Wheat's On Your Mind

Federal farm programs are changing, and Kansas wheat producers need to know what those changes could mean at the county office, in the crop insurance conversation and on the farm. In this episode, Aaron Harries talks with Richard Fordyce, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, and David Schemm, Kansas FSA State Executive Director, about USDA reorganization, FSA modernization an...

Kansas wheat farmers are facing a mixed harvest, fragile margins, and fertilizer markets that are finally easing but still hard to pencil. Aaron Harries and Justin Gilpin are joined by Mike O’Dea and Josh Linville of StoneX for a wide-ranging market discussion on Kansas harvest progress, hard red winter wheat quality, export competitiveness, fertilizer prices, and crop-input security. They cover w...

A farmer-owned wheat, milling, and bakery project in Goodland could change how Kansas wheat reaches the grocery shelf. In this episode of Wheat’s On Your Mind , Aaron Harries talks with Brian Linin and Alan Townsend, co-founders of Golden Waves Grain, about their plan to receive wheat directly from farmer-owners, mill it into flour, and bake it into bread in one integrated facility. They explain h...

Wheat is being pulled into bigger national conversations about dietary guidelines, school meals and ultra-processed foods. In this episode, Aaron Harries talks with Erin Ball, executive director of the Grain Foods Foundation, and Leah Johnston, director of nutrition strategies and communications with Wildhive Strategic Communications. They explain how the grain foods industry is responding to chan...

Kansas wheat producers have several farm program changes to keep on their radar, from higher wheat reference prices to 2026 ARC/PLC elections, new base acre opportunities and disaster relief payments. In this episode of Wheat’s On Your Mind , Aaron Harries talks with David Schemm , state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Kansas, about how USDA is implementing recent farm progr...

Kansas wheat producers are heading into harvest with drought, freeze injury, possible abandonment, and seed supply questions all on the table. In this episode of Wheat’s On Your Mind , Aaron Harries talks with Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat, and Bryson Haverkamp, CEO of the Kansas Wheat Alliance, about what they are hearing from the field, how newer wheat varieties are holding up, and why grow...

Maryland wheat farmers juggle humidity, disease pressure, poultry markets, and tighter nutrient rules, yet Jason Scott says there is still room to raise strong wheat and make smart management decisions. In this episode, Aaron Harries visits with Jason Scott, a sixth-generation farmer from Maryland’s Eastern Shore who grows soft red winter wheat alongside corn, soybeans, malted barley, and sweet co...

Hybrid wheat has long been one of agriculture’s biggest “what ifs.” In this episode of Wheat’s On Your Mind, host Aaron Harries talks with Dan Wiersma of Corteva about why that may finally be changing — and why Kansas is expected to be the epicenter of the company’s planned hard red winter wheat launch in fall 2027. Wiersma breaks down the science in plain language, from hybrid vigor and wheat gen...

Mike Spier, the new president and CEO of U.S. Wheat Associates, joins Aaron Harries and Justin Gilpin to talk about the relationships, strategy, and boots-on-the-ground work behind U.S. wheat exports. Spier shares how his career took him from the West Coast grain trade to overseas posts in Egypt, the Philippines, and Singapore, and how those experiences shaped his view of global wheat demand, trad...

Global conflict is colliding with farm economics in this episode of Wheat’s on Your Mind . Host Aaron Harries is joined by Mike O’Dea, risk management consultant at StoneX, and Josh Linville, vice president of fertilizer at StoneX, to unpack the fast-moving fallout from the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Together, they explain why wheat prices were already moving higher bef...

Don Keesling has lived through 80 Kansas wheat harvests, and he remembers when harvest was a full-family operation—kids hauling water, older siblings driving trucks, and every load requiring real muscle. In this special episode, Don and host Aaron Harries walk through how wheat harvest used to work, the machinery transitions that changed everything, and why the culture of neighbors helping neighbo...

Fertilizer isn’t just an input—it’s a globally traded commodity with price signals driven by geopolitics, energy markets, and overseas demand. In this episode, Aaron Harries sits down with Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute, to unpack why fertilizer markets can feel like “three-dimensional chess,” especially for wheat producers balancing tight margins. Rosenbusch expla...

Cindy Falk has spent 40 years helping Kansas Wheat connect with consumers through recipes, baking demonstrations, nutrition education, and the beloved Kansas Wheat recipe booklet tradition. In this episode, host Aaron Harries chats with Cindy about her upbringing on a Kansas farm, the “Speak for Wheat” spokesperson program she helped grow, and the behind-the-scenes work of answering baking questio...

