Analysis of MAD AG Business Strategy

(This is an analysis of the business structure, organizational behavior, strategy, and ethics of Mad Agriculture. For more background on Mad Ag, read their website and my interview with the Founder Phil Taylor.)

Phil Taylor's Mad Ag non-profit is a unique non/for-profit hybrid as described by Phil himself. The capacity to rapidly pivot and spin off for-profit models based on the success of research and development fostered by the not for profit side of the organization is a core competency for Mad Ag. The strategy of diversifying revenue streams, which Phil mentions explicitly in the context of farming, is obviously also being implemented at Mad Agriculture.

The two technical innovations which may have a marketable potential are regenerative heritage grain cultivation and regenerative animal pasture supplement. [Check out this link if you're not familiar with the concept of "regenerative agriculture".]

Heritage and perennial grains have gained notoriety and buzz recently, and by partnering with the Noble Grain Alliance, Mad Agriculture is getting in on the grain train. The perennial grain kernza has been used in Patagonia Provision's Long Root Ale, a product whose appeal aligns with the regenerative agriculture movement. By choosing a perennial wheat instead of an annual, Patagonia is supporting agricultural practices which sequester carbon much more effectively in addition to reducing erosion. As interest in heritage and perennial grains grows, Mad Ag will be well positioned to help expand genuinely regenerative production alongside the Noble Grain Alliance.

The potential competitive advantage in forming a new category like "Regenerative Pasture Supplement" is a substantial incentive for innovation, alongside a substantial risk. The new product category's value chain is defined by sequestering carbon while avoiding negative externalities such as overfishing, soil erosion, and poor animal welfare. Additionally, by using food waste as a food source for the black soldier flies which eventually end up in the product, this innovation embodies the circular economy concept.

Learn more about this process at Mad Agriculture's website.

This ethics-driven product has the potential to radically change how we think about feeding animals. By redirecting the derivations of major inputs to socially and environmentally responsible sources, Mad Agriculture is poised to deliver high value to its customers while simultaneously laying the groundwork for reorienting two major sources of food-related environmental problems, namely GHG emissions associated with conventional grain production, and overfishing for fish meal production. It is innovations like this that will help us transition to the dynamic and sustainable food system we need in order to f eed the world's growing population .

The American Bison is a powerful symbol of the American West, and for good reason. The great roamers of the Great Plains have played an essential role in balance with prairie/grassland ecosystems from time immemorial. Through decades of work from Alan Savory and his namesake non-profit educational network, The Savory Institute, the importance of ruminant interactions in the ecosystem health of grasslands across the world has been rediscovered.

A class field trip recently brought me face-to-face with these mega fauna of the West, on a ranch in Eastern Colorado owned and managed by The Savory Institute. The West Bijou Bison Ranch was recently donated to Savory and is also a National Natural Landmark due to uniquely preserved fossils and other artifacts.

Aside from managing the ranch, The Savory Institute coordinates the spread of holistic management practices across the globe through their global Network which supports learning hubs on 6 continents. Holistic management, which is at the heart of the institute's mission, brings an ecological approach to strengthening land health through intensive herd management, careful monitoring, and scientific observations.

Experiencing these animals up close was exhilarating. Some of the largest bulls were particularly curious about human observers. It is one thing to study the keys to holistic grazing on paper, and quite another to see and to smell the bison pies trampled into grass, the various terrains and water sources carefully charted and integrated into a master management plan, and to hear the plaintive sounds of the prairie mingled with the herd.