Delaney is "live" from the airport today on her way back home from a weekend jaunt and fills everyone in on her trip to Lexington, KY and more news on the 2018 Farm Bill. Mike takes care of today's conversation with Elaine Kub to break down the markets with a focus on the awful weather that has been plaguing the nation. We also have another report from field reporter Bruce Gaarder and his conversations with Nebraska Governor Ricketts about ethanol.

Today, we're wrapping up one of the biggest weeks for ag policy announcements in a long time, AND crazy weather is moving across the Great Plains with rain, sleet, white-out conditions, and possibly tornadoes as the system moves east. Plenty to talk about on this Friday the 13th.We have some other cool news! Ag News Daily is excited to announce our first field reporter, Bruce Gaarder! Bruce has covered ag issues for a long time, and yesterday he had the chance to attend the Nebraska Ethanol Emerging Issues summit and speak with several folks about the state of the industry and the future of the RFS.Also yesterday afternoon, Rep. Mike Conaway participated in a telephone town hall answering questions about the just-released Farm Bill text - on today's episode we'll play his introductory remarks and comments on SNAP, but tune in tomorrow for the full phone call with questions from ag journalists across the country.Have a great weekend and stay safe, everybody!

Lots of news today from Washington, D.C.! The text of the House Ag Committee Farm Bill was released this morning, all 641 pages of it. Delaney and I managed to read the FAQ section, and we'll have a brief discussion. RINs caps are dead? Maybe! President Trump proposed some changes to how E-15 is regulated which may (or may not) come to fruition, and Trump suggests the U.S. look in to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership...All this talk of trade prompted us to contact Dr. Luis Ribera of Texas A & M University extension and the Director of the Center for North American Studies about what he perceives as the challenges or opportunities created by all of this trade talk - China tariffs, NAFTA, TPP, etc.

Updates today on Secretary Perdue's powers to support farmers should a trade war actually get underway with China - pros and cons, and folks in Washington are having their say. Also, the drought in Argentina is not only putting pressure on their soybean crop, but also on the cattle herd. A translation error gives Mike something to laugh about.And today in Minnesota, the Women's Ag Leadership Conference is underway, and Delaney got the full scoop on the event from Doris Mold, event co-founder. If you were there today and could provide an update, find us on Facebook or Twitter or at [email protected], we'd love a follow up!

You know what day it is? That's right it's #techtuesday! Penny Nagel COO from Persistence Data Mining gives us the lowdown on their new soil sampling technology which could revolutionize the way sampling is currently done. The WASDE report was released today with no huge surprises, Argentina is pushing to get meal plants back up and running, and controversy continues in D.C. surrounding the future of the RFS. All that and more on today's podcast!

Ray Gaesser, Tim Gannon, Craig Lang, Dan Zumbach and Chad Ingels gathered in Arlington, Iowa for the first debate of the Secretary of Ag campaign season. One other candidate, current Sec. of Ag Mike Naig, was unable to attend.The debate was moderated by Pro Farmer's Chip Flory, and covered a number of hot button topics: water quality and Iowa's Nutrient Reduction Strategy, CAFOs, bringing young Iowans back home, and plans for the office. The debate was picked up by microphone, but some of the speakers are still somewhat soft. If you would like the raw copy of the audio, please email [email protected]

More news today from Washington, D.C. - President Trump was personally involved again in more discussions over the future of the RFS. Recent action by the EPA to grant waivers to "small" refiners has roiled the ethanol industry and they are taking that opinion straight to the White House. In person, and online, as a 'virtual town hall' was held earlier today. They Bayer purchase of Monsanto also looks set to move forward, at least in the U.S.And, lots of green on the grain screen today, so we chat with Craig Turner, host of the Turner's Take podcast about what is going on in the markets and how things might not be all that bad as we look at the growing season for 2018.

It's Friday! More news in the overnight on the trade front, with another $100Billion in products from China that could see increased tariffs, but the commodity markets are pretty well unfazed - so far. Policy discussions are happening about how to 'shield' farmers from the potential 25% tariffs on various commodities, but not many details are known as of yet.And we continue our look in to how American dairy producers can utilize the available tools to hopefully put some more dollars in their back pockets. Today, we talk with Aaron Gransee, the Insurance Team Leader with Investors' Community Bank Insurance Services about how the Livestock Gross Margin - Dairy program operates and who might be best suited to take advantage of it.

Joining from San Antonio today Mike brings us up to date on NAFTA, China, and the political climate around the larger trade picture while Delaney brings news about an Ethanol/Oil meeting happening Monday, the MPP, and ELD Mandates. 

John Armstrong, co-owner of Custom Air Seeding, is still a student at Iowa State University but decided to co-start his own custom cover cropping business while finishing his degree. Hear his story today!

What an exhausting day! The news broke in overnight trade that China had released its potential tariff targets if the trade war continues, and on that list were several products of interest to the commodity markets: soybeans, pork, and beef exports could all see 25% tariffs, and the market took beans down 40+ cents in the overnight.More details came out through the day and the markets recovered some of their early losses.In keeping with the international theme, we spoke with CEO of Summit Agricultural Group Bruce Rastetter about their recent investments in Brazilian ethanol, and what is take is on the value of farmground in North America.