The Business of Agriculture Podcast

On March 22, 2022 we celebrate the 49th annual National Ag Day. In this episode Damian shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about what the Business of Agriculture is and does. Some great stuff here — share it with your Ag and non-Ag friends. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

In March of 2020, all Hell broke loose for businesses and citizens alike, amid government-imposed shutdowns of the economy. Agriculture — as essential a business as any — was "allowed" to operate but it was hardly business as usual. The Agricultural input industry flexed to keep farms running with the supplies necessary to produce crops. Brandon Byington and Ryan Thompson with Helena Agra Enterprises join Brad and Kristen Seidel of Bison Ag to explain the adaptations made and lessons learned over the last two years. They also provide outlook on what long-terms effects they see in Ag inputs as a result of the pandemic. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Jarod Creed is not an insurance agent, commodity broker, or banker. Yet, his job involves oversight of farmers' commodity marketing, capitalizing on government insurance programs, and keeping the balance sheet positive. Essentially, Jarod sees his company's role serving the 50 farming operations he works with as their consultant CFO. Jarod tells us what farming operations do wrong, why "manage your risk" is a misguided mantra, and why complacency is every farms biggest risk. From inflation, to commodity price volatility, to admitting Agriculture's amazing profit possibilities, Jarod and I cover it all in this spirited conversation. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

We've seen what Russia's invasion of Ukraine has done to roil commodity markets but what else does this mean for American Ag? Todd Thurman and Ryan Moe join me for a discussion about the contagion of military conflict in the Black Sea region. Is this the beginning of a global power reset? What will China do in the aftermath of Ukraine? Most importantly, if this is a wake up call to North American Ag to diversify customers and suppliers, will we take the call? This is a great discussion on a topic with lots of tentacles! WARNING: This episode contains adult language. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Record amounts of capital are sitting on the sideline looking for somewhere to go. Inflation is at a 40 year high. Interest rates are poised to jump multiple times in the next year. Asset values — from soybeans to farm land to cars and equipment — are up by record percentages. What does all this mean for the Business of Agriculture? Bill Conerly, economist and business consultant provides context and explanation on economic realities impacting Ag. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Logan Lyon has a corporate job, two children, and a wife with farm ties. He uses those ties for access to machinery to farm his own 200 acres himself. Logan provides his perspective and predictions on the future of Ag. Among them: There will be farmers like him who work in town and farm 1,000 or fewer acres then there will be large-scale operators. The future will employ smaller, less expensive farm implements. Consolidation will occur among Ag organizations as the number squeeze continues. There's plenty more outlook and predictions in our discussion…give it a listen!! Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

The "Joe Rogan Crisis," as one media outlet is calling it, began with activist musician Neil Young's ultimatum that Spotify stop streaming Rogan's podcast or pull Neil's music from its service. Spotify stuck with Rogan, the media is still talking about the incident two weeks later, and 76 year old Neil Young's career got a shot in the arm with weeks of free promotion. So what does any of this have to do with Agriculture? Everything, that's what. Give this a listen! Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Agriculture's mentality and unstated business model has forever been: Make more food because population growth is going to exceed our ability to produce. But what happens when we have adequate production to feed humanity (which we already do) and the population begins to decline (which is about to happen in a couple decades)? Demographic changes are happening fast. Developed nations are getting older, women aren't having enough babies to replace our current population, and eventually we may run out of immigrants to fill our Ag jobs. Todd Thurman joins me to discuss a topic that most people in Agriculture have never even considered — a future with fewer mouths to feed. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Sustainability has been a buzzphrase for the past decade but how do you define it? That was a major subject at the recent Vision Conference with sessions devoted to accurately measuring emissions and how to compensate Ag for Earth-friendly practices. Also discussed at the conference: Tech's advance via autonomous machinery (there are 130 robotic orchard sprayers already deployed in the west) and the growing influence of consumers on food production. Ag entrepreneur and friend of show Rob Saik, founder of AgVisorPro, shares highlights from the Vision Conference as we discuss what it means for the Business of Agriculture. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

In January of 2022 the Biden administration announced that one billion dollars of government money would be deployed to make meat less expensive. This, in response to the recent (and rapid!) run-up in protein prices. Details of the plan are still a bit unclear. One major objective of the spending is to expand slaughter capacity among smaller scale meat processors. Will this make meat less expensive for the consumer? Will it help meat producers? Jim Heimerl, a large-scale Ohio pork producer who also dabbles in beef production, joins me to discuss meat realities. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com