When you’re in a downward cycle, how’d we get here, how long’s it going to last, and how do we get out?  To provide her insight on this topic, Jacqui Fatka joins solo host Sal Sama in the podcast room for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Jacqui is the Lead Industry Analyst for CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division covering the Farm Supply and Biofuels segments.

Jacqui shares about her career development from her start growing up on the farm to a career as an agriculture journalist to her current role with CoBank. You’ll learn about how her current role helps her spot industry trends and what she’s seeing in current markets overall.  She’ll dig into overall industry trends including debt to asset ratios, why it’s important to know your cost of production numbers, and why we are in a bit of a downward cycle.  She’ll also share how labor costs and the number of available workers has affected interest rates, and she’ll dig into how electric vehicles and the Renewable Fuel Standard have impacted growers.  “There’s new opportunities coming and… if designed well, it can be a new opportunity to really take ag to a new level and get to a new cycle.”

What does the Indiana State Department of Agriculture actually do?  To answer that question, special guest Don Lamb joins host Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground, powered by Premier Companies.  In addition to being a farmer, Don is the Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.  

Today, you’ll hear about Don and his career path including the history of his family farm which his father started from scratch.  He’ll share more about the various happenings in the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, how it’s helped him better appreciate farmers, and the various functions within the department.  Don will also share about how Indiana differs from other states in both budget and regulatory functions, what we should be aware of in the current farm bill, and how Indiana Grain Buyers functions and helps protect farmers.  “If I’m not gonna be a farmer, I can’t think of a better job I could have than to just be an advocate for agriculture.” 

“I walked on the farm for the first time, and I showed up to the darn thing in heels!” Hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest are joined by returning and special guest, Leah Anderson, for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Leah is the Senior Vice President of Land O’ Lakes, and she’s also the President of WinField United which is a change from the last time we spoke with her!  

Leah shares her story around how her role at Land O’ Lakes and WinField has changed over the last year and how she fought imposter syndrome throughout the course of her career path.  She also shares how a mentor who invested in her helped transform her career and inspired her to invest in the development of others.  She’s inspiring, funny, and insightful.  If you’re considering a career in agriculture, particularly if you’re a woman, you are not going to want to miss this episode!

What should growers be thinking about as they look to prepare for the 2024 planting season?  To answer that question, returning guest Glenn Longabaugh is back in the podcast room with hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama on this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Glenn is no stranger to the podcast, and he’s the Agronomist for Premier Companies.  

In addition to sharing about a recent hunting trip to hunt red stag in Argentina, you’ll hear about the types of things growers should be doing to prepare for the 2024 planting season.  He’ll share his thoughts about glyphosate usage and the challenges of using and not using pre-emergent herbicides.  If you’ve ever wondered how the herbicide group charts can help you in your planning, this episode is for you!

Looking for some information on the recent planting report and what it did to the markets?  You’re in the right place. To address the report, returning guest Aaron Bledsoe joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. If you’ve been around this podcast for any time at all, you already know Aaron is the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies.  

Aaron will share some insight into what is going on with the unanswered acres that showed up on the planting report in addition to why he thinks this report is providing a bottom of what the corn acreage may look like. You’ll also hear his thoughts on how current on-farm storage may impact the markets and why he doesn’t think this planting report is bad news.  “If you feel overwhelmed, undersold, don’t hesitate to get a hold of us… We’ll try to help you out on at least alleviating some of that so you’re not by yourself…  ‘cause there are still opportunities out there.” 

Which of the agrifood trends will be the most transformative for 2024? Dr. Allen Gray returns for another round with hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest for another episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  As you may remember, in addition to being the Land O’Lakes Chair in Food and Agribusiness, Dr. Gray is the Professor of Agriculture Economics at Purdue University.

On today’s episode, Dr. Gray will share some thoughts from his recent article, How Will Tech Enable Agrifood Trends of 2024?  Dr. Gray, Sal, and Ryan will cover a variety of heavy-hitting topics such as sustainability, digital transformations, labor trends, food traceability and financing, and agribusiness trends.  You’ll hear about how technology enables us to share how growers steward their resources and how they’re able to prove it through data, information, and technology.  “I think we are a really sustainable industry, but maybe we don’t tell that story very well, and one of the reasons for that is that we haven’t been as capable as we could be at talking about that, and that’s where digital comes in.”  You can view the full article here: https://agribusiness.purdue.edu/how-will-tech-enable-agrifood-trendsof2024/#:~:text=Technology%20is%20pivotal%20in%20this,of%20soil%20and%20crop%20health. 

Have you heard the story about the business that was started because an intern grabbed some dirt from a ditch for soil sampling? You’ll hear it today! On this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama are joined by special guest Steven Roswarski.  Steven is the VP of Sales and Marketing for Rogo Ag, and in addition to telling us the story of Rogo Ag, he joins us today to talk about technology and how Rogo Ag is working to move the industry forward.

On today’s episode, you’ll learn about the course of Steven’s career including the business he owned called Ag Printers which produced a lot of the seed catalogs for independent companies.  He’ll also share about the history of Rogo Ag, which is based out of Indiana and has a fleet of 24 robots dedicated to provable, accurate soil sampling.  Why is accurate soil sampling so vital?  “Until you know where you’re starting from, you can’t really make an educated application of crop nutrients for the crop.” 

Why would someone consider a career as an account manager for a co-op?  Jeff Davis is here with the answer to that question as he joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest in the podcast room for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Jeff is the Senior Account Manager for Premier Companies, and he’s the reason the phrase “shoot and poop” has now been on The High Ground.

On this episode, you’ll hear a bit about Jeff’s career path and how he and his family ended up in Seymour, Indiana.  Jeff will also share about the types of things he sells including crop protection products, services and application, and how he’s able to assist Premier’s customers in a variety of ways.  He’ll share some of the best parts and worst parts of his career, and you’ll learn about the most important skills an account manager needs to succeed.  “If helping people is not in your heart, you won’t enjoy this job.”

How’d our market prices get here? To answer that question, returning and special guest, Aaron Bledsoe, joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  If you’ve been around for any amount of time, you already know that Aaron is the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, and he’s joining us today to shed some light onto what’s been happening in the grain markets.

Aaron will tell us where the corn and soybean markets stand and why March is a big month for agriculture reports. Aaron will share how and why our markets look the way they have and how the geopolitical and global weather events have impacted prices in the midwest.  Aaron will also share how on-farm storage has impacted the market and give a glimpse into the overall outlook for the future.  “We’re kinda back to hoping for a supply issue to do anything, and that’s a very tricky card to be playing with.”

“People forget that farmers aren’t just farmers.  They’re small businesses!”  Eric Pfieffer joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies.  Eric is the Vice President of Hoosier Ag Today, and they’ve been a wonderful partner for Premier over the years and a source of education not just for farmers, but for the general public as well.

You’ll hear about Eric’s “radio love story,” the Indiana agriculture community, California’s Prop 12 and the implications, and Hoosier Ag Today.  If you’ve heard of Hoosier Ag Today, you likely know they cover farm news and the weather, but did you know they are on 70+ radio stations and have their own meteorologist?  You’ll also learn more about the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Gary Truitt, and how their programming has been able to educate growers and the general public every day.  “First and foremost, that’s why we’re here.  We want to educate farmers and let them know all of the important things that are gonna impact their operation.”