We Don't Know What We Don't Know
Startups are making big advances in agriculture and the results can be seen in field tech, sustainability, and the bottom line. Often the coolest ideas come from outside agriculture, ideas formed because people have a depth of experience in another industry and a passion for making the world a better place, while building a business. But it can be easy to overlook things farmers and others in ag hold dear, practices they prioritize, science and business practices that have become ingrained.
Grounded in Ag can help employees at startups level up by providing team members with a depth of knowledge about (and familiarity with) farmers, their businesses, the day-to-day and season-to-season realities of farming for generations, and more. This can help you see real opportunities, the landscape you will operate in, etc. That depth of insight paired with your innovation pays off with better customer strategy and tactics, helping you build trust and a business that can succeed.
Learn from the Experts
Hearing things second hand is okay, but often, you can miss out on key points that were shared. This program pulls on the expertise of farmers and experts to let participants hear straight from the source. This helps you see the things that are important to your business so you can better understand, recognize, differentiate, and prioritize.
Individual or Group Learning
It's important to align what you learn to the organization you work for and the goals in place. We provide discussion guides to help individual participants take the learning back and true it up with peers, managers, and colleagues. We even have a discussion group guide if you'd like to do this like a book club!
Ready When You Are
Perhaps the best news is that this is simple to access and ready when you are. There are more than 30 hours of videos available, packaged with PDF downloads, links to vetted resources on the topics, vocabulary, and more. We continue to update materials, which means Grounded in Ag is a plug-play option for you.
It takes time to learn the basics and build depth -- but it doesn't need to control your calendar.
Onboarding to agriculture used to look like a half day on the farm and some books or maybe a magazine that was really meant for people already inside agriculture. We've designed a program approach to learning so those farm visits can pivot from purely learning opportunities and become chances to build relationships with potential customers.
Our programs let you learn in the hours you have available, whenever they hit. Whether it's in the middle of the day between meetings or in a hotel after a pitch. Stream Grounded in Ag on your mobile or log in via wifi. We give you the flexibility to learn quickly on your schedule.
The All Access Program Combines Crops and Livestock,
more than 50 experts, teaching more than 100 lessons in 13 courses.
Or pick just one commodity you need.
Our courses are designed to meet people where they are and begin developing the depth of knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding of agriculture that can be elusive to build without focused, structured efforts. The All Access Program provides you with a full slate of a dozen courses -- courses on the basics of agriculture and sustainability, courses that take you to a focus on crops and a focus on livestock, and nine crop and livestock courses that provide a deep dive into the biggest commodities in the U.S.
Ag 101 and Sustainability Set the Foundation
The Ag 101 course provides multiple sources across the US to provide you with the basic building blocks you need to understand agriculture, but more than that, we give you the context you need to put that information to work right away. The video modules in this course are designed to help you understand:
- Farmers, the way they set up their businesses, the changes they see happening, and their communities
- The industry and business as it works in the real world, with topics including cash flow, mental health, equipment, and farming organizations
The Sustainability course will help you understand the intersection of agriculture and sustainability and what that means for people and planet.
- Sustainability from multiple perspectives discussing varying approaches to soil, water, carbon & climate, pollinators & wildlife, and people.
- Farm tours to show you how farmers apply sustainability concepts to their daily work and business decisions
(more than 6.5 hours running time)
Depth in Crops & Livestock Comes Into Focus
Once you have the foundational knowledge of agriculture, we begin focusing in. What are things that are considered across different crops or livestock segments? These courses cover topics in that vein:
- Focus on Crops – Topics range from decisions about what crops to plant and how varieties/hybrids are chosen to some of the seasonal activities undertaken. Experts in weed science, entomology, and plant pathology also provide in-depth lessons on these critical challenges farmers face in the field and different ways those challenges can be addressed.
- Focus on Livestock – We take you through lessons on how farmers choose feed, manage pastures, and day-to-day activities on livestock operations, and combine those with expert perspectives on animal handling, animal health, and other challenges faced by farmers with livestock.
(more than 2 hours running time each)
Nine Commodity Courses
For many in agriculture, their roles require additional depth in a set of crops or livestock (beef, corn, cotton, dairy, pork, poultry, soybeans, specialty crops and wheat). These courses include the various pieces that help you get your bearings, and each follows a similar structure:
- Must Know Facts & Trivia
- Overview of a Year
- Interviews with farmers/ranchers about key topics
- In-depth discussion with multiple farmers/experts
- Essential resources like organizations, events and conferences, and
Additional information on each of these courses below.
(average 2.5 to 3 hours running time each)
Learning about ag doesn't have to be hard, but not knowing can be brutal.
For people who have grown up in agriculture, there are a lot of concepts they just assume others understand. Things like the seasonality of cropping or raising livestock, understanding the way business cycles work, and some of the major problems that have left lasting marks on the entire industry.
Grounded in Ag was developed by people who have come into ag from outside and learned it well enough to seem native. A group of advisers offered insight, and experts bring knowledge that informs every lesson, program and participant.
You get to learn about farming and farmers directly from the people who live it every day, so once you hit the farm for that first visit, you feel truly grounded.
