Shane is an agribusiness professional that brings over a decade of agriculture experience with ag retail, crop input manufacturing and agtech organizations. Shane currently publishes Upstream Ag Insights, a newsletter read globally by thousands of leaders in agriculture that covers essential news and analysis at the intersection of technology, business and agriculture while operating an advisory business supporting start-up agribusinesses to the largest chemistry, seed and fertilizer businesses in the industry on organizational strategy, product marketing and business intelligence.

CityAge: Can you tell me how you got into agribusiness, and why?
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Shane Thomas: I got into agriculture because of my dad. He worked in the industry and after my first year of university, taking Psychology, I needed a summer job. After that first summer I was hooked! I changed my major and have been in the industry ever since. What attracted me to, and keeps me passionate about the space, is the complexity. Agriculture sits at the intersection of science (soil chemistry, plant physiology etc), business (farm and agribusiness economics) and technology (digital, computational etc) with all of it underpinned by the evolving demands of the consumer…I love being able to dive into all the various areas of the industry. 
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CA: What do you think is the most exciting development in the food industry?
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ST: I think the new technology is the most exciting. Sensor and connectivity technology on the farm combined with changing consumer demands can lead to new trends, like the ability to track each step of production and a market that’s more localized and accessible, where supply can better support and react to demand.