The Spokesman Speaks: Ag Insights for Your Farm and Family

Welcome to Episode 45 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Iowa Farm Bureau's senior economist (Dr. Sam Funk) walks through the COVID-19 assistance that's currently available to farmers and Iowa Farm Bureau's national policy advisor (Daniel Heady) discusses additional federal relief that could be available to farmers in the weeks to come. Below are some of the resources referred to in...

Welcome to Episode 44 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig talks about state COVID-19 relief resources and Chris Norton (a former Luther College football player who experienced a paralyzing injury on the field and beat the odds to walk again) shares inspiration that we could all use right now. Below are some of the resources referred to in this...

Welcome to Episode 43 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast.  In this episode, Dr. Kathryn Polking (Bureau Chief for Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship's Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau) and Terry Kerns (co-owner of eastern Iowa's popular Edgewood Locker) help farmers navigate their best options for marketing and processing livestock during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Below are some of t...

Welcome to Episode 42 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast, which is Part 3 of Iowa Farm Bureau's 3-part podcast series on managing farm stress in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, featuring Dr. Larry Tranel (a pastoral psychologist who has spent more than 30 years working with farm families). Part 1 (released May 8) covers how to identify unhealthy stress and how to manage it. Part 2 (released May 13)...

Welcome to Episode 41 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast, which is Part 2 of Iowa Farm Bureau's 3-part podcast series on managing farm stress in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, featuring Dr. Larry Tranel (a pastoral psychologist who has spent more than 30 years working with farm families). Part 1 (released May 8) covers how to identify unhealthy stress and how to manage it. Part 2 (released May 13)...

Welcome to Episode 40 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast, which is Part 1 of Iowa Farm Bureau's 3-part podcast series on managing farm stress in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, featuring Dr. Larry Tranel (a pastoral psychologist who has spent more than 30 years working with farm families). Part 1 (released May 8) covers how to identify unhealthy stress and how to manage it. Part 2 (to be released M...

Welcome to Episode 39 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, we interview Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill and the new Chair of Iowa State's Department of Animal Science (and the host of RFD-TV's "Doc Talk" show), Dr. Dan Thomson. President Hill discusses updates to the COVID-19 assistance for Iowa farmers and what he's hearing as he conducts listening sessions with farmers in ever...

Welcome to Episode 38 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This special episode features a one-on-one conversation with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (on April 27, 2020), regarding current and future COVID-19 relief through the federal government.   Watch for our next regularly-scheduled episode of The Spokesman Speaks podcast on Monday, May 4.

Welcome to Episode 37 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill discusses important COVID-19 relief for agriculture. Iowa Food Bank Association (IFBA) Executive Director Linda Gorkow talks about food banks' urgent needs, and how a new $100,000 donation by Iowa Farm Bureau is making a difference. Visit IowaFBA.org to help IFBA, your regional food bank, or your local foo...

Welcome to Episode 36 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode, hosted by Delaney Howell, features economists Dr. Sam Funk (Iowa Farm Bureau) and Dr. Chad Hart (Iowa State University) talking about the impact coronavirus is having on agriculture and what agriculture is doing to fight back. We also have a 2020 growing season weather forecast from ag climatologist Dr. Dennis Todey (Director of...

Welcome to Episode 35 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This National Agriculture Week episode (hosted by Delaney Howell) features an interview with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig on Iowa's water quality progress and the steps being taken to scale up water quality protection practices. It also includes tips from Charlie Arnot (CEO of the Center for Food Integrity) on the best ways for farm...

Welcome to Episode 34 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode is all about sustainability and agriculture's shrinking environmental footprint. Dr. Jean Lonie of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance dissects a 2019 report indicating that U.S. agriculture is on a trajectory to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 50% over the next five years. Here's that report: https://usfarmersan...

Welcome to Episode 33 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode features a forecast from Iowa Farm Bureau Senior Economist Dr. Sam Funk, who sees signs that Iowa corn and soybean growers may be able to break even or secure profit opportunities in 2020. It also includes an interview with Brett Sciotto, the President and CEO of Aimpoint Research. Brett's a former Army Intelligence Officer, and h...

