The Business of Agriculture Podcast

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.

Last week was a volatile week in the grain trade but what does all this mean? Matt Bennett of Bennett Consulting joins me to discuss the basics of commodity markets, terminology of the trade, and his thoughts on the global grain business. We discuss how you can profit - or at least limit your risk - as a grain buyer or seller. We close with Matt's advice for limiting emotional mistakes and why he'...

Ranching & Farming on public land will come to an end in the next 20 years. In this episode I tell you why. I also delve into political reality: this is a bigger issue than just a few thousand ranchers on public land, it's about the culture of Agriculture. Which is very much at odds with the media's portrayal of contemporary America.

The Business of Agriculture is caught in the crosshairs of trade negotiations. As usual. Agricultural crops are often used as bargaining chips. Food is commonly used as a political weapon. So, what is the current picture of trade? Will China really stop buying American soybeans - and what if they do? Should you panic? Jim Wiesemeyer, D.C. policy analyst for ProFarmer and Farm Journal is my guest....

This week we celebrate Agriculture with our 45th National Ag Day. While it's a day to recognize all that Ag does, we sometimes take the "thank a farmer" movement a little too far. Wouldn't it also be appropriate to thank the paying customer who buys our product? In this episode I share thoughts for the men and women of Agriculture, followed by an Ag Day message for our consumers. Please share this...

The business of Ag has seen a rapid amount of consolidation. Seed, chemical, equipment, fertilizer, and possibly even grain handlers are getting fewer in number. And bigger. Will size and scale stifle innovation? Do new companies have greater control over farm customers? Seems it's not a matter of if, but when, will we reach the point of Big 3 Economics - with 3 major players in every category. Bu...

Fake news is a new term for an old practice: using misinformation to trigger an emotional reaction, thereby affecting an outcome. I delve into the history of media-perpetuated inaccuracies. Particularly, how it negatively impacts the Business of Agriculture. From Oprah's anti-beef episode to gluten as evil. When it comes to fake news, we lose. Learn how Ag can battle better. Defense versus offense...

Friend of Show, Rob Saik joins me to deliver his take on Agriculture past, present, and future. What innovations make it possible for 1% fo the populace to feed the other 99%? What agricultural advancements allowed human advancement? We talk about the 5 iterations of Agriculture: Muscle, Machinery, Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Convergence. This episode explores where food production and the busin...

Dwayne Faber is a Twitter star who earns his living as a dairy farmer in Washington state. We talk about the Ag economy, the future of commodity production, money, and family. We also delve into social media and the finer points of comedy. Two ADHD dairy guys getting funny on this episode of The Business of Agriculture!

You hear me talk a lot about Ag's ability to reap bigger profits by breaking the commodity mindset. Socially conscious branding is an excellent opportunity to do this. If you watched the Super Bowl - or even if you didn't - social consciousness was on display with several commercials. Take for example, Anheuser - Busch, who devoted two spots to the brewer's work at providing clean water to people...

From government, to cause groups, to well - intentioned foodies, seems everyone is out to control food and agriculture. Jayson Lusk, author of "The Food Police: A Well -Fed Manifesto about the Politics of Your Plate" joins me to talk about the various food forces. Topics: why soda taxes don't make fat people skinny, should there be federal dietary nutritional guidelines (we disagree on this!), the...

From government, to cause groups, to well - intentioned foodies, seems everyone is out to control food and agriculture. Jayson Lusk, author of "The Food Police: A Well -Fed Manifesto about the Politics of Your Plate" joins me to talk about the various food forces. Topics: why soda taxes don't make fat people skinny, should there be federal dietary nutritional guidelines (we disagree on this!), the...

Chips, fries, hash browns, baked, scalloped, and lets not forget tater tots. In this episode, I talk taters with Matt Hemphill of Potatoes New Brunswick. Yep, that's one of the Maritime Provinces just east of Maine and Canada's third biggest producer of spuds. We eat potatoes but how familiar are we with this amazing tuber? Did you know a lot of potato farmers get 25- 30 tons of spuds per acre? Di...