The Business of Agriculture Podcast

You're likely familiar with the various technology platforms being marketed to farmers. The Climate Corporation's Climate FieldView™ digital ag platform is one of them. The platform offers many options for farmers to collect, store, and view current and historical field data to uncover valuable field insights. What sort of data are we talking about, and how does it impact agronomic decisions for improved crop performance? Climate's Eastern Regional Sales Manager, Ken Harris and Product Marketing Director, Rick Myroup joined me to answer these questions. They explained how the platform works, and how digital agriculture can be beneficial for a farmer's bottom line.

Nick Horob started Harvest Profit in 2015. As an Ag consultant with a finance background, he saw a need for better farm business management through technology. Harvest Profit now has 440 customers in 28 states and 4 Canadian provinces. Nick joins me to discuss what he sees from his perspective in Ag. What are farmers doing right and wrong, how can we improve our businesses and minimize risk, and what does the future of the Business of Agriculture look like? You'll enjoy this conversation and you'll pick up a few nuggets you can use!

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the new shining star of the Democratic party. In February she rolled out her proposal for a Green New Deal. In two interviews since then, she's expanded on her vision for a changed Agriculture to combat climate change as she sees it. When socialists talk about "doing something about factory farms," what exactly do they mean? More importantly, who defines what constitutes a "factory farm?" She's called for diet changes, particularly as it pertains to meat consumption. She gets applause using terms like "cow grain" and "regenerative agriculture" - even though lifelong farm guys like me can't define either. There's plenty to be concerned about when political media stars target your industry. In this episode, we'll discuss a few things you should be concerned about that you may not have even considered.

Catastrophic weather events in Nebraska and Iowa, as well as Missouri, South Dakota, Kansas, and Minnesota are in the news. Our hearts go out to those affected by the floodwaters. But what's the "downstream" impact of these floods? Dennis Haugen, North Dakota farmer, owner of General Grain grain salvage, and friend of the show joins me to discuss that. Railroads are unable to operate as track lies compromised from floodwaters. Trucks can't roll, and barges can't navigate. All this puts grain processors and end users using JIT production models in a pickle. Then there are the farmers and farmsteads — will they be ready to roll this spring? And what about their infrastructure and equipment — will insurance get them back to whole? When catastrophic events happen in that geographical area, the entire Business of Agriculture is affected. Tune in for an interesting discussion.

On March 19th, 2019 a San Francisco jury ruled that Roundup herbicide causes cancer. This is the second court ruling against Bayer (Monsanto). In this episode we look at the similarity between firearm lawsuits and chemical litigation. Ag chemicals and firearms have a lot in common: They're both legal products, they both evoke tremendous emotion, and they're both increasingly targeted by cause groups who use lawsuits to destroy their enemy. The strategy executed by anti - gun and anti- chemical organizations is remarkably similar. Yet we in the business of Agriculture still go to court arguing with facts. And that's why we lose. Our opposition uses propaganda, willing media partners, emotion, and trial lawyers appeal to greed.

The host of Ag Uncensored and western Oklahoma farmer / rancher joins me to dig a little deeper on the subject of beef. Are those within the cattle industry dysfunctional, unable to get along, or is that just your perception? Is the checkoff program being funded fairly? Who's making money off beef? And, my favorite back and forth to date on Lab Meat. If you're looking for an episode with some "red meat," you just found it. Be sure to stay tuned to hear Jerod's closing advice.

As farmers head to the field to plant corn this spring, it's time to discuss something North American Agriculture doesn't want to hear: The world is going to require less corn someday. And that someday might be sooner than you think. At the risk of being run out of Indiana - the fifth most corn producing state - I share in this episode the fundamentals working against corn. Ethanol, processed food, and livestock feed are big users of corn. Each of those categories faces headwinds, such as: electric cars, consumer tastes, environmentally pushed political agendas, plant-based protein, and the reality of economics. Telling Agriculture we need less corn is akin to standing up at Sunday School and proclaiming there is no God, I realize. But you don't tune into this podcast to hear the same nonsense you get on Ag radio. Because we discuss issues shaping the evolution of the Business of Agriculture.

Real estate is the foundation of everything we do in Agriculture. Sometimes that real estate requires outside management or a professional to determine its value. Seth Baker and Ryan Aupperle are two guys who do just that. They are professional farm managers and appraisers in Illinois. They sit down with me to discuss what they do, what they see, and what things will be impacting Ag real estate and the Business of Agriculture. Why would a land owner need a professional farm manager? How do appraisers formulate real estate values? They'll tell you why. Along with some pretty good insights and a story or two about blow ups over the family farm! We even discuss interest rates, the direction in land values, and whether farm land will be "Zillow-ized."

If you earn your living in the Business of Agriculture you likely are familiar with crop inputs. That's all the stuff we use to produce an actual crop, like fertilizer, chemistry, seed, and so on. In the old days there was a model: you had a facility, you brought in stuff from the manufacturer, and you retailed said inputs to a farmer. But technology, consolidation, and the online marketplace is changing this model. Quickly! How do you stay ahead and avoid commoditization? I sit down in this episode with four bright employees of Helena Agri-Enterprises to discuss just that. We discuss soil, innovation, marketplace realities, challenges, and their view on the future of Ag.

Jerod McDaniel is a farmer, rancher, and podcaster from Texhoma, Oklahoma. He joins me to discuss his operation, the challenges of rural western Oklahoma, and the business of agriculture from his perspective. We devote a good amount of time to the topic of cattle but you'll also like Jerod's take on the need for Ag to work with what you're given in any given year and the need for being adaptive to a constantly changing marketplace.