The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Agriculture is the basis of our prosperous nation but to have a thriving Agriculture you need inputs. Amid the global pandemic and disruption to the world economy and trade, will we have adequate supplies to keep on producing? Joanie Grimes with Premium Agricultural Commodities, Inc. (PACI) joins me to discuss supply issues and the future of Ag. PACI is an Ohio-based buying cooperative that acts as Ag retailer. Its 34 farmer members operate 175,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat.

The federal government just passed a $2 trillion relief package in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 23.5 billion of those dollars are specifically oriented to production Agriculture with another $359 billion devoted to small business loans. What does this mean for you and the business of Ag? Jim Wiesemeyer, Washington DC policy analyst for Pro Farmer joins me to share insights and information about the programs. This episode is a bit long, but the information is timely and important. As rural America suffers economic setback there is an opportunity to utilize SBA backed loans to boost our economy and - if used for certain applications - the loans become grants. Hope you find value in this podcast!

Amidst all the runs on groceries and panic buying of food there is a lesson for society: American Agriculture produces abundant food and it's among the safest food supply on Earth. The American livestock production and processing system faces disease threats every day and does an amazing job of fending off those threats. That's why the coronavirus crisis isn't made worse by an accompanying shortage of meat, milk, or eggs. Michelle Ganci, Animal Science Professor at California State University Fresno joins me to explain what society can learn from Agriculture. The lesson is summed up with: Practices, Reaction, Information, Collaboration, Productivity despite problems. You're going to like this episode and PLEASE share it with your non-Agricultural friends to provide some perspective.

As consumers hoard toilet paper and hand sanitizer in response to coronavirus, it appears there is more panic than pandemic. Luckily for American shoppers, the grocery shelves are still stocked even as consumers load up on copious amounts of canned goods. While the Covid19 virus presents many challenges for the global economy, it also presents an opportunity for Agriculture — we're not taking time off and you needn't panic over food shortages. Eric Bream is a California citrus farmer and politically active Agriculturalist. Eric joins me to discuss the Business of Agriculture and how we can use the current crisis to illustrate Ag's value and the peril of over regulation.

Damian Mason responds to plant-based meat's claims of: "better for you" eating, "better for the environment," and livestock production and meat eating as "a prehistoric industry."

What do SARS, H1N1, the Influenza epidemic of 1917-18, and Coronavirus have in common? If you guessed, "They're all viruses that originated in China," you'd be right. But that's not all. China also has given the world the latest outbreak of African Swine Fever — which threatens the global hog herd and pork supply — and the Emerald Ash Borer, which by some estimates has had an economic impact in excess of 100 billion dollars. At the same time China is upending global economies, the communist country is also on a $1.3 trillion mission of global dominance. In this episode we discuss the problem(s) with China, and why Damian believes the Business of Agriculture would do well to stop viewing China as a trading partner to be coddled, and instead view the country as an adversary.

Delaney Howell is an Ag broadcaster and communicator. She joins us to discuss Agricultural communication and how we can do it better. We also talk about the reality of "us versus them" mentality in our industry, and the reality of infighting between and within commodity groups. Delaney and I admit we sometimes point out what Ag gets wrong as an industry, so we take time to highlight a few of the amazing things this industry gets right. This is a fun talk — pull up a chair!

Video surfaced recently showing presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg making statements that created a firestorm among the people of Agriculture. Like everyone in the world's most important industry, I found Bloomberg's statements to be Agriculturally ignorant. But unlike some in Ag, I didn't respond emotionally. Rather, I thought we should take this as a moment to demonstrate the role Agriculture has had as a foundation to America's dominant economic achievement. Friend of show Katharine Lotspeich joins me to discuss politics, farming, and the realities of being governed by Ag illiterate elected officials. Join the conversation — there's plenty of gray matter here!

I push the need to constantly ReInvent to remain relevant in a constantly evolving marketplace. Ag retail is just such a marketplace. With consolidation at the manufacturing and retail level combined with a decreasing farmer base, retailing Agricultural products is a real challenge. It's a challenge Cody Hostler is up for. He worked for Sioux Nation — a South Dakota independent Ag retailer — for 8 years before purchasing the business. He's owned the business for five years, and has gone from seven employees to 17 in that timeframe. Cody and his employee Paul Raymond join me to talk about the interesting things their company does to not only survive, but thrive.

Per the Indiana Department of Agriculture, hardwoods are my home state's largest agricultural industry in terms of economic impact. That's why I thought it was time to give timber it's due credit. Ray Moistner, Executive Director of the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association and Brett Franklin of Tri-State Timber sit down with me to talk wood. You'll learn some things you didn't know about the lumber business. Like for instance, there are more acres of forest east of the Mississippi than there were a century ago. And, the forestry business is responsible for $10 billion of industry just in Indiana. Also like every other aspect of Agriculture, you'll hear about the PR battles the forestry industry faces from activists.