Brian Walker didn’t start in a corner office—he started six weeks out of high school as a “sample jockey” in a flour mill, learning the business from union millers, lab mentors, and long days when the mill ran. More than 45 years later, his career spans Seaboard, Cargill, Ardent Mills, and Miller Milling—and he’s seen the milling industry transform through consolidation, shifting competition, and...

2025 didn’t fit in a neat box for Kansas wheat farmers—it was “variability,” from a dry start to long stretches of wet weather that stretched harvest timelines and narrowed fieldwork windows.  Kansas Wheat Commission Chair Derek Sawyer and Kansas Association of Wheat Growers President Chris Tanner join host Aaron Harries and Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin to break down the year’s biggest storyline...

Private meteorologist and climatologist Brian Bledsoe joins Wheat’s On Your Mind to reflect on the surprising weather turns of 2025 and what Kansas wheat producers should be watching as 2026 approaches.  With a strong soil moisture profile and a well-established crop across much of the state, Bledsoe explains why early-season dryness may not spell disaster — especially as global weather patterns b...

Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh taught generations of farmers, students and elected officials how to think about “alternatives and consequences” in agricultural policy—and he did it with a cigar, a squeaky voice and a room full of laughter.  In this episode, host Aaron Harries visits with Jay Armstrong of Armstrong Farms and Dana Woodbury , executive director of the Barry Flinchbaugh Center for Ag and Food...

Farmer cooperatives built much of the grain marketing and input-delivery system that Kansas farmers rely on today—but what does that system look like now, and where is it headed?  In this episode, host Aaron Harries sits down with Brian Briggeman , director of the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center at Kansas State University, to trace the cooperative story from railroad dominance and the Capper-Vols...

Senior Director of Advocacy at Kansas Farm Bureau—and sixth-generation producer—Ryan Flickner sits down with Aaron Harries to talk policy that actually touches the farm gate. From the Farm Bill stalemate and year-round E15 to trade philosophy and the real cost of inputs, Ryan shares how Kansas “punches above its weight” and why coalitions beat hot takes every time. He also lays out why protein’s a...

Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin sits down with Aaron Harries for a fast-paced, wide-ranging update on the state’s fall harvest and planting season. They cover it all — from field conditions and the importance of fall rains to how flexible winter wheat planting decisions can help farmers manage risk in a volatile market. Justin also shares insights on the ripple effects of the federal government shu...

In this special round-table edition of Wheat’s On Your Mind, host Aaron Harries welcomes the CEOs of Kansas Wheat, Corn, Soybeans, and Sorghum — Justin Gilpin, Josh Roe, Caleb Little, and Adam York.   Together, they unpack how Kansas’ checkoff and grower associations function, where the dollars go, and how their unified efforts help strengthen markets, research, and advocacy for farmers across the...

When crop prices are down and input costs are still sky-high, how are farmers deciding what to plant?  In this episode of Wheat’s on Your Mind , host Aaron Harries talks with Tanner Ehmke , Lead Economist at CoBank , about the tough decisions producers are making right now.  Tanner breaks down why wheat still plays a role in many rotations, even when margins are razor-thin.  He also explains how e...

Tritica Biosciences, a rural Kansas startup founded by Brandi and Dr. Chris Miller, is turning heads—and wheat germ—into revolutionary biotech.  Backed by a $29 million grant from ARPA-H, their mission is to create shelf-stable, cell-free protein synthesis platforms using Kansas-grown wheat.  Imagine insulin production powered by wheat embryos, all done on-site and without needing traditional bior...

In the latest Wheat’s On Your Mind podcast, Aaron Harries chats with Anne Osborne, Executive Director of the National Wheat Foundation, about the value and impact of the National Wheat Yield Contest.  Anne shares how the contest encourages U.S. wheat farmers to push for both higher yields and better quality, while also promoting innovation through tools like digital yield submissions.  Whether you...

This week on Wheat’s On Your Mind , we welcomed back Justin Gilpin and Dalton Henry for a robust roundtable on trade, tariffs, and the global wheat outlook.  They unpacked why current U.S. wheat export numbers are encouraging—especially for hard red winter wheat—and discussed efforts to regain market traction in areas like South Africa and Southeast Asia.  The team also reflected on how the U.S. i...