As the chief agricultural economist and senior vice president at Wells Fargo's Agri-Food Institute, Dr. Michael Swanson has a big-picture understanding of energy markets and the economy of agribusiness. He stops by The Water Table to help us make sense of the impacts of the war in Iran and how the markets might continue to react.

What can we expect crude oil prices to do? What about commodity prices? How does this situation compare with the Russia-Ukraine war? Michael shares his wisdom on these topics—and an old adage or two—to keep the current situation in perspective and offer encouragement for farmers to seize the right opportunities for success.

Note: This episode was recorded on June 5, 2026.

Chapters
00:00 - Introductions
02:10 - Systems thinking and never-ending stories
05:28 - Challenging the popular narrative
11:02 - An opportunity to make money in this market
12:04 - Crude oil costs and stockpiling resources
16:10 - Global feedstock and energy markets
17:05 - A closer look at the numbers
19:10 - Fixing the cash rent problem
25:09 - Looking back and ahead
30:12 - Final thoughts

Related Content
#144: The Iran war and pipe prices
#52: An Ag Economist Tells All: Critical Topics Impacting the Future of Agriculture 

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