For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Laura McCarthy
816-759-2799
[email protected]
FARMLINK NAMES DAVE GEBHARDT AS CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER – DATA PRODUCTS &
AGRONOMY
Former WinField Leader Joins FarmLink to Drive Ag Innovation, Growth
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — April 6, 2015 — FarmLink today announced that Dave Gebhardt, Ph.D.,
has joined the company as Chief Strategy Officer – Data Products and Agronomy.
Formerly the Director of Agronomic Data & Technology for WinField, a Land O'Lakes company,
Gebhardt will lead efforts at FarmLink to identify innovative data analytics products and
solutions that help improve the profitability and sustainability of the food chain, from the field
to grocery aisle. Combining his agronomic knowledge with FarmLink’s unique data set and
powerful analytics platform, the company will broaden its investment in innovation and talent
to expand the benefits of agriculture benchmarking, a technology category the company first
established last year.
“As the 2015 planting season begins, FarmLink continues to demonstrate momentum across
the agriculture industry, including attracting top leaders like Dave. We are excited to add Dave’s
industry and scientific expertise to the outstanding FarmLink team,” said FarmLink Chairman
and CEO Ron LeMay. “Dave will help us connect the dots between broad industry challenges
and FarmLink’s unique ability to satisfy those needs by leveraging new technologies and
approaches. My vision remains to help transform agriculture by bringing actionable data and
new economic business models to increase profitability and sustainability across the food
system. Dave will help us do that.”
In his previous role, Gebhardt was responsible for data analysis and insight development for
WinField’s agronomic research program as well as the development of the company’s precision
ag technology and data management solutions for the Land O’Lakes cooperative system.
“It is entrepreneurial companies like FarmLink that are going to innovate and revolutionize
modern agriculture. I'm thrilled to be part of the team that will help shape the future based on
data science and technology,” said Dave Gebhardt, Chief Strategy Officer – Data Products and
Agronomy at FarmLink. “I've been fortunate to work on many technologies that delivered
significant value to farmers. What’s exciting about FarmLink is that their benchmarking and
advanced analytics enables the industry to measure and increase the true value and
sustainability of new technologies in farmers’ fields, in R&D labs of the largest agribusinesses,
and on the shelves of food retailers.”
In addition to his role at WinField, Gebhardt has spent more than 20 years in the agriculture
industry in various plant genetics, agronomy, and technology roles at Coors Brewing Company,
DuPont Pioneer, and GreenLeaf Genetics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy
at Iowa State University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics from the
University of Minnesota. He grew up on his family farm in southeastern Minnesota that remains
operational today.
ABOUT FARMLINK
A Kansas City, Mo.-based company, FarmLink offers innovative and unique data analytics
services that help farmers improve productivity and profitability, as well as provide objective
benchmarking metrics across the food chain, from field to grocery aisle.
Farmlink operates the largest combine leasing fleet in the United States, under the
MachineryLink brand, bringing farmers the opportunity to use the most modern technology to
harvest crops at a lower cost than owning the machinery.
Through its TrueHarvest yield benchmarking service, FarmLink brings to farmers the science of
benchmarking, which both identifies the potential productivity of land as well as the ability to
measure the success of any farming practice, including the promising new prescriptive farming
services offered by many leading agricultural companies. Farmers and their advisors can access
TrueHarvest yield benchmark services anywhere, anytime, allowing them to see precise,
detailed and actionable comparisons, and use that knowledge to make the best planting,
spraying and overall productivity plan for their land.
FarmLink's data science, agronomy and benchmarking experts have developed an innovative
pipeline of services, including the TrueHarvest yield benchmarking service, to cost effectively
support grower profitability and productivity. To learn more, go to www.farmlink.com.
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