The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Ranching & Farming on public land will come to an end in the next 20 years. In this episode I tell you why. I also delve into political reality: this is a bigger issue than just a few thousand ranchers on public land, it's about the culture of Agriculture. Which is very much at odds with the media's portrayal of contemporary America.

The Business of Agriculture is caught in the crosshairs of trade negotiations. As usual. Agricultural crops are often used as bargaining chips. Food is commonly used as a political weapon. So, what is the current picture of trade? Will China really stop buying American soybeans - and what if they do? Should you panic? Jim Wiesemeyer, D.C. policy analyst for ProFarmer and Farm Journal is my guest. We're talking NAFTA, TPP, global Ag markets, and mega changes in the Business of Agriculture.

This week we celebrate Agriculture with our 45th National Ag Day. While it's a day to recognize all that Ag does, we sometimes take the "thank a farmer" movement a little too far. Wouldn't it also be appropriate to thank the paying customer who buys our product? In this episode I share thoughts for the men and women of Agriculture, followed by an Ag Day message for our consumers. Please share this podcast with your non Ag friends. Because this week is all about celebrating North American Ag's bounty. Do so and enjoy!

The business of Ag has seen a rapid amount of consolidation. Seed, chemical, equipment, fertilizer, and possibly even grain handlers are getting fewer in number. And bigger. Will size and scale stifle innovation? Do new companies have greater control over farm customers? Seems it's not a matter of if, but when, will we reach the point of Big 3 Economics - with 3 major players in every category. But does it even matter? A century ago critics screamed Sears was going to control the world! How'd that play out?

Fake news is a new term for an old practice: using misinformation to trigger an emotional reaction, thereby affecting an outcome. I delve into the history of media-perpetuated inaccuracies. Particularly, how it negatively impacts the Business of Agriculture. From Oprah's anti-beef episode to gluten as evil. When it comes to fake news, we lose. Learn how Ag can battle better. Defense versus offense. The peril of playing nice when our opponents don't. And why facts don't matter to a feelings based customer.

Friend of Show, Rob Saik joins me to deliver his take on Agriculture past, present, and future. What innovations make it possible for 1% fo the populace to feed the other 99%? What agricultural advancements allowed human advancement? We talk about the 5 iterations of Agriculture: Muscle, Machinery, Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Convergence. This episode explores where food production and the business of agriculture are headed.

Dwayne Faber is a Twitter star who earns his living as a dairy farmer in Washington state. We talk about the Ag economy, the future of commodity production, money, and family. We also delve into social media and the finer points of comedy. Two ADHD dairy guys getting funny on this episode of The Business of Agriculture!

You hear me talk a lot about Ag's ability to reap bigger profits by breaking the commodity mindset. Socially conscious branding is an excellent opportunity to do this. If you watched the Super Bowl - or even if you didn't - social consciousness was on display with several commercials. Take for example, Anheuser - Busch, who devoted two spots to the brewer's work at providing clean water to people in need. Why does this matter to you, and Agriculture in general? Because affluent consumers such as ours in North America spend money to feel good about doing global good. And we're not taking advantage of this marketing opportunity. Give this a listen and I'll give you some ideas on how we can!

From government, to cause groups, to well - intentioned foodies, seems everyone is out to control food and agriculture. Jayson Lusk, author of "The Food Police: A Well -Fed Manifesto about the Politics of Your Plate" joins me to talk about the various food forces. Topics: why soda taxes don't make fat people skinny, should there be federal dietary nutritional guidelines (we disagree on this!), the perils of Ag's reliance on the school lunch program, and disruptive trends in food and agriculture. Besides writing books about food, Jayson Lusk is also the head of the Agricultural Economics department at Purdue University. I asked him what Ag schools are doing to combat the anti - Ag forces that weren't as well weaponized a few decades ago. ** We made this a two part podcast. Enjoy!

From government, to cause groups, to well - intentioned foodies, seems everyone is out to control food and agriculture. Jayson Lusk, author of "The Food Police: A Well -Fed Manifesto about the Politics of Your Plate" joins me to talk about the various food forces. Topics: why soda taxes don't make fat people skinny, should there be federal dietary nutritional guidelines (we disagree on this!), the perils of Ag's reliance on the school lunch program, and disruptive trends in food and agriculture. Besides writing books about food, Jayson Lusk is also the head of the Agricultural Economics department at Purdue University. I asked him what Ag schools are doing to combat the anti - Ag forces that weren't as well weaponized a few decades ago. ** We made this a two part podcast. Enjoy!