on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-chatterton-a627205/] * Strategic Farm Marketing [https://www.sfarmmarketing.com/] * Dr. Craig Lemoine on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lemoine-cfp-r-phd-mrfc-bb1a765/] * Agriculture Focused Financial Planning [https://affp.illinois.edu/] * Land & Everything Else YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@LandAndEverythingElse]

56. International Agriculture with Ed Blundy

Farmland is no longer a purely local conversation. As global capital looks for stability, diversification, and long-term value, agriculture continues to draw interest from investors who may have never stepped foot on a farm. That shift brings opportunity, complexity, and new questions about how land is owned, managed, and passed on across generations. In this episode, Ed Blundy of Brown & Co. joins Dr. Lemoine to explore agriculture through an international lens shaped by both education and lived experience. Ed was trained in practical agriculture before moving into land management, and brings a perspective that sits between working farms and institutional capital. He shares how that foundation informs his work at Brown & Co., before diving into the UK’s evolving inheritance tax landscape and the growing institutional interest in farmland across Europe, Australia, and beyond, connecting financial strategy with the realities of rural economies. Key topics and takeaways * How farmland is emerging as a global asset class for institutional and family office investors * The impact of inheritance tax changes on land ownership and succession in the UK * Why collaboration and data-sharing matter in cross-border agricultural investing * What rising input costs, water constraints, and technology could mean for the future of farming Connect with us! * Ed Blundy on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-blundy-00939324/?originalSubdomain=uk] * Brown & Co [https://www.brown-co.com/] * Dr. Craig Lemoine on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lemoine-cfp-r-phd-mrfc-bb1a765/] * Agriculture Focused Financial Planning [https://affp.illinois.edu/] * Land & Everything Else YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@LandAndEverythingElse]

55. Money and Happiness with Professor Donovan Sanchez

Money shows up in nearly every major life decision, but it almost never comes with clear guidance on how to use it in a way that actually supports our long-term satisfaction. In this episode, Dr. Craig Lemoine sits down with Professor Donovan Sanchez to explore how financial education is evolving and why happiness deserves a place in the conversation alongside returns, income, and planning models. The discussion moves through what the data says about income and well-being, how people adapt to comfort and convenience, and why experiences and relationships consistently matter more than most financial upgrades. The episode also takes a thoughtful turn into higher education, examining what it means to train future advisors and how research reshapes the way we think and question assumptions. Key topics discussed in this episode: * How income relates to happiness and why the relationship is weaker than most people expect * The role of hedonic adaptation in everyday financial decisions * Why experiences tend to create longer-lasting satisfaction than material purchases * How spending on others strengthens relationships and personal well-being * What the research says about money, meaning, and life evaluation * How financial education can better connect numbers to human outcomes Connect with us! * Donovan Sanchez LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovansanchez/] * Dr. Craig Lemoine on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lemoine-cfp-r-phd-mrfc-bb1a765/] * Agriculture Focused Financial Planning [https://affp.illinois.edu/] * Land & Everything Else YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@LandAndEverythingElse]