Aman Anand, CCA, CPAg-MN | Senior Leader – Retail Partnerships, AgTech, and IP Strategy, Nutrien Ag Solutions
His Cultivate Talk in One Sentence: Pressing the reset button on AgTech—what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next in the digital agriculture revolution.
Aman Anand has spent over 20 years in agriculture, working across agronomy, business strategy, and AgTech innovation. He has evaluated 500+ AgTech companies globally and specializes in precision agriculture, AI-driven insights, and sustainable farming practices. As a Senior Leader at Nutrien Ag Solutions, Aman helps shape the future of agricultural innovation by integrating technology, data, and agronomic expertise to drive on-farm profitability.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your journey in AgTech? What led you to the work you are doing today?
I often describe myself as an “Accidental Agronomist,” but in hindsight, it feels as if destiny had already charted this path for me. Now, with over two decades of experience in the fascinating world of food and agriculture, I can see how every step led me here.
Initially, my dream was to become a medical doctor, but my deep curiosity about the complexity of the plant world set me on a different path. This passion led me to pursue an undergraduate in plant science and biotechnology at one of the world’s leading institutions. There, I was introduced to plant sciences’ intricate and interconnected disciplines- physiology, pathology, breeding, and agronomy. With each passing year in my academic journey, my fascination grew, ultimately inspiring me to pursue a master’s in plant science from North Dakota State University, Fargo, and later a PhD from the University of Minnesota.
After completing my master’s, I joined CHS Inc., the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the U.S., as a lead agronomist in North and South Dakota. Working directly with farmers gave me invaluable insights into their challenges and the role technology could play in improving productivity and profitability. Over nearly a decade at CHS, I transitioned into multiple roles at the corporate headquarters, working across product development, business strategy, and technology evaluation to bridge the gap between research-driven innovation and practical solutions for farmers.
During my tenure at CHS, I also pursued legal studies at the University of Minnesota Law School, specializing in intellectual property law. This expanded my perspective on AgTech and innovation, reinforcing my belief in the power of technology to drive meaningful change in agriculture. Eventually, I joined Nutrien Ag Solutions, the world’s largest crop input and fertilizer company, whose mission is to “feed the future.” Today, I lead retail, AgTech partnerships, agronomic business development, and intellectual property strategy, helping shape the future of agricultural innovation. Over the last decade, I have evaluated more than 500 AgTech companies globally, identifying groundbreaking technologies with the potential to transform the industry.
Looking back, what once seemed like an unplanned journey now feels like a path I was always meant to follow. Every experience- whether in agronomy, business strategy, or intellectual property has reinforced my passion for this field. Most importantly, the love, appreciation, and deep sense of community I have received from farmers along the way are things that words cannot fully capture. For that, I am profoundly grateful.
After over 20 years in this profession, I remember George Washington’s words: “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man.” Today, I proudly stand at the intersection of agriculture, technology, and strategy, committed to driving innovation that creates lasting impact for farmers and the industry at large.
Can you give us a one-sentence teaser of what you’ll be discussing at Cultivate this year?
In my keynote address at Cultivate, I will discuss the exciting developments within Nutrien Ag Solutions as we lead the next phase of the digital-AI agriculture revolution. How are we transforming the agronomy landscape by integrating historical legacy soil and plant tissue data with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability-focused biological solutions? Our precision agriculture platform synthesizes data from Nutrien and external sources, enabling us to make timely recommendations. Also, I will analyze what went wrong in the agtech space where we (collectively as industry, not Nutrien specific) lost more than $15 B in valuation in the last 12 months.
What’s a challenge in agriculture that doesn’t get talked about enough? On the flip side, what’s an underappreciated opportunity for farmers today?
Challenge: One of the biggest challenges in agriculture that is not talked about enough is soil health and the consequences of ignoring it. History has already shown us what happens when we take soil for granted. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was a wake-up call, where years of poor land management and extreme drought turned millions of acres into barren wastelands, forcing families off their farms. Removing deep-rooted prairie grasses led to massive soil erosion across the Great Plains. Without these natural anchors, the dry, overworked soil turned to dust, creating devastating storms that darkened skies, destroyed crops, and displaced millions of people. The crisis became so severe that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to address the nation, creating the Soil Conservation Service and sweeping agricultural reforms focused on sustainable land management.
