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What does the future of the U.S. pork industry really look like?

In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, swine nutritionists Jim Smith and Dr. Trey Kellner from AMVC discuss the biggest challenges facing modern pork production—and surprisingly, very little of the conversation centers on actual pig diets. 

Instead, this conversation explores the larger forces shaping the future of the swine industry, including:

•  Swine nutrition and feed strategy 
•  Pork industry labor shortages 
•  Capital requirements for modern sow farms and finishing barns 
•  Agricultural leadership development 
•  Training the next generation of swine nutritionists 
•  Communication inside pork production systems 
•  Feed mill operations and execution 
•  Graduate education and soft skills in agriculture 
•  Mental health and pressure in agriculture 
•  The future of pork production in the United States 

Dr. Kellner shares insight from working across multiple pork production systems, feed mills, ingredient programs, and business units while balancing formulation strategy, manufacturing logistics, labor challenges, economics, and team leadership. 

Jim and Trey also discuss:

•  Why capital access may become one of the defining issues in pork production 
•  How labor shortages are reshaping swine operations 
•  Why execution matters more than perfect feed formulations 
•  The growing importance of leadership and communication skills for animal science graduates 
•  How modern swine nutritionists must balance economics, logistics, people management, and production realities—not just amino acid levels 

The conversation also takes a deeper turn into mentorship, pressure, work-life balance, and the emotional weight often carried by leaders in agriculture. 

Whether you work in swine nutrition, pork production, feed manufacturing, animal agriculture, agribusiness, or agricultural leadership, this episode offers a thoughtful look at where the pork industry may be headed over the next 10 to 30 years.

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There’s a lot of noise in agriculture right now.

From ag media to Washington, depending on who you listen to, we’re either heading into a financial crisis… or standing on the edge of a golden age.

But what if the real story isn’t either of those?

In this episode, I sit down with Shay Foulk of Ag View Solutions — a farmer and consultant who works directly inside the numbers of real farm operations through Profit Manager and peer groups.

He’s not reacting to headlines. He’s seeing what’s actually happening.

We start with a simple but uncomfortable question:

Are we in a true crisis… or are we seeing a growing gap between strong operators and those that are struggling?

From there, the conversation moves into the places most farms don’t openly talk about:

•  Why some operations are pulling ahead while others are falling behind 
•  The reality of cost of production — and how many actually know it 
•  The disconnect between tax accounting and real decision-making 
•  How household spending quietly shapes farm profitability 
•  Why “people would rather be happy than informed” when it comes to their numbers 
•  The role of peer groups, accountability, and getting off the “island” 

We also get into the harder conversations around transition planning, family dynamics, and what happens when farms operate as families first and businesses second.

Shay brings a perspective shaped by farming, consulting, and military experience — blending discipline, preparation, and decision-making into how he approaches both business and life.

And by the end, we land somewhere different than where we started.

Maybe the golden age of agriculture isn’t something happening out there…

Maybe it’s something that gets built — or missed — on your own farm.

🔗 Connect with Shay Foulk & Ag View Solutions

Ag View Solutions:
 https://www.agviewsolutions.com/

Farm Profit Manager:
 https://farmprofitmanager.app/

Ag View Pitch Podcast:
 https://www.agviewsolutions.com/podcasts

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When I started the Patio Pondering Podcast, there were a handful of conversations I hoped I might get to have someday. This is one of them.

In this episode, I sit down with Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, to talk about something a little different than production, nutrition, or markets.

We talk about how agriculture thinks about itself.

Shaun has spent the last 15+ years building RealAgriculture into one of the most recognized voices in ag media—starting with a camcorder and an instinct that the industry was ready for something different.

Our conversation covers:

•  What questions agriculture should be asking—but isn’t 
•  How RealAgriculture grew in what many saw as a “mature” media space 
•  The role of timing, technology, and simply getting started 
•  Why velocity and consistency matter more than perfection 
•  The challenge of balancing attention, depth, and relevance in today’s media environment 
•  How audience behavior—not intention—drives what gets covered 

We also spend time on Shaun’s role in the Friday Roundtable on AgriTalk AM with Chip Flory, and how his Canadian perspective shapes the way he interprets U.S. agriculture.

