Happy #TechTuesday and also a happy birthday to our very good friend Ted Hamer! On today's episode Mike and Delaney have a riveting conversation about 4-H livestock projects, catch a quick update from Nick Horob at Harvest Profit, share some news about China's tariffs, ethanol, and the Farmer Confidence Index. For today's technology focused discussion, Rachel Geilenfeld from Sukup Manufacturing shares about the Futures Ready Summit and how STEM is playing an integral role in ag technology!

Last Thursday's USDA reports certainly moved the grain markets higher and provided some opportunities to get sales on the books. Today saw the markets pull back a bit, and Angie Setzer joins us to share her thoughts about what's coming in these markets.And, for those of you not on Twitter, the picture for this episode is Angie on Market to Market last weekend, and this screenshot has become a meme across the twittersphere.

Holy buckets, ladies and gentlemen! USDA dropped the Prospective Plantings and Quarterly Grain Stocks reports on to the markets at 11:00 am CST this morning and the trade was off like a rocket! Lower than expected acreage estimates in both corn and beans spurred those two markets to make huge gains upwards, no doubt influenced by the end of the month/end of the quarter profit-taking as well. We run through the numbers to make sense of it all.And, encouraged by some Facebook feedback, we reached out of the University of Wisconsin dairy specialist Dr. Mark Stephenson to help us understand the Margin Protection Program that was unveiled for dairy producers in the last farm bill. It was not well liked or much used over the past 4 years, so Congress made some changes in the last spending bill, and Dr. Stephenson breaks down what those changes mean for producers - and if it's now worth the investment.No podcast tomorrow, since the markets will be closed for Good Friday. Happy Easter, everyone, and have a good weekend!

Last night was a late night with Delaney and Mike up in Northeast Iowa for the first debate/discussion between 5 of the 6 candidates for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. It's hard to believe the political season is kicking off so soon, but here we are! The dialogue from that event will be posted today, as soon as they can figure out how to make a 2 hour file fit on the website!More news today from the NAFTA renegotiations - the US thinks they're making good progress and should be wrapped up by the July 1 Mexican presidential election, but the Canadians aren't so sure. Rural broadband initiatives received some funding in last weeks large omnibus spending bill; and 4th quarter GDP growth was revised upwards today!With the economy growing, American's are spending money on food, and how they choose to spend those dollars can be influenced by Facebook 'experts', dietitians, price, and watercooler talk. In an effort to get more accurate news in front of grocery buyers, the Iowa Corn Growers Assoc. has been working with one large grocery chain to explain some of the science behind high fructose corn syrup and GMOs to their shoppers. We chat today with Craig Floss, CEO of ICGA to learn more about their outreach program.

Mike and Delaney are northbound to the first debate between Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture candidates which we'll play either later tonight or or tomorrow. We're cruising north in Delaneys' new ride, and taking in all of the agriculture news that's developed over the past 24 hours. The KORUS free trade agreement appears to be finished being revised, with few changes for agriculture; and China has announced which ag products will be hit with new tariffs - we have the list.It's also #TechTuesday, and today we've got a great conversation with Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam about the next generation of tools in plant and animal breeders' toolboxes. How do they work, and how are they regulated?

Delaney made an important purchase today! And it's red! She's on the road, so we check in via cell phone to get the update on the news affecting agriculture today.And, Mike gets to chat with Stewart-Peterson broker Naomi Blohm about trade in the commodity markets this week. We'll talk about her expectations on Thursday's Quarterly Grain Stocks report as well as the perspective plantings reports; in addition to what is moving in the dairy markets. Listen now!

Very exciting day today! Delaney and Mike are gearing up for the One Year Anniversary Party at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Des Moines Iowa as a way to thank our listeners and sponsors for the past year in business! If you can't make it tonight, just know that we appreciate you just as much, and hopefully we can say so in person sometime!Also, the spending bill which eliminates the 199A "20% of Gross Sales to Coops Deduction" was passed and signed by the President today; in addition to China rattling some cages over the new $60 Billion in tariffs that Trump is expected to apply to that country.In other D.C. news, Mike had a chance to catch up with new USDA Undersecretary of Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey and talk about what exactly his plans are for this new "mission area" at the USDA, and how much of a difference farmers might notice when they go in to meet with their FSA or NRCS offices.

Lots of news in the world of agriculture today! The big stories coming out of Washington pretty well drove the headlines today: more tariffs on Chinese products, the big budget bill SHOULD be voted on tomorrow in the Senate, and it is expected to clear up the Section 199A "grain glitch" once it passes.There was other news happening in Iowa today; Mike had the chance to emcee the 4th Annual Eastern Iowa Ag Summit at Cinnamon Ridge Farms in Donahue, Iowa along with Iowa's Secretary of Ag Mike Naig, IA Farm Bureau's Kevin Kuhle, and market analyst Brain Burke. Great conversation and questions from the crowd and Mike reports what he learned. He also had the chance to interview the owners of Cinnamon Ridge, John and Joan Maxwell about their unique operation. They raise Jersey cows, and have one of the highest rated herds in the country, as well as being an operation that has milked with robots for several years. They also serve up tours to the general public, educating folks about how a modern farm operation works, in addition to hosting numerous events each year like the Ag Summit. We hear their story today!

Mike is still on vacation today, so Delaney brings on a new voice to help co-host today's National Ag Day and first day of spring episode! Hannah Pagel, a senior at Iowa State University and Ag News Daily intern, will be sitting "across the mic" from Delaney today. On today's docket are discussions about GMO's, trade, a little background on Hannah and of course it is Tech Tuesday here on the podcast! Today's #TechTuesday conversation comes to you from South Dakota with Tim Olsen from Groundworks Midwest/South Dakota Agriculture in the Classroom which is pioneering some interesting new technology for students!

Mike is off galavanting somewhere in Florida so Delaney hosts solo today on this #MarketMonday episode with Brian Grossman from the Zaner Group and man it is a down day across the commodity board. In the news today is continued tariff and retaliatory tariff threats, some possible moves happening for Biofuels, and more coming out of D.C. as Congress tries to push through quite a bit on the "to do" list before their April recess.