Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What would Schlach say? Time to focus on Char & Hurd. Stay in touch with close friends and family, especially in these times. Count your blessings and move forward.
I remember the first time we studied together The Tuck School at Dartmouth, circa 1993. "Link, what is the market capitalization?" and then we worked through whatever the case was. Very methodical and the most fun you could have on a golf course. Jeff stuck out from the crowd because he was incredibly nice and down to earth, and he had genuine interest in the business of natural resources. Jeff would eventually land a job with Cargill.
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill
Recently I reconnected with Cargill through Tuck.
Dear Anshuman,
I found your name in the Tuck Database & wanted to reach out personally.
Relevant today via my family story and career path, I have developed a deep commitment to helping reinvent the Agriculture Industry in a more sustainable way, with an eye on water use and other key inputs & natural resource requirements.
It starts in the 1940s & 50s in Dairyland, with my Grandfather Professor Karl Paul Link, the man credited with isolating the Warfarin and derivative molecules not only for rodenticides (D-Con) but also anticoagulants for humans. I am the first grandson of "K.P." or "The Rattor". Turns out there are multiple ties between the original story centered in Madison in the 1930s and the Twin Cities area (including Rochester).
THE WINDING STORY OF WARFARIN -- SAINT CROIX COUNTY, WI
Today I work closely with Louis Miller, Founder of Miller Soils based in Boulder, CO and Marty Phipps, Founder of Old Dominion Hemp based in Charlottesville, VA as they scale their businesses.
At this phase of my career, the focus is on Impact Capitalism with a bit of a personal mission. My good friend Jeff Schlactenhaufen was a fellow Dartmouth / Tuck Class of 1994; our wives were great friends too. Jeff's first job out of the business school was with Cargill. He would later go on to be involved with Renessen, the Joint Venture with Monsanto. I consulted with a division of Cargill in the late 90s and would always pay Jeff and family a visit. Saw him at our last reunion in New Hampshire. Sadly, Jeff passed away several years ago from pancreatic cancer.
To meet worldwide food demand, Jeff and I would always debate the merits and drawbacks between growing without pesticides and herbicides vs. GMO / RoundUp Ready crops. Another huge factor was local vs. sourced from other countries, including meat and whether the foods are processed or whole.
As Tuck Class of 1994 Secretary, I proclaimed that my work at this phase of my career focused on the Ag industry would be dedicated to Jeff, as well as his wife Susie and their four (4) children.
I would like to discuss with you and possibly other Team members the merits of biochar for the Agriculture Industry, broadly defined with a bit of a domestic focus. I would further like to discuss what can be done to be a true catalyst on the demand side. The world desperately needs biochar in my estimation, both for forestry & biomass management, as well as returning carbon to the soil. Biochar has an application as a supplement for both dairy & beef cattle, a tie back to Warfarin and its origins with Sweet Clover Disease.
I am also interested in discussing my experiences and perspective on the true potential and barriers to progress for the Industrial segment of Industrial Hemp.
I am in town for the latter half of next week. Do you have time on Fri Jun 24 for me to come by and visit? I am assuming face to face meetings with distance are still possible. This may not be realistic, but thought to ask.
Kindly let me know! I will follow up with a phone call.
Highest Regards,
- Dave
David J. K. Link
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