The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Randy Suess is a recently retired Washington wheat farmer and former chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates. Randy is still involved in Agriculture through farm ownership and lobbying on behalf of the wheat industry. He joins me to discuss trade – which is vitally important to Washington state's Ag sector. We also talk about the new world order of wheat and the impact on Ag from political movements masking as environmentalism. They used to say, "What happens on the coasts eventually comes to middle America." If that's the case, we in the Business of Agriculture should be very concerned about environmental agendas that make voters "feel good" while harming Agriculture. Remember, as I always say, it's never about the facts, it's always about the feelings. Listen to this!

For most of the 10,000 years since humans invented Agriculture, scarcity has been the norm. Food was difficult to produce, store, transport, and in many cases, financially challenging for many humans to buy. That's not really the case anymore, at least not in the developed world. Affluent countries such as the U.S. in the last half century have figured out food production. Scarcity no longer determines food choice for most Americans (or Canadians or Europeans or Australians), trends do. Food fads are real. Think Greek yogurt today where as it was frozen yogurt in the late 80's. Gluten free and low carb today will give way to the next trend in food consumption. So how do you successfully navigate food trends? Can your product or industry market or innovate it's way to prosperity if the trend is against you? We explore that subject in this episode. From milk to eggs, avocados to beef, food trends are the reality of the marketplace. We'll discuss how to navigate those trends.

Tim Young chucked his corporate job to become an entrepreneur in his mid 30s. What he built was a marketing company that grew to employ 450 people. Then he sold it to pursue life as a small farmer. He bought an old dairy farm in rural Georgia and went about the process of making it into a business. His operation raised pasture pork and poultry. He decided the only way to make money as a small dairy operator was through adding value, so he became a cheese maker. Today Tim teaches other aspiring small farmers and wannabe niche Agriculturists how to turn their dream into reality. He shares lessons on establishing your own defensible competitive advantage, farm branding, and the 8 simple questions to thrive running your Agribusiness.

Pork is the world's most consumed meat. It's also increasingly a news item due to global trade tensions and a nasty virus that's currently eradicating China's hog herd. Before 2018, China produced five times the number of pigs as the United States. Before 2018, China had half the world's pig supply. Today, some estimates show China's hog herd will be cut in half by end of year due to African Swine Fever. Bill Even, CEO of National Pork Board, joins me to discuss hog production in the United States and how it's shaping or being shaped by world affairs. We expand on: the trade war between the U.S. and China, the reality of supply and demand, and whether or not China would like African Swine Fever to come to U.S. shores. If you're looking for insight on pork as it pertains to today's news, this is it.

You've likely not heard of Urner Barry but the company does a lot of behind the scenes work in the Business of Agriculture. Specifically, they report data and analytics on global protein production, consumption, and pricing. They've been doing this for 160 years, when Mr. Urner began a poultry pricing report on America's docks. In this episode, I talk to two Urner Barry specialists about the world of meat, eggs, fish, and other protein. What does the wet farm belt mean for meat? How did the rainy Spring impact steak sales? And – the biggie – what does China's African Swine Fever epidemic mean for global meat prices and consumption? Listen and you'll find out all that and more. If you want to know about the "prognostication" part of this episode, China's pork problems are going to be impacting food for a while!

By now you've likely seen the video and heard about the animal mistreatment at Fair Oaks Farms. Sadly, for the Business of Agriculture, this isn't going away any time soon. In fact, I see animal activists increasing their attacks on livestock production and processing based on the response to the Fair Oaks video. Katharine Lotspeich is a partner in her family's large scale Utah dairy operation and an Ag professional. She joins me to discuss Ag's poor handling of this incident, the real agenda of animal activists, and the reality for Agriculture moving forward. Make no mistake, this incident hurts Agriculture, strains relating with our customers, and strengthens the radical animal rights cause groups who paint this as the norm. Our industry needs to do a better job of addressing this — we'll tell you how.

Farm folks, as I always joke, are obsessed with the weather. This Spring they have good reason to be, with the vast swath of Agriculturally productive area impacted by storms, floods, and incessant rains. At the time of this recording (May 31, 2019), record levels of unplanted corn and soybean acres sit idle. Combined with the weather issues are trade disputes with China, and now Mexico, the US's second biggest Ag customer. On top of weather and trade disputes, farmers have crop insurance dictates to work around, and a USDA "trade aid" program that was announced—but completely void of details. What does all this mean for the Business of Agriculture? John Newton, chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation joins me to discuss Ag's perfect storm. Will we see $6 corn, trade deals finalized, higher food prices, and how many acres will remain idle? Join the conversation for our take.

Andy Ambriole, proprietor of BioSteward Farms, rejoins me on the Business of Agriculture podcast. Andy was a guest way back in episode 6! Andy is a business-minded 30 year old who always wanted to farm. He had his first Ag enterprise at age 9 with a pumpkin patch. As a teenager, he operated his own tomato business and greenhouse. Today he farms 1,300 acres of certified organic wheat, oats, barley, corn, and soybeans. Andy didn't opt for organic farming because he's an organic food zealot. He took the organic route as it was his best business option as an aspiring farmer with limited resources. If you follow me, you know I bristle at fear-based organic marketing. You'll hear none of that in this episode — just a frank discussion about the Business of Agriculture from an organic perspective.

Katherine Lotspeich is a 27 year old dairy farm girl from Utah (via Connecticut). She's now an Ag professional married to a Vo-Ag school teacher in Colorado. She's also a blogger with plenty to say. Which is why she joins me to discuss a whole host of Ag topics such as: the problem with "Thank a Farmer," why Ag groups should stop "going along to get along," and the damage caused by infighting among Agriculture. She and I both agree on the power of professionalism in our industry, then we discuss what Ag does right and why she's excited about the future. This is a fun discussion. Pull up a chair!

Things aren't good at Bayer, and that's just how the activist groups dead set on destroying the chemical company like it. At this week's shareholder meeting, 55% of Bayer shareholders refused to endorse the management. Chiefly, the shareholders were reacting to Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto, a deal that closed in June 2018. Since the Monsanto purchase, Bayer's stock value has dropped 38%. The reason, of course, is litigation against Roundup herbicide. With 13,400 lawsuits filed (at this point in time), and Bayer going 0 for 2 in their first two lawsuits, things are a little dicey. The activist groups are winning. In this episode I'll explain why they're winning, and what the future might hold. Hint: It'll be more lawsuits with a different target.