That leads into a broader discussion on:

•  The changing role of media in agriculture 
•  Why perspective matters as much as information 
•  The importance of hearing multiple viewpoints—even the ones we disagree with 
•  And where agriculture may be headed in the next 10 years 

Shaun also shares his personal journey—from production agriculture to media—and what it took to leave the farm and build something entirely different.

We wrap up with the Five Signature Questions, covering everything from Henry Wallace’s legacy to why agriculture may be one of the most capital-intensive, misunderstood industries in the world.

Closing Thought

This is not a conversation about how to farm better.

It’s a conversation about how we understand agriculture—and how that understanding shapes the decisions being made across the industry every day.

If you’re interested in how the story of agriculture gets told—and why that matters—this is one you’ll want to listen to.

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Agriculture runs on risk.

Weather. Markets. Policy. Input costs. And increasingly — the mental weight of managing all of it.

In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with Anya Pinkerton — a Purdue Animal Sciences graduate whose career has taken her through the USDA Farm Service Agency, agricultural lending, and now into leading a growing crop insurance business.

That perspective matters.

Because Anya has seen agriculture from multiple sides of the desk — and understands that risk isn’t just something you manage on paper… it’s something you carry.

This conversation explores:

•  How crop insurance has evolved from simple hail coverage to complex, revenue-based protection 
•  Why today’s farmers are using insurance as a strategic tool — not just catastrophic backup 
•  The growing importance of trust between farmers and their advisors 
•  How communication — not just data — determines whether risk is understood or ignored 
•  The mental and emotional weight of farming in an era of bigger numbers and tighter margins 
•  Why no two farms should approach risk the same way 

Along the way, Jim and Anya touch on leadership, mentorship, Purdue basketball, and the reality that sometimes the most important conversations in agriculture aren’t about production — they’re about perspective.

At its core, this episode is about one simple idea:

Risk doesn’t disappear. It gets shared, structured, and understood — or it gets ignored.

Five Signature Questions Included

As always, the episode closes with the Patio Pondering Five — covering lessons from agriculture, underappreciated truths, and small changes that could shape the future of the industry.

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Terry Sible grew up on a farm outside Churubusco, Indiana, learning the same lessons many farm kids do: responsibility, patience, and the value of community.

At eighteen, Terry’s life took an unexpected turn. Just five years earlier he had lost his father in a farm accident in the same barn where Terry kept his 4-H livestock. But instead of letting those moments define him, he built a life centered on helping others.

Today Terry works with schools and families helping children with disabilities find success in the classroom. Terry may get around in a wheelchair, but it has never defined who he is. Instead, the patience, resilience, and sense of community he learned growing up on a farm in northwest Allen County continue to shape how he approaches life and the people he works with.

In this conversation we talk about growing up in 4-H and FFA, the farm community that rallied around him after his accident, raising kids, and the role patience and positivity still play in his life today.

Terry also answers the Patio Pondering Five Questions, sharing what agriculture taught him about resilience, community, and why farmers are always trying to do the right thing.

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Leadership in agriculture is often talked about as if it simply appears — the loudest voice in the room or the person willing to take charge.

But real leadership is something different. It can be cultivated, sharpened, and intentionally developed.

In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, I sit down with Jill Zimmerman, President of the Kansas Agricultural and Rural Leadership (KARL) Program, to talk about how leadership actually develops in agriculture and rural communities.

Jill shares how programs like KARL help cultivate leaders across agriculture, rural communities, healthcare, education, and policy — and why leadership today requires collaboration, service, and a willingness to step forward.

Along the way we explore:

• How leadership in agriculture is evolving
 • Why raising your hand still matters in rural communities
 • The power of networks and relationships in agriculture
 • The importance of allowing “a pause in the noise” to sharpen our thinking
• How mentorship and encouragement shape future leaders

Plus Jill answers the Patio Pondering Five Questions, sharing lessons about passion for agriculture, leadership development, and the future of agricultural innovation.

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In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with Brian McFarland, a longtime leader in the beef packing industry and a cattle producer with experience across multiple parts of the beef supply chain.

Jim and Brian first met years ago in graduate school at Kansas State, but their conversation quickly moves beyond old memories into the realities facing the beef industry today.

