The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Too many Ag people do the hard work of running their Ag enterprise and accumulating assets, then avoid the easy work of estate planning. We often hear the horror stories in the industry of family Agribusinesses gone awry. Much of this can be alleviated through proactive legal consultation. My guest is Dan Gordon of Gordon and Associates - a law firm specializing in Agricultural estate planning. Da...

Delaney Howell from Ag News Daily joins me to discuss a myriad of issues and news items in the world of Agriculture. Among them: Trump's visit to Iowa to announce higher blend rates of E-15 — good for political posturing, not necessarily gonna move the corn market. African swine fever's impact on soybeans (hint, dead pigs don't eat soybeans). The reality of USDA's pledge to agriculture. The sillin...

My guest is Alan Bishop, a rural Wisconsin kid who, after graduating from the Ag school at the University of Wisconsin, ended up in Fresno. His job: To sell this new miracle chemical called Roundup. Alan and I met following my presentation to the Western Plant Health Association in Monterey, CA. We discuss the craziness of environmental compliance in California and repercussions for all of Ag afte...

The media has been all abuzz over tariffs and trade negotiations, especially as it pertains to Agriculture. Well, good for us, seems the media only pays attention to Agriculture when they can paint a doom and gloom scenario. But are we in a doom and gloom scenario? What is the real impact of tariffs and trade wars on the Business of Agriculture? Dennis Haugen, North Dakota farmer and agribusinessm...

Doug Hubner is a third generation seedsman, farmer, and brand manager for Hubner Seed. In 2002 the company started by his father and grandfather reinvented itself by focusing on the eastern states. The strategy worked. In 2007 Monsanto (now Bayer) bought Hubner Seeds. But Doug and his father retain the farm and processing company. And Doug stayed on as brand lead for the new venture. He and I talk...

The Biz of Talking Funny to The Business of Agriculture Tim Moffett is a Florida dairy farmer with an interesting side job: He's an Agricultural comedian. Like me, he gets paid to speak at Ag meetings. Join our fun conversation as we take you back stage. You'll see showbiz from our perspective. We discuss material creation, open mic nights, the three shows within every show, gigs gone bad, and the...

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Jim Smith is a Technical Swine Nutritionist with Kent Feeds. He and I met a few years back when his company hired me to speak at a national sales meeting. He's also farmer, an active Ag Tweeter, and a friend of the show. We discuss the need for more animal scientists, why livestock producers can't "save their way to prosperity," and the amazing job Animal Ag is doing at cutting antibiotic usage. W...

Monsanto- now part of Bayer - doesn't event exist anymore. But that doesn't mean the March Against Monsanto will die. The protest will live on, the only thing that changes is the target. In this episode you'll hear why the movement against glyphosate and Monsanto persists (hint, it's very profitable for "non profits"). We discuss the Environmental Working Group's clever hit piece designed as news....

We in the business of agriculture must do our part to foster tomorrow's leaders and workers. With school back in session this month, I thought it'd be appropriate to bring in an example of just that. A leader and worker for tomorrow's Agriculture, Jordyn Sills is my guest. A senior studying Agribusiness Management at Purdue, Ms. Sills just completed her third Ag internship. She and I discuss what...

In this episode hear my thoughts on current events in the Business of Agriculture. We revisit the "nuisance" lawsuits against pork producers in North Carolina. Smithfield just lost it's third straight court case - and this one is reportedly gonna cost $94 million to pay off only six neighbors! What do lawsuits against Ag mean for you and what can the Business of Agriculture do to stop them? We als...

Michelle Miller a.k.a. The Farm Babe is a social media star, speaker, sheep farmer, and AgDaily contributing writer. She joins me to discuss food labeling, farming, the future, and consumer issues. We also talk about the role of communicating Ag to a non-Ag populace and whether or not the word "Agvocate" is proper terminology. This is a fun visit - join us!

Barry Aycock is a farmer, farm owner, cotton gin operator, nursing home owner, and founder of AgXplore. Barry was a farm boy who aspired to become a college professor, but some people just aren't made for a 3 hour work week! So, he worked as a cotton scout and was so good at it, he won a national award. He was recruited to help the country of Bolivia grow cotton on the edge of the jungle, and that...

