Soy Checkoff: https://www.unitedsoybean.org/
Soy Innovation Challenge: https://www.thesoychallengelive.com/
Farmer Coach: https://farmercoach.ca/
Maverick Ag: https://maverickag.com/
Hebert Grain Ventures: https://hebertgrainventures.com/
FoA 302: Farm Business Strategy with Kristjan Hebert
FoA 303: Implementing a Farm Operating System with Kristjan Hebert
Evan Shout is the president and co-founder of Maverick Ag, a business consulting and risk management firm in Western Canada. He also sits as president, co-founder, and lead coach at Farmer Coach, an education and coaching program for primary producers in both Canada and the US. These organizations fall under the Hebert Group of Companies, which also includes Hebert Grain Ventures, a 30,000-acre grain and oilseed operation in southeast Saskatchewan, where Evan sits as Chief Financial Officer.
I had the privilege of hosting Evan’s business partner, Kristjan Hebert on the show last year back in episodes 302 & 303. Those were very popular episodes about farm strategy and farm operating systems. We follow that up with today’s episode with Evan Shout about the entrepreneurial mindset and how apply that mindset to running a modern farm business.
Spotlight Segment:
Mac Marshall is the vice president of market intelligence for the United Soybean Board, where his job as part of the strategy team is to best position farmer leaders and directors to have the best information for making strategic decisions that are going to determine the fate of the soybean industry for years to come.
He studied economics as an undergrad, and started his career with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics where he covered livestock, meat, cotton and consumer packaged goods. This background in economics and commodities analysis led to a job with Monsanto in corporate strategy then government relations before he joined the soybean board in 2020.
He says strategic decisions from the farmer-led board have had major impacts on soybean farmers for decades, and shares some of the actions they are taking today to make sure the commodity continues to enjoy its demand and distribution for years to come. One example, he says, is the use of soy in renewable diesel.