They discuss the shrinking U.S. cow herd, rising beef demand, and the economic challenges of rebuilding cattle numbers. Brian shares insights from his years inside packing plants at companies like Tyson, IBP, and JBS, explaining the major advances in food safety that have occurred over the past three decades.

Along the way the conversation wanders—as good agricultural conversations often do—into topics like cooking meat correctly, the rise of meat thermometers, raw milk debates, veterinary shortages, and even long-range rifles and bow hunting.

It’s a wide-ranging discussion that highlights how complex modern agriculture really is—and how much work happens behind the scenes to safely put food on the plate.

Topics include:

• Why the U.S. cow herd may take years to rebuild
 • The economics of cattle vs. crop farming
 • Beef-on-dairy genetics and how it changed the industry
 • The hidden food-safety systems inside modern packing plants
 • Why cooking meat properly matters more than people think
 • Challenges facing veterinary medicine in agriculture
 • Technology shaping agriculture’s future

Plus Brian answers the Patio Pondering Five Questions, sharing lessons about work ethic, innovation, and the future of agriculture.

Brian can be found on LinkedIn at:
linkedin.com/in/thebrianmcfarlane

His cold weather gear company can be found at:
https://shivershield.com/

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Over the past week something happened that made me stop and think about Patio Pondering.

At the Niman Ranch Annual Meeting, a young woman at a lunch table suddenly looked across the table and said, “Oh… you’re Patio Pondering.” The moment was unexpected, but it was not the only one. Throughout the week at the Midwest Animal Science Meetings and a Purdue alumni event, several people quietly shared that they had been reading or listening.

None of them had ever commented online.

But they were reading. They were listening.

That realization led to another reflection. This week Patio Pondering quietly passed its 18-month mark. In that time there have been more than 300 written reflections and 78 podcast episodes, reaching listeners and readers on every continent except Antarctica.

Somewhere along the way, without really planning it, Patio Pondering has developed a structure.

Like the old three-legged milk stools that sat in barns across the Midwest, it now stands on three legs:

• Writing
• Conversations
• Consulting

Together those three legs support a place to pause for a moment and think about agriculture.

This episode reflects on how Patio Pondering started, what it has become, and the simple goal behind it all:

Clear thinking for complex agriculture.

And apparently… the penguins are next.

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What does it take to turn a farm kid into a professor preparing the next generation of agricultural teachers?

In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with longtime friend and FarmHouse brother Dr. Travis Park of North Carolina State University.

Travis shares the path that took him from Trafalgar, Indiana and the Indian Creek FFA chapter to a national career in agricultural education.

Along the way the conversation explores:

• what new ag teachers really face when they enter the classroom
• why electives like FFA and band matter more than we often admit
• how agriculture survived the brain drain of the 1980s farm crisis
• the importance of resilience in both farming and education
• and how agriculture must balance tradition with global realities

Travis also reflects on raising three daughters, keeping honeybees in a suburban neighborhood, and why agriculture still requires a deep amount of faith.

As always, the episode closes with Jim’s five signature questions — covering everything from Booker T. Washington to the humble milking machine.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about leadership, education, and the people who shape agriculture’s future.

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In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with longtime friend and agricultural leader Jamee Krug Blahauvietz.

Jamee’s career path is anything but typical. Starting with a unique combination of journalism and animal science at Iowa State, she built a career that moved from agricultural advertising to leadership roles in major animal health companies including Elanco and Phibro.

The conversation begins with a simple question:
 How would three people describe you?

Jamee’s answer — Hard Working. Determined. Strategic. — becomes the thread that runs through the entire discussion.

Jim and Jamee explore:

• The unexpected path from restaurant manager to ag marketing
 • Lessons learned working inside both agency and corporate agriculture
• The strategy behind the well-known “Full Value” livestock campaigns
• Why legacy is one of the most powerful emotional drivers in agriculture
• How leadership in agriculture has evolved over the past 30 years
• The growing humanization of the agricultural workplace
• The balance between career ambition and family life

They also discuss how agriculture is adapting to new tools like AI, changing marketing channels, and new technology in livestock production.

The episode closes with the Patio Pondering tradition of five questions — touching on lessons from agriculture, innovation in livestock production, and one small change that could make a big difference for the future of the industry.

It’s a thoughtful conversation about leadership, legacy, and the people who make agriculture work.