The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Jay Hill wasn't a farm kid but at age 16 he decided he wanted to be a farmer. He went about pursuing his professional vision by joining forces with his father — who wanted Jay to attend college — by producing onions on the ten acres his father owned. Jay also worked for a produce company for 14 years, all the while learning the ins and outs of Agribusiness. Today, Jay operates or is partnered on a...

Starbucks made an announcement pledging to do its part to save the world. The coffee chain, with 31,000 stores worldwide, will "encourage" customers to opt for dairy alternatives rather than cow's milk to accent their over-priced beverages. I explain why Starbucks chose milk as its sacrificial cow (because the industry won't fight back), and the coffee company's real motivation (hint, it's money)....

Chris Mittelstaedt isn't from a farming background but he became an Agricultural entrepreneur at an early age — he sold vegetables from his mom's garden around his suburban Philadelphia neighborhood out of a radio flyer wagon. Today, Mr. Mittelstaedt owns and runs The FruitGuys, a fruit business specializing in delivery to corporate offices. Chris started The FruitGuys in 1998. The company now del...

On January 6th, 2020, Borden Dairy filed for bankruptcy protection. The 163 year old milk processor's announcement comes just 2 months after Dean Foods - the nation's largest milk processor - filed for bankruptcy. Within minutes of the Borden news breaking, social media warriors were blaming Walmart for the company's demise. Friend of show and dairy woman, Katharine Lotspeich joins me to sort out...

This week's Golden Globe Awards is the first (of way too many) Hollywood awards shows for the year. It's also the first award show to distinguish itself by serving an all-vegan menu. This, along with increasing media hit pieces on the meat industry's safety and environmental impact, have me convinced 2020 will be a flash point in the argument against livestock farming and meat consumption. In this...

Rich Bradbury is an Oregon rancher with an eye on the future. Along with other cattlemen, he started a cooperative to process and market their brands of beef. Country Natural is their conventional beef product but he's most excited about their other brand, Desert Mountain Grass Fed Beef. And that's where the growth has been. Rich talks to us about ranching in the desolate drylands, the potential f...

I'm so excited to announce the release of my new book, Food Fear — How Fear is Ruining Your Dinner and Why You Should Celebrate Eating. It's straight talk about food, foodies, farming, food fights, food police, food myths, and the future of food and food production. Nicole Hahn joins me in this episode to discuss the memorable and intriguing content in Food Fear. She should know, she was the book'...

I first heard of Regenerative Agriculture this spring via congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's televised town hall meeting. Given Ms. Cortez's stance and multiple comments on the evils of cheeseburger consumption and cow farts, I assumed this thing she was talking about was as outlandish as her other views. Then I was introduced to Gabe Brown's book, Dirt to Soil — One Family's Journey Into Re...

Friend of show, Rob Saik, joins me to discuss his new book, Food 5.0 and the future of food production. He explains the 5 iterations of Agricultural advancement then tells us what will change moving forward. We share our predictions (some of which you may agree with and some of which you won't!). What if the world's most used herbicide is pulled from the marketplace? What sort of technology will e...

Greg Peterson began his business of reporting on used farm equipment sales prices in 1989. After a decade of hand written figures and entering data into desktop computers, then sending out floppy discs, his business flourished. Today his company, "Machinery Pete," compiles sales information from around North America on the value of Ag equipment. His business is a resource as well as a selling foru...

Friend of Show, Andy Ambriole joins me to discuss the positives and negatives of both conventional and organic farming practices. He is the owner of BioSteward Farms and he's been an Ag entrepreneur since age 9. He got into organic production for business reasons — he's not a zealot like those folks at the Non-GMO Verified Project! Andy and I discuss the attributes of both cropping systems and why...

If you work in the Business of Agriculture, you understand the reality of what's happening in rural America. Many small towns that once supported a grain elevator, a farm store, an implement dealership, and several other businesses have been shuttered. With consolidation came a degradation of life in many parts of rural America. Some rural communities haven't suffered from consolidation — they nev...

