Today on FARMCON Conversations, Kevin and I are joined by Matt and Luke Jaeger of EGE Bioworks for a wide-ranging conversation about building businesses around agriculture, managing risk beyond the farm, recognizing opportunity, earning customers and deciding where the next dollar of capital should go. What I liked about the conversation is that Matt and Luke see agriculture from more than one seat. We get into the danger of thinking you are diversified when all of your businesses are still exposed to the same agricultural cycle.
Before the Jaeger interview, Kevin and I spend time on a different kind of risk conversation: why everyone wants the upside but fewer people are comfortable living with the downside, whether we are raising kids to avoid uncertainty and then expecting them to become risk-taking adults, who the real “herd” is in today’s markets, and why Baby Boomers may be one of the most important groups to watch if market psychology changes.
MATT + LUKE JAEGER — EGE BIOWORKS
49:40 — Why build businesses beyond farming? – Matt and Luke explain why they have looked beyond production agriculture alone and how building additional businesses can create opportunity, cash flow and a broader base for the family operation.
58:30 — Some of the best opportunities come from the mistakes – Matt and Luke discuss lessons from things that did not work as expected and how operating through mistakes can sharpen the ability to recognize better opportunities the next time around.
63:00 — What financial pressure is changing at the producer and retailer level – The conversation turns to what they are seeing from customers, retailers and producers as margins tighten and every purchase receives more scrutiny.
68:00 — Getting the first customer is different from building a product – We discuss customer acquisition, earning trust and why a good idea or technology still has to overcome the practical challenge of getting someone to actually change what they are already doing.
73:00 — Where should producers be looking for efficiency first? – Matt and Luke talk about the changes they believe agricultural businesses need to consider as margins tighten, including where input efficiency and better allocation of capital can matter most.
82:30 — If you had another $1 million to invest in agriculture, where would you put it? – One of my favorite parts of the interview. We force the conversation into capital allocation: given everything they see today, where would Matt and Luke actually put new money to work?
KEVIN + TODD
6:00 — Everybody wants the reward. Who is willing to live with the risk? – Kevin and I get into the disconnect between wanting outsized returns and being unwilling to experience uncertainty, drawdowns, failure or periods when the decision looks wrong.
11:00 — Are we teaching kids to avoid the very thing they will need as adults? – The risk conversation moves into parenting. We protect kids from more uncertainty than previous generations experienced, then eventually expect them to start businesses, invest money and make decisions where the outcome is anything but guaranteed.
18:00 — Who exactly is “the herd” in today’s market? – We talk about how market selling actually begins, who has enough capital to matter, and why a relatively small change in behavior among the right group of investors can accelerate into something much larger.
23:30 — Baby Boomers may be the group that matters most if the psychology changes – Kevin explains why the generation holding an enormous amount of market wealth could become increasingly important as investors age, become more protective of capital and have attractive alternatives available outside the stock market.
31:00 — The economy can look strong while people still feel terrible about it – We discuss the disconnect between economic data and consumer sentiment and why perception itself can eventually begin affecting spending, investment and business decisions.
38:30 — Sometimes a downturn restores discipline – Kevin and I talk about the uncomfortable idea that recessions can also serve a purpose—forcing businesses and investors to reassess risk, remove excess and become more disciplined about where capital is being deployed.
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