Jim Dudlicek of Progressive Grocer and I continue our conversation about all things grocery. In part two we talk about the future of food. What's happening in the meat and dairy case? Why is the segregation of organic and "natural" food going away? Does laboratory meat have a place on consumer's plates anytime soon? And what's the grocery store of the future gonna look like? Gettin' groceries is h...

The Business of Agriculture IS the business of food. In North America, food is more than mere sustenance, food is a trend. My guest is Jim Dudlicek with Progressive Grocer. He explains what's hot and what's not in the grocery aisles. He tells us about the consumer's push for fresh, why "center store" is stagnant, and the popularity of plant -based protein. What happens at the grocery store matters...

My guest is Brandon Wipf, South Dakota farmer and member of the American Soybean Association Board of Directors. We discuss the business side of agricultural production. Brandon talks about some of his good habits and shares ideas on how you can improve yourself and your business. We also cover global trade and why he thinks TPP could be a huge economic bonus to American Ag. You'll enjoy this disc...

OK, he's not really "my" dairy farmer. He's "a" dairy farmer who rents my farm land. This being dairy month, I thought it'd be a good time for you to hear from him. Johan DeGroot joins me to discuss all things dairy from a 30 year old farmer's perspective. What's the dairy industry doing right? What's different than a decade ago? Where will the dairy spat between Canada and the U.S. end up? And wh...

Ours is a unique industry with many factors that are unfamiliar to most people or businesses. Zoning, livestock operation disputes, estate planning headaches, employment legalities, environmental regulation, are just a few of the issues in Ag. My guest is Amy Cornell, president of Agribusiness Council of Indiana. She's also an attorney specializing in Agriculture, a lobbyist, and farm girl. While...

The day I recorded this podcast, celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain completed suicide. According to the Centers For Disease Control, suicides in the United States are up 30%. For the Business of Agriculture, the numbers are even worse. 85 farmers per 100,000 kill themselves annually. Suicide rates for farmers are 6.3 times the national average. This is a mental health crisis. It's...

At this moment there is plenty of bluster over global trade. Even Canada and the USA - two counties touting the longest uncontested border on Earth - are on the verge of spatting. I talk to Real Ag Radio host, Shaun Haney for a Canadian perspective. We talk trade imbalances (they're not always bad), why Canada and the USA's spat has nothing to do with Agriculture, and why Canadians always bring up...

We hear the word "natural" a lot as it pertains to food and agriculture. But what does it even mean? Like the word "sustainable," ask 100 different people and you'll receive 100 different definitions of "natural." In fact, "natural" is thrown about so commonly these days, the Food and Drug Administration was petitioned to define the word. Until recently, I deemed "natural" to be little more than a...

This week the house voted down the first draft of Farm Bill 2018. What does this mean for people involved in Ag? Why should taxpayers care about the Farm Bill? (hint, because it effects a LOT of non farm stuff!). And what should Ag expect moving forward? My guest is my brother, Eric Mason — 32 year veteran of the Farm Service Agency. We discuss USDA issues, the pending Farm Bill, and it's impact o...

April 26, 2018 a federal jury in North Carolina awarded nearly $51 million to 10 plaintiffs in a "Swine Nuisance" verdict. The award was reduced two weeks later by a federal judge to $3.25 million. Either way, meat production may have just gotten a lot more expensive — there are 25 more cases filed just in North Carolina! What does this mean for the future of meat production and what does it mean...

April 22nd, 2018 marks the 48th installment of Earth Day. In this episode I give you some background on Earth Day. Did you know it was a social movement attempting to capitalize on the anti- Viet Nam war fervor? Earth Day is also credited for creating the EPA - now an $8 billion, 15,000 employee federal juggernaut — oftentimes at odds with Agriculture. (WOTUS anyone?) The business of agriculture h...

Join the conversation with fellow Ag speaker and funny man, Mark Mayfield. Usually we cover issues impacting the industry of food and farming but this episode is a bit lighter. Mark and I discuss comedy, why comedian and farmer are job descriptions that get disrespect, humorous material that only works for Ag audiences, the perils of the job as a traveling talker, and more.