Crops and Livestock Experts Across the US Deliver Lessons
One of the pieces that drives impact of Grounded in Ag is that all of the courses and lessons include perspectives from people in the industry who live this day in and day out.
We have people who have learned on the job, who put in long days on the farm or ranch, and others who have earned PhDs and lead research efforts geared toward the challenges faced on those operations. You will learn from folks who host field days, quiet-spoken farmers who prefer to stay close to home, and renowned global experts. All of them value having more people working on the challenges faced by agriculture in feeding our communities and preserving our resources. Check out the expertise page on our website to learn more about the experts involved with Grounded in Ag as teachers and advisors.
Dive Deep Into Each Commodity
Our commodity courses give you the depth of knowledge you need to work confidently within each of the industries. Each course builds on all the materials from Ag 101, Sustainability, and Focus on Crops and Focus on Livestock, bringing depth of knowledge on the production. Every lesson has 3-4 interviews with trusted and vetted industry experts, and we ground everything with the following basic information:
- Facts and Trivia
- Production for a Year – A visual look at the various points of the season
- Organizations, Media, and Events to Know
In addition to these shared elements, we've collaborated with trusted experts help you see deep inside the commodities and learn beyond what's visible on the surface. Every course includes lessons and interviews with multiple farmers/specialists, and every lesson is supplemented with carefully considered downloadables and vetted resources to reinforce and extend the learning so you can go as deep as you need on each subject. Take a look below to see what you can expect to learn in each course:
Explore Cattle Management and Beef Production
Learning the various segments of the beef industry provides the primary thrust of this course with farmers/ranchers and others involved in producing beef helping us get grounded in these lessons:
- An Overview of Beef Production
- A Look at Cow-Calf Production
- The Role of Feedlots
- Connecting Farms to the Market
(approx 3 hours running time)
Food, Feed and Fuel – Corn Production Delivers
Corn is grown on more acres than any other crop in the US. Understanding the opportunities and challenges faced in a season is critical. Farmers and experts give in-depth lessons on:
- Growing & marketing corn in the Midwest.
- The corn-soybean rotation, how it works on farm and the benefits to corn.
- Southern corn production & marketing the crop.
- In-depth discussion of corn physiology & crop production.
(approx 3 hours running time)
Getting Grounded in Cotton Production
Between 9-15 million acres of cotton are grown annually in the US, and this fiber is a major player in US agriculture. In this lesson you'll go in depth and learn from farmers and experts about:
- Growing Cotton on the High Plains of Texas
- Delta Cotton Production - Unique Challenges
- California Pima Cotton & Growing Premium Cotton for Brands
- An in-depth look at cotton physiology, challenges, and technology
(approx 2.5 hours running time)
Discover Dairy and Milk Production
We talk to several dairy farmers in various parts of the country and experts who grew up on dairy farms and now work with dairy farmers in other ways now:
- Getting to Know Dairy Farms and the range of technology used
- Go deeper by hearing the details of production.
- Hear from a dairy veterinarian about health, wellness & illness
- A cooperative shares the steps in getting dairy products to the market
(approx 3 hours running time)
Learning Soybeans From the Basics to Great Depth
Soybeans may not be something you think about daily, but you are probably touching or eating something that traces back to soybeans unless you have an allergy. The lessons in this course include farmers and experts covering:
- Soybean Production as a Business
- Growing Soybeans in the Midwest
- Understanding the Corn & Soybean Connection
- Southern Soybean Production
- In-depth Discussion of Soybean Physiology & Crop Production
(more than 3 hours running time)
Understanding Specialty Crops Production
Specialty crops are varied and complex. Produce, nuts, and more are all discussed in this course.
- Honey Bees and Pollination - An essential topic for specialty crops
- The unique needs of specialty production
- The business and marketing of specialty crops
- Why some crops are considered specialty over others
- In-Depth Presentation on Specialty Crops, the farms growing them & businesses involved
(more than 2.5 hours running time)
From Seed to Bread: Understanding Wheat Production
With different classes of wheat for different seasons, different geographies, and different uses, this can be a complex crop. Get grounded with wheat as we provide lessons on:
- Double-Cropping with soft white winter wheat in the Midwest
- Growing Specialty Wheat for a Specific Market in the PNW
- Spring Wheat in Montana
- Wheat Production In-Depth –Physiology & Crop Challenges.
- A look at a wheat mill where milling employees show us how wheat is tested for use before going to bakers, pasta makers, and more.
(approx 3 hours running time)
In Development for 2026 Launch Pork & Poultry
Courses covering the production practices and business models of pork and poultry are in the works for 2026 publication.
(~ 2.5-3 hours running time each)
Worried this may be too much?
We have packages that concentrate on all the crops or just one crop (corn, cotton, soybeans, specialty crops, or wheat); all the livestock segments or one segment of the livestock world (beef, dairy, pork, or poultry) with Ag 101, Sustainability, and the corresponding Focus Course.
See Other OptionsGet a PDF of information on the courses offered
Want more information? We have a multi-page PDF that gives you the detail on lessons built into the Ag 101, Sustainability, Focus on Crops, Focus on Livestock, and the commodity courses currently available (two still to come in 2026). You can also find information on our blog or social media (LinkedIn and Instagram).