Past client and host of the Moving Iron podcast, Casey Seymour, joins me for my first ever "Swap Cast." In this episode we discuss the future of farming, who's going to farm, what equipment they'll use, and where the opportunities lie. Consolidation will continue — as they always have in the Business of Agriculture — but beyond the commodity line lies plenty of fertile ground. We discuss all this...

A recent study found 95% of baby food contains toxic metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. As an Ag & Food person, I naturally assumed the business of food production would be maligned. So far, farming isn't being blamed (too much) for the issue. In this episode we discuss food fear, the politicization of food, and how things like the baby food study will affect Ag moving forward.

Did you know hay and forage are the third largest use of Ag land in the U.S.? We've never talked about hay on the Business of Agriculture podcast but that changed after I was hired to speak for the National Hay Association. Jeff Plourd from California and Bob McDowell from Michigan are two hay professionals. Jeff's company exports hay to Asia and the Middle East. Bob's company produces and brokers...

105 years ago the Smith-Lever Act created the Cooperative Extension Service. The county Agent's role was to extend information and education from each of his or her state's land-grant university. If you grew up in Agriculture, you probably are familiar with the concept of the county Ag agent. But a lot has changed in the Business of Agriculture in the last century. How will the county agent remain...

Joe Harris is the CEO and President of Southwest Meat Association. His membership is mostly in Texas but spans a total of 34 states. He joins me to discuss industry trends and challenges facing the animal protein business. His role is sometimes political so we discuss the real need for an immigrant worker plan (you'll be intrigued by his example of the billboard outside a member's meat packing pla...

Over the years I've spoken to a lot of Agricultural audiences in the Canadian province of Alberta. For this episode I thought it would be fun to bring in a past client to explain farming, food, and Ag in central Alberta. Steve Cowan and I discuss the history of canola, the changing dynamic of prairie crop production, how trade disputes between China and the U.S. ultimately impact Canada, and dozen...

Agriculture is a consumer business that's impacted by consumer trends. (By the way, so are ALL businesses!) Jim Dudlicek, Editorial Director for Progressive Grocer joins me to talk about food trends. What changes are going on in food and beverage consumption? We discuss the continual decline of sweetened beverages — although not if they're sweetened with cane sugar — that's a growth category now....

David Hasenauer is the founder of Greenpoint Research, a Florida based hemp company. This young Ag entrepreneur is looking to do some big things with an old crop. He explains the history of hemp, why it went away for several decades, and why it has such potential now. If you've been hearing about the potential of hemp and wondering how the business works, you've got to listen to this episode. I se...

Troy Bockelmann is an analyst with CattleFax. He joins me to discuss beef, of course, along with a whole bunch of other stuff. We talk consumption numbers and trends in beef, pork and poultry, and what a cattle cycle is. Did you know 40% of beef produced goes to burger? Or that pork consumption faces resistance when we get over 52 pounds per person? What's the marketing angle for beef, and will it...

Whether you're a Farmer, Agribusiness person, or an Ag Banker, this episode is for you! John Blanchfield is a former Ag lender who then worked with the American Bankers Association Ag division. He now runs Agricultural Banking Advisory Services. He joins me to discuss: why 2019 will shape up better financially than we feared, and how we can all thrive (or at least survive) financially. John provid...

Friend of show and chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, John Newton joins me to break down this week's USDA crop report. The immediate result of the report: markets tanked on better production forecasts than the trade anticipated. But are the numbers for real? Mr. Newton and I think not — at least not for the anticipated yields of corn and soybeans. We discuss the report and wh...

We've heard a LOT about crop insurance this year — especially in the Midwest and Plains states. But do you truly understand crop insurance and how it works? For an explanation I brought on Ruth, Ashley and Liz from the Auburn Agency of Auburn, Nebraska. These ladies have seen (and helped mitigate) the devastation of flooding and relentless precipitation first hand. In this episode we discuss the c...

We in the Business of Agriculture are amazing at producing grain. But the world of food — especially in developed countries like ours — continues to demand better or more specialized crops. Grain with more or less of a certain characteristic is desired by certain end users in the supply chain. That's where Farm Strategy comes in. Chad Sager with Farm Strategy joins me to discuss the unique needs o...