The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Jayson Menke of Acres and Shares discusses the sugar beet business and provides a North Dakota perspective on Ag. His company brokers agricultural real estate as well as shares of stock in American Crystal Sugar. Did you know the