When should growers terminate cover crops?  Glenn Longabaugh joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Glenn is the ultra-famous Technical Agronomist for Premier Companies, and he’s here to share his tips for growers planning their year in light of this wild weather we’ve experienced in the midwest.

Glenn will share his tips for knowing when to terminate cover crops including cereal rye and annual ryegrass and the impact sunlight has on herbicides including why it’s important to apply herbicides at the appropriate time of day.  Glenn will dive deeper into adjustments that should be made in application due to wind and when he does donuts in the field.  Jeff and Glenn will tackle some of the changes they’re seeing in problems from field to field and potential causes.  Glenn is spitting a lot of wisdom today, so you’re going to want to be like Sal and take notes!  “Every time we get less prescriptive and more operational, there’s more opportunities for mess ups.”

What is going on with California and their move to all electric vehicles? To discuss this topic and many others, special and returning guest Matt Smorch joins hosts Jeff Jarett and Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Matt is the President and CEO of CountryMark Cooperative, one of the largest private Indiana companies by revenue.

Jeff, Sal, and Matt discuss some of the changes the new administration has brought about and the impacts those changes have had on the energy industry including the new EPA tailpipe standards.  Matt will discuss the yo-yo effect the market has had with changing leadership and how CountryMark manages to stay stable in the midst of it.  You’ll learn how having their own pipeline and refineries has helped CountryMark meet demand needs and benefit their consumers.  If you’re wondering what’s going on with California’s desired gas car ban and how you can help individuals retain their ability to choose their own vehicles, you’ll want to make sure you tune into today’s episode, and get involved by visiting https://empower.afpm.org/actions/stop-californias-gas-car-ban-take-action-now-cm-emp. 

What should high schoolers who are interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine be doing to prepare for higher education?  Returning and special guest Bret Marsh, DVM, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for today’s episode of The High Ground Powered by Premier Companies.  Bret serves as the Dean of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital, and a lot has changed since he joined us last time!  

Bret will share about his educational and career journeys and how he’s ended up back at Purdue University.  In addition to speaking about his single biggest surprise as he’s come back to Purdue, he’ll share about the competitive process, and the challenges that exist for rural and large animal vets.  You’ll also learn Dr. Marsh’s recommendations for high school students who may be interested in pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine and how you can stay up-to-date with the most recent news from the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.

How do you keep cattle comfortable and their water unfrozen during a harsh winter?  Returning guest Ryan Batt joins Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, and he’s no stranger to the podcast!  If you’ve been a listener for a while, you already know Ryan is the Facility Manager at United Producers, Inc.

Ryan will share how the cold winter impacted the cattle farmers and calving operations in southern Indiana.  Sal, Jeff, and Ryan will dig into how genetics and a little TLC play into the grower’s return on investment.  You’ll also learn about some summer projects you can take up to protect the cattle in the future including continuous fence panels that can be used as windblocks.  Ryan will dig into how the cold winter has impacted the cattle market and what a marketing plan should look like for a farmer this year in light of rising costs of caring for cattle. If you’ve got cattle and struggled this winter or you’re trying to figure out how to weather the changes in the cattle industry, you’re going to want to tune in to this episode!

He’s our only podcast guest who has his own groupies!  For this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, returning guest Glenn Longabaugh joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room.  Glenn, a master storyteller, is also the Agronomist for Premier Ag, and he’s taking a few moments out of a very busy schedule to sit down with us.

Glenn will share about his Premier Companies Grower Meetings that have been centered around Surviving or Thriving in ‘25 and changing the focus from volatile markets to ways to be successful.  The topics of his talks include seed choice and position, weed control, soil fertility, planting excellence, and in-season management of nutrition and fungicides.  Since we’re a month away from planting season, Glenn will talk us through some of the preparations that should be made in light of the tough year we’re still crawling out of.  “It’s about accelerating the genetic gain.  It seems counterintuitive to spend that kind of money on seed, and yet, there’s probably no other single input that’s put more bushels towards our bottom line than what has seed…”

Why are eggs so expensive?  Special guest Tony Wesner joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Tony, a native of Jackson County, is the CEO of Rose Acre Farms which, like Premier Companies, is headquartered in Seymour, Indiana, and they’ve had a front row seat to the damage that bird flu can cause.