Welcome to Episode 32 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode (hosted by Delaney Howell) provides livestock farmers tips for handling opposition to their operations. Hannah Thompson-Weeman (Vice President of Communications for the Animal Agriculture Alliance) offers her insights into how livestock farmers can build local trust proactively, and Story County farmer Eric Henry shares his first-...

Welcome to Episode 31 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Ken Isley and Iowa Farm Bureau Senior Economist Dr. Sam Funk analyze the United States' Phase 1 trade agreement with China.  Isley and Funk also discuss other recent trade agreements (USMCA and Japan) and potential future agreements.  

Welcome to Episode 30 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. January 13 marks the beginning of Iowa's 2020 legislative session, and this episode features a preview of Iowa Farm Bureau's legislative priorities in 2020, along with an update (from Iowa DNR Water Quality Resource Coordinator Adam Schnieders) on the significant progress that's being made on one evergreen priority: protecting and improving Io...

Welcome to Episode 29 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode focuses on managing stress and overcoming adversity, topics that have become all-too-familiar in farm country. The episode features an interview with Chris Norton, a former Luther College football player who overcame a devastating spinal cord injury and inspired millions of people in the process. The episode also includes an inter...

Welcome to Episode 28 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. This episode features Governor Kim Reynolds' speech at Iowa Farm Bureau's 2019 Annual Meeting, regarding pending trade deals and biofuels. Also in this episode: crop expert Ken Ferrie gives tips for maximizing corn yields and cutting costs, and Iowa Farm Bureau's Farm Business Development Manager, Amanda Van Steenwyk, shares advice for farmers...

Welcome to Episode 27 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Iowa Farm Bureau Senior Economist Dr. Sam Funk invites you to join Iowa Farm Bureau's Market Study Tour of Brazil . The episode also includes a discussion about Iowa farmland values with Iowa State University (ISU) professor Dr. Wendong Zhang and ISU professor Dr. Daniel Andersen's analysis of a recent study about how hog farm...

Welcome to Episode 26 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Iowa State University researcher Dr. Mike Castellano shares the results of a new study about the environmental benefits of updating Iowa's 100-year-old drainage system. The episode also includes a conversation with Shawn Richmond (Director of Environmental Technology with the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council) about...

Welcome to Episode 25 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Iowa FFA Executive Director Scott Johnson discusses FFA's recent growth (in Iowa and around the country) and how the organization has appealed to both rural and urban students (with new chapters popping up in places like Sioux City, Ames and Clear Lake).  The episode also includes snippets from our October 7 (Episode 23) inter...

Welcome to Episode 24 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, we meet with two Virginia Tech researchers to discuss the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (also known as the GAP Report), which was released at the World Food Prize last week.  Are we on track to feed 10 billion people (the projected world population in the year 2050)? What role will meat and livestock play in sus...

Welcome to Episode 23 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, we discuss the Farm Bureau Health Plan (a one-year-old comprehensive health plan that's saving some Iowans thousands of dollars) and a new study quantifying the economic impact of Iowa agriculture. We also chat with Iowa Hawkeye greats Kirk Ferentz and Matt Kroul about the America Needs Farmers (ANF) cause, as we prepare to ce...

Welcome to Episode 22 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, American Farm Bureau chief economist Dr. John Newton shares proof that agriculture's environmental footprint is shrinking , and representatives from Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, and the Greater Des Moines Partnership discuss the importance of the USMCA trade agreement on WHO Radio's The Big...

Welcome to Episode 21 of The Spokesman Speaks podcast. In this episode, Dr. Andrew Hennenfent of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) discusses efforts to prevent African Swine Fever from reaching Iowa; Farm Bureau's environmental policy advisor Rick Robinson shares the latest on Iowa's water quality progress; and Fareway's Senior Vice President of Merchandising Mike McC...