The Little Red Barn

This week the guys dive into the June 30 USDA reports on Planted Acreage and Quarterly Grain Stocks. The report was not really all that noteworthy, except that Charlie had to eat come crow during the podcast. How did the heat impact local crops this past week, and what about moisture from here? But perhaps the biggest outcome of this week's podcast is Ryan's new purpose in life: getting cattle int...

This week we catch up with Becks Agronomist Travis Burnett to discuss the how and why of getting the right type of hybrid on the right kind of ground. Charlie says its an AI job, which means Ryan wants none of it. But, is there something to the science? Do we need to look at some different kinds of metrics on the seed in our seed catalogs? An interesting discussion, even if it does walk close to t...

The Red Barn Road Show is back again this week...but this time because Ryan is trying to catch a little R&R up in the Michigan UP. This week we talk the over-hyping of weather and how that is getting old, the mother of all farm bankruptcies, and the upcoming USDA June 30th reports. That discussion brings a bit of surprise, as Charlie's thoughts would be wildly bullish for the market. Buckle up!

This week Ryan and Charlie get a down in the weeds look at vintage power fanaticism! Rob and Kelley Meyers of the International Harvester Collectors Club Chapter 33 dropped by Red Barn Studios to talk tractors, tanks, trucks and implements...every one of them carrying the IH logo. It's a fantastic romp through the history of this brand and may give you a few trivia nuggets to tuck away. The reason...

Did you see Big Boy steam through the corn belt this week? Ryan and Charlie talk about that, the wild ride the market took us on this week and the astounding amount of local agriculture history that is increasingly lost as time goes by. Plus, go back to school with a bit of a Trade Primer on different tariffs and trade law. 

Weather has been nearly perfect this past week for drying out fields. Even those with the wettest and toughest ground were able to get after it last week. But, now the social media "weatherists" are crowing about Flash Drought?  Oh come on!  But, there are increasing voices in parts of the state saying "we could use a rain" for various reasons, including activating chemistry. Are fertilizer prices...

Adventures with Charlie returns this week, as he wrestles with breakdowns on the corn planter. Its graduation season, along with and end of Track season as planting season rolls on. Markets are not giving huge opportunities as of late, but weather will in many areas this week and next. Plus, another installment of "Ryan's Rants" in this week's episode. 

Plenty to rehash this week as USDA served up some WASDE surprises, Trump meets Xi and area farmers made more progress than perhaps we thought they could. But the big story of the week is ASA vs NCGA...or bean guys vs corn guys on the issue of E15. But this is not a new story. Farmers are notorious for not supporting fellow farmers if issues don't pertain to them, and flat out coming against fellow...

Episode 138: Anxiety! The calendar says we should be a lot farther along than we are on field work, and some folks are starting to get more nervous. Should we be? Plus, an update on Charlie's "marshmallow" crop (turns out it's not what anyone thought it could be), and a discussion on what could be a busy news headline week. We also dive into Nitrogen concerns related to our wet pattern so far this...

An otherwise normal, low intensity podcast covering cold temps, planting delays, and general goings on in agriculture gets railroaded this week when Charlie references a spectacular crop of "marshmallows" growing along roadsides and in some of his fields. For the first time in Little Red Barn Podcast history, Ryan is actually speechless and cannot move forward on any topic. Guest Dave Weisflog sha...

This week Ryan and Charlie dive into fertilizer, weather, and the slow start to the growing season. But the big issue on this weeks podcast is "spin".  All sorts of people, groups, companies, and entities are trying to make a story out of high fertilizer. And all have various reasons for the spin they are working. But, while high fertilizer prices are here and we dont like them is it really as big...

You know what they say about opinions...right? Well, seems like these days the same thing might be said about marketing consultants. You can find them everywhere, but in this case, we surely don't all have them. This week we talk with a pair of Marketing Gurus out of Indianapolis, and get their take on the current state of commodity markets. We are not looking to get marketing advice, but more to...

