Topsoil

Topsoil is a newsletter focused on providing insightful frameworks for understanding agriculture, emphasizing the importance of the agricultural value chain, precision agriculture, data utilization, crop selection, and sustainable practices. It aims to cover technological, operational, and environmental aspects of farming, targeting efficiency, profitability, and resilience against challenges like climate change.

Agricultural Value Chain Precision Agriculture Data in Agriculture Seasonal Farming Cycles Financial Management in Farming Market Demand for Crops Team Dynamics in Farming Sustainability and Environmental Impact Crop Variety and Selection Weed Management Agricultural Technology and Innovation

The hottest Substack posts of Topsoil

And their main takeaways

Agriculture, but make it precise

550 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Agriculture Data AI
  1. Precision agriculture uses technology to adjust equipment for field variability, improving efficiency.
  2. Precision agriculture offers benefits like increased yields, time savings, and environmental sustainability.
  3. While valuable, precision agriculture is not a one-size-fits-all solution and adoption can be complex.

Farming is a team sport

452 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
💼 Business Farming Roles Agriculture
  1. Farming requires a diverse team with various roles.
  2. Roles on the farm include operations manager, operators, bookkeeper, and agronomist.
  3. There is a trend towards consolidation, professionalization, and automation in farming.

Weeds will decide the winners

294 implied HN points • 01 Oct 23
🔬 Science Agriculture Technology
  1. Weeds can significantly impact crop yields and profits through competition for resources.
  2. Farmers use integrated weed management to control weeds effectively without relying solely on herbicides.
  3. Herbicides are crucial for weed control but come with risks to human health, the environment, and issues like herbicide resistance.

Beyond the carbon buzz

373 implied HN points • 22 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability Finance Environmental Impact
  1. Agriculture has a significant impact on the environment, beyond just carbon sequestration.
  2. Sustainability in agriculture requires real changes on farms, operational support for farmers, and financial incentives.
  3. Financing and risk-sharing across the agricultural value chain are crucial for accelerating adoption of sustainable practices.

Data: the new oil or a new byproduct?

511 implied HN points • 30 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Data Agriculture Framework Digitization Analytics
  1. Data in agriculture is essential for advancements like Generative AI, automation, and precision agriculture.
  2. Challenges in farm digitization include issues like connectivity, interoperability, data quality, trust, and incentives.
  3. Farmers derive value from data through decision-making, enabling technologies, sharing with advisors, compliance, and future income opportunities.
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Get the lay of the land with the Ag Value Chain

727 implied HN points • 12 Dec 22
  1. Understanding the Ag Value Chain is key to grasping agriculture
  2. Consolidation in the Ag Value Chain can reduce competition and increase efficiency
  3. The future of the Ag Value Chain includes new technology, cross-value chain collaboration, and climate change resilience

Where the crops go

471 implied HN points • 31 May 23
💼 Business Agriculture Markets Demand Consumption Industry
  1. Farmers need to consider demand when deciding what crops to grow.
  2. Proximity to markets can influence a farm's choice of crops to grow.
  3. Various stakeholders, including farmers, cooperatives, commodity groups, and the government, work together to grow demand for agricultural products.

Turns out, Seasons are a Thing in Agriculture

491 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
  1. Seasons are crucial in agriculture because they dictate farming activities and have critical windows for optimal productivity.
  2. There are four major seasons in farming: Planting, Growing, Harvest, and Offseason, each with specific tasks and activities.
  3. Seasons in agriculture create longer feedback loops compared to industries like software development, impacting innovation and risk-taking.

One size does not fit all when it comes to crops

294 implied HN points • 07 Jan 23
  1. There is a wide variety of crops, but only a few key ones provide most of the calories for the world's population.
  2. Crops fall on a spectrum from specialty crops like fruits and vegetables to commodity row crops like grains and oil seeds, each with unique characteristics.
  3. Farmers face challenges in deciding which crops to grow based on factors like labor, storage, processing, and revenue per acre.

Welcome to Topsoil!

275 implied HN points • 06 Dec 22
  1. Agriculture is important in addressing climate change and needs more people to contribute.
  2. Topsoil provides frameworks for those interested in working in agriculture.
  3. The creator of Topsoil has a background in AgTech and aims to share knowledge through the newsletter.