Now is a good time for entrepreneurship in the agriculture industry. That will be a message at the fourth annual Wiswell-Robeson Lecture at Monmouth College on Nov. 11.
This year’s Wiswell-Robeson lecturer has plenty of experience as well as a great story as an agripreneur – he took his operation from 50 chicks to the country’s largest pastured poultry producer.
Paul Greive, owner of the companies Pasturebird and Primal Pastures, will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 in the College’s Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. Titled “Agripreneurship in 2019: What Are You Waiting For?,” the lecture is free and open to the public.
“A concept that may be interesting for students is I’ll really be pushing the incredible opportunity for entrepreneurship within agriculture right now,” said Greive.
Greive’s agriculture story begins with the improvements he saw in his health when switching to a Paleo diet, essentially eating foods that would have been available to cavemen. His family soon joined him, and they also saw benefits to their health.
Going Paleo opened Greive’s and his family’s eyes to the fact that labels that included terms such as grass-fed, free-range, organic and antibiotic-free were deceiving. So in 2012, the family purchased 50 chicks and the business Pasturebird was born. Pasturebird differs from other chicken farms by offering chickens that are always on fresh grass and never given antibiotics.
Greive and his family now own both Pasturebird and Primal Pastures, where they sell other pasture-raised meats. Primal Pastures currently offers sheep, cows and two breeds of pigs.
The Wiswell-Robeson Lecture was founded in 2016 through a gift from 1960 Monmouth graduate Jeanne Gittings Robeson of Monmouth. The lecture’s purpose is to annually feature a speaker from the agriculture community who explores issues, challenges and innovations in the industry.
Barry McNamara - Communications & Marketing