You’ll hear about Tony’s background in agriculture and his 43+ year adventure with Rose Acre Farm which is a third generation, family-owned egg farm.  Tony will share about how the avian flu has impacted their operation and how they are navigating losing six million birds in the first couple of months of 2025.  He’ll talk about the ripple effects that growers will feel because of the losses and his testimony in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee.  Can you trust the eggs that you’re purchasing off the shelves?  Tony will share why you can trust those eggs, and if you’re wondering what you can do, in Tony’s words, “Tell your politicians and your lawmakers, help the egg industry, help the turkey people, help the dairy people come up with vaccination programs… so that we can have affordable food, we can have safe food, and we can not have to destroy animals that are here working to feed all of us.”

What are chemical prices going to do?  We’ve got a new guest joining hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Kyle Schonert is the Field Marketing Director for the Eastern Corn Belt for Winfield United, and he’s brought his lucky 8 ball with him today.

Kyle shares how he ended up in the agriculture industry and how he ended up employed by Winfield United.  You’ll learn about his day-to-day, supply chain shortages, and the challenges that exist to ensure customers will have the products available that they need.  In addition to giving us the freight rate outlook, Kyle will give us an idea of potential tariff impacts and share about some of the 2,4-D issues that exist that have caused shortages.  Are you wondering what new products are coming out that have Kyle excited?  You’ll hear about Altipro fungicide and more!  If you’re a grower who is wondering what you should do in light of the record low chemical prices to plan for the upcoming growing season, you’re going to want to tune in to this episode!

“We are a minority, but we feed the majority.”  Special guest, Randy Mette, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Randy is the Seed Product Manager for Winfield United, and he’s got a wealth of knowledge to share with us today about the seed selection, evaluation, and forecasting processes.

On today’s episode, Randy will share about his background, career path, and time travel preferences.  You’ll hear how he started looking for a career in anything but agriculture and what drew him back to the industry.  You’ll also learn about CROPLAN Seed, how their product is backed by over 25 years of testing and data, and how the Seed Product Managers are able to work with the retailers to make sure the appropriate offerings are available to the growers in their area.  “At the end of the day, if we can’t help [the customer] solve problems, what are we even doing?” 

Groupies rejoice!  Glenn Longabaugh returns to the podcast room with hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Glenn is the resident agronomist at Premier Companies, and he’s a fan favorite.

You’ll hear about Glenn’s new series, Thriving or Surviving, and how it ties into what growers should be focusing on to be more successful.  He’ll dive into the tension between reducing the cost of inputs and the value of increasing overall yields along with evaluating how fertility, fungicides, and fertilizers play into the overall equation.  Sal will also share his thoughts on how  a grower can evaluate the have-to-haves in light of the want-to-haves.  If you’ve been considering upgrading your farming equipment, Glenn will share why the used equipment market may be in your favor right now.  If you’ve been wondering how you can take a good crop year and make it a great crop year, you’re going to want to check out Glenn’s lectures!

The rallies continue, but will they hold?  Special returning guest, Aaron Bledsoe, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Aaron’s been on the podcast many times, so if you’ve been around for a while, you already know he’s the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, but did you also know he wants to shoot a swan?

Aaron shares his predictions for markets in February and the psychological barriers that exist with $5 corn.  He’ll share what has happened in the stock-to-use rates and how the lack of tariffs have impacted current markets. In addition to speculating about on-farm storage, Sal, Jeff, and Aaron share their thoughts about how the weather in Brazil may impact our markets and what the acreage shifts could look like.  Are you curious about how Grain Merchandisers help growers set their targets?  He’ll walk us through the thought process today!