The Business of Agriculture Podcast

After reading several articles about the huge investments by Silicon Valley type investors into indoor Agriculture, I thought it was time to put it on the podcast. My guest is Darynn Keiller, CEO of Autogrow – a New Zealand-based indoor Agriculture climate control technology company. He explains the value proposition of indoor farming, the different types of indoor farming, and what's going on in the business of indoor Ag. Sponsored by Harvest Profit harvestprofit.com

The farming part of farming can be fun and it's what most people in Ag like about the industry. The business side can be unenjoyable, however. There's the management, the family aspect, the political changes impacting your operation, and the money, of course. Ryan Moe, a financial guy from an Ag background joins me to discuss the big picture of Ag and the business side of farming. Ryan is with StoneX Financial Group - an Ag advisory company. My favorite line from the podcast: "You should be chasing margins versus chasing markets." Sponsored by Harvest Profit harvestprofit.com

Trade is a hot topic these days in American Agriculture. Truth is, it always has been - at least over the last century as our productivity skyrocketed beyond what our nation required for its own sustenance. North American Agriculture requires international trade to thrive. Particularly for Canada and the U.S., which produce multiple times the amount of food their populations require. Michelle Klieger, author of The Demise of Free Trade joins me to discuss China's trade tactics, the future of Ag trade, and trade deals like USMCA and TPP. This is a lively conversation about an issue that won't go away in our lifetimes: trade disputes. Sponsored by Harvest Profit harvestprofit.com

On July 1, 2020, USMCA went into effect. The USMCA is the updated North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. John Newton, Chief Economist of the American Farm Bureau Federation joins me to discuss what this means for American Ag. Farm Bureau says the agreement is good for an additional $2 billion of Ag sales. From a "volatile world" standpoint, a free trade deal with our two nearest neighbors is good business for other reasons. But what countries are next for Ag-positive trade arrangements? When we talk about currency manipulation, what's the deal with Brazil? And is the European Union going to open up to more American farm products? Listen as we hit those topics and more! Sponsored by Harvest Profit harvestprofit.com

Hoosier Ag Today's Gary Truitt asked me to be a guest on his syndicated radio show. We decided the interview would make a good Business of Agriculture podcast too, so here it is! Gary and I discuss the response to Burger King's (bizarre & ridiculous) cow fart commercial and the potential effect — positive and negative — on meat consumption. Production is always an issue for us in Ag but we sometimes forget, consumers care about themselves and their feelings. Gary and I discuss what the fast food chain's "lemongrass fed, reduced methane burger" might mean for the future of food production and marketing. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com

The Business of Agriculture is constantly creating and employing new technology to improve how we produce food. The pace of innovation has quickened immensely over the last couple decades, and it's not slowing down. Enter robots and drones, with us for the past few years, but becoming more and more a reality. Clint Brauer, a Kansas-based entrepreneur joins me to discuss his nascent company, Greenfield Robotics. Greenfield aims to deploy a fleet of lightweight robots to manage weeds without the use of chemistry. You'll enjoy this forward-looking discussion. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com

Everyone is a little uncertain at the moment about the economic outlook in a coronavirus world. One thing we know for sure is that humans are going to continue to eat. But what does Main Street's economic reality mean for us in Ag moving forward? Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence joins me to discuss wages, inflation, food shifts, globalization, and much more. The best part: he (and I) stay out of the weeds of economic equations and simply provide scenarios and realities for all of us in the Business of Agriculture. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com

Bayer announced on June 24th the company would settle 95,000 lawsuits over its Roundup product for $10.9 billion. The company also stated it would spend $1.25 billion on resolving future claims. What does this mean for Agriculture and the future of crop protection? Darren Coppock, CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association joins me to discuss an industry that relies on science but is dictated by lawsuits. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com

We in Agriculture are fairly isolated from the current protests raging across the nation, but we would do well to watch and learn. Because the tactics being employed by activist organizations to create chaos in our cities are the exact same tactics employed by anti-Ag groups. We discuss the very profitable, yet "non-profit" conflict industry, and the methods these organizations use to attain their real objective: money and power. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com

Groceries — particularly meat — have been in the news a lot lately. From meat plant closures to produce being destroyed to food bank demand spikes, food is a hot topic in the coronavirus era. But it's about to "get real" because the consumer is seeing the biggest jump in food prices since 1974. Food prices jump 5.8% just from March 1 to May 30. Most of that increase was in meat. So what does this mean? I provide a few outcomes and economic prognostications that are likely in a recessionary economy now dealing with higher grocery bills. Sponsored by Harvest Profit HarvestProfit.com