Today, we are facing a similar crisis, but it’s happening slowly, beneath our feet. Intensive farming and monocropping depleted organic matter, disrupted the soil microbiome, and eventually reduced the land’s natural ability to sustain crops. It’s not just about erosion or yield loss by making our soil vulnerable; it impacts our entire food system. With nearly 80% of the world’s calories directly or indirectly relying on soil, we can’t afford to ignore it.
But the good news is that a tremendous opportunity is also hidden in the soil. The soil microbiome holds incredible potential for improving crop yields and enhancing nutrient density, naturally suppressing diseases, and even contributing to human health in ways we are just beginning to understand, where soil health is directly linked to human health.
At Nutrien Ag Solutions, we believe that the future of farming isn’t just about higher yields; it is about using inputs smarter in a more sustainable system. By unlocking the complexity of soil biology and developing location-specific biological solutions, we can help farmers grow more while preserving the land for generations. This isn’t just about business- it’s about securing the future of food and farming. If we get this right, we can pair profitability with sustainability, helping farmers thrive while protecting the planet’s most precious resource: SOIL.
Underappreciated opportunity: One of the most under-appreciated opportunities for farmers today is the full utilization of the technology embedded in modern agricultural equipment. Many of today’s machines have advanced sensors and data generation capabilities that can significantly simplify farm operations. However, much of this data remains underutilized. By fully leveraging data analytics and precision agriculture technologies, farmers can transform raw data into predictive insights, enabling them to make more informed decisions about input application, resource management, and overall farm efficiency. Tools like real-time yield mapping, soil moisture sensors, and AI-driven equipment automation can optimize inputs, reduce waste, and ultimately enhance productivity and profitability.
First and foremost, thank you for all that you do. Farmers are the backbone of the food value chain, providing food for 166 people annually in the U.S. and beyond- impacting every aspect of our daily lives. As John F. Kennedy once said, “The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” Your resilience and dedication keep the world fed, and that is something we should never take for granted.
As we look into the future, regulatory scrutiny on farm inputs and product applications intensifies. Compliance requirements will become more stringent, with regulatory bodies closely monitoring every detail. Now is the time to embrace farm management information systems and efficiency tools that can simplify compliance, reduce administrative burdens, and keep your focus where it matters most- on farming. Adopting digital record-keeping and precision agriculture technologies can streamline operations and future-proof your farm against evolving regulations. The future of agriculture is changing rapidly, and being proactive today will make all the difference tomorrow.
What’s one challenge farmers face today that Nutrien is actively working to solve with technology?
Farmers today face immense challenges, from herbicide resistance to optimizing field operations to managing complex digital tools and labor crises. At Nutrien Ag Solutions, we are at the forefront of solving these issues with our unparalleled agronomic expertise and technology. We’re leveraging RTK boundaries, drone technology, and machine-enabled agronomy to drive predictive agronomy, allowing for optimized input application and maximum efficiency at the field level. Additionally, through vision-based technology applications, we’re collaborating with industry partners to tackle the growing issue of herbicide resistance, ensuring more targeted and effective weed management.
But that’s not all. AI is transforming agriculture, and we believe Nutrien is in the best position to harness its power. With one of the industry’s most extensive soil and plant data sets, we use AI-driven insights to empower our agronomists with the best possible recommendations for growers. By analyzing vast amounts of field data, AI enables precise, site-specific recommendations, helping farmers make more innovative, data-backed decisions that enhance productivity and sustainability.
Moreover, in an industry where digital fragmentation often creates inefficiencies, we are committed to delivering a seamless, unified user experience that eliminates the need for multiple logins and makes farm management simpler and more intuitive.
What’s one thing AgTech companies can do better to earn the trust of farmers when rolling out new technologies?
To earn farmers’ trust when rolling out new AgTech technologies, companies must recognize and address the traditional belief system within agriculture: Farmers are generally willing to pay for products but not services. This reluctance stems from a historical pricing model where service components were bundled into product costs or retailers absorbed the service cost. However, as farming becomes increasingly complex and profit margins tighten, it has become challenging for retailers to maintain this model. Understanding farmers’ willingness to pay for specific technologies is crucial. AgTech companies must actively listen to farmers to identify technologies that create value and simplify their operations. This is especially important because farmers typically have fewer than 40 paychecks in their lifetime, making them hesitant to take additional risks on tools or technologies with unclear value propositions.
There is also a significant issue with the mindset of new entrants in the AgTech market, who often approach the industry with a fintech perspective. Unlike FinTech, which benefits from rapid data generation and innovation, AgTech operates at a slower pace. For instance, if we visualize the speed of innovation as the hands of a clock- where the hour hand moves slowly, the minute hand moves faster, and the second hand moves the quickest- AgTech currently progresses at the speed of the hour hand. Gathering relevant data often takes an entire cropping season, whereas innovations in other industries occur much faster.
To build trust, AgTech companies must adapt their strategies, focusing on clear communication of value and the specific needs of farmers. AgTech can foster stronger relationships and increase the adoption of new technologies in the agricultural sector by prioritizing understanding over assumption and creating solutions that address farmers’ pain points.
From Nutrien’s perspective, what’s a technology or trend in AgTech that farmers should be paying attention to right now?
From Nutrien’s perspective, several key trends in AgTech that farmers should pay attention to right now include soil microbiome testing, machine-enabled agronomy, vision-based technology, automation and robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) for accurate and precise product recommendations. These emerging areas offer significant potential to enhance agricultural practices and address current challenges in the sector.
What’s an exciting development within Nutrien’s AgTech work that you think will make a big impact on growers?
Nutrien Ag Solutions is leading the next phase of the digital agriculture revolution, combining historical legacy soil and tissue data available on our precision ag platform with advanced AI and sustainability-focused solutions. Our network of innovation farms serves as a real-world testing ground for new agricultural technologies, ensuring that solutions are practical, scalable, and truly beneficial to growers. By integrating this platform into our innovation farm network, we could validate the effectiveness of real-time soil microbiome-based recommendations and predictive insights under real farming conditions. These tools will transform the agronomy landscape by synthesizing data from Nutrien’s precision ag platform and external sources, enabling us to make recommendations. By enhancing decision speed and accuracy, we look forward to creating new value for growers and driving adoption and growth.
The ongoing efforts at Nutrien Agronomy mark a pivotal moment where environmental factors and precision farming intersect to combine sustainability with profitability at its finest. As agriculture becomes more data-driven, Nutrien’s ability to deliver scalable, real-time insights will ensure it remains a key player in shaping the future of farming, highlighting and fulfilling our goal of “Feeding the Future, together.”
Dream big with us: If you had unlimited resources and the possibilities were endless, what AgTech innovation would you bring to market and what challenge of yours would it solve?
I believe that money alone would not solve the complex problem in agriculture. It requires intention, a deep understanding of farmers’ challenges, and a strong commitment to sustainable practices. The success of AgTech hinges not just on technology but also on fostering collaboration and trust between AgTech providers and farmers. By engaging with the farming community and prioritizing their needs, we can develop solutions that resonate and impact soil health and agricultural sustainability.
If I had unlimited resources and endless possibilities, I would bring to market a comprehensive, integrated AgTech platform that combines real-time soil microbiome monitoring, AI-driven precision agriculture, and advanced automation technologies. This innovation would address the critical challenge of soil health management, which is often overlooked in the agricultural sector despite its vital importance to sustainable farming practices and food security.
The platform would utilize cutting-edge sensors and earth observation data to continuously monitor soil health indicators, including microbial diversity, nutrient levels, and moisture content. By harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms, the platform would analyze this data to provide farmers with tailored, actionable insights and recommendations for optimizing soil health and crop productivity.