Back in the studios again this week, Ryan and Charlie dive into chaos and fiasco at a local energy utility, the true cost of service, and why the heck don't businesses care about their customers anymore?  Plus, USDA chooses to punt again on any kind of WASDE stand-taking and the weather looks like we have a bit yet before we can really get to the fields. But does it really matter at this point?

Back in the dark ages of advertising, Fed Ex had a slogan "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight". Well, now days it seems like our answers to crop issues "absolutely, positively has to be here in the next 30 seconds".  Enter Jeff Frank of CropSmart. This week we examine Jeff's use of no-collection soil sampling probes, digital imaging and readouts, fed through AI, to get real-t...

We follow up the "Carbon Controversy" from last week with another conversation that might get your dander up, or at least prompt you to look at traditional agriculture differently. This week we were thrilled to be able to feature Damian Mason on the podcast. Damian hosts The Business of Agriculture program and speaks nationwide/worldwide on that topic. We tackle overproduction, policy, globalizati...

This week we step into the thick of a controversial plan to sequester carbon via high pressure deep injection well underneath acres and acres of northern Indiana farmland. The community seemingly doesn't want it, the county government is trying to handle the proposals in a correct manner and the project proposers seem hellbent on forcing it through. Courts may still yet have to decide some parts o...

The new Red Barn Podcast theme song brings a different sound to Episode 130, but feel good vibes are a little more rare in this podcast. Ryan is not in love with articulated boom lifts, and the winds of this past week do not help. Weather in general is bi-polar. Some farmers in other parts of the country are throwing in the towel, and it feels like we are getting price gouged on everything these d...

The "Red Barn Road Show" is on the move again, and this week we hit Plymouth, Indiana to talk with former Indiana State Representative and current Marshall County Councilman Tim Harman. We cover a lot of bases, from data centers and solar, to property taxes and roads and his local eatery! Iran and fertilizer make an appearance when we chat markets and then we finish off strong with a brand new Lit...

These days, "Women in Ag" is a hashtag, a movement and just plain something the industry is used to. But 40 years ago...it was not. This week we meet a trailblazer. A woman carving a path in agriculture before it was a "thing". Jane Hardesty held every position possible in SCS and NRCS during her illustrious career, and knows a think or two about soil and water conservation. Currently appointed by...

The Little Red Barn Podcast goes on the road this week as Charlie visits the Marshall County FFA Farm Toy Show at LaVille High School. The guys chat farm toy collections, and why we have them with four Marshall County FFA members and talk FFA week which is happening this week. A light-hearted look at the "playful" side of Agriculture. How may of your old farm toys do you still have?

Ryan and Charlie take to the sky with an update on new technology in the world of Drones, and what we can look for in that space through the 2026 growing season. Brought to you by Mac America Ag Finance, Northern Indiana. 574-253-3433

This week we welcome special guest Griffin Nate from IN 2nd District Congressman Rudy Yakim's office. We get an update on the goings on in Washington around the Farm Bill, Exports, the 3 T's (Tariffs, Trade, Trump) and even ask what the Congressman may think about the fiasco that is Indiana's HB 1333. Buckle up...this one comes at you fast as we bounce from topic to topic and Griffin gives Ryan a...

Gold and Silver are hot! Our high temps are not. This is the season where there seems to not be a whole lot going on while at the same time, it seems like there is a lot going on. Sounds weird, but you know we're right! This week we tackle interest rates, skiing, currency trade, oversupply, acreage controls and being on the Purdue campus back in the day. It's everything and nothing, all at once. B...

This week as some of us dig out from the weekend snowstorm and others (Charlie) hit the slopes, we explore the growing movement into biological treatments. Some sound too good to be true, others just downright hokey. But is there something to all of this? What should we be looking at and what expectations of results can we have when looking at these products? We welcomed Agronomist Pat Larson to c...

This week Ryan and Charlie are joined by Greg Kneubuhler, affectionately known as the "Nebulizer" by Ryan, at the Fort Wayne Farm Show. The guys discuss the abomination that was the USDA reports from last Monday, outcomes of the NCAA Football National Championships and a few other top of mind issues. However, things get really interesting on a dive into what seems like a "gray area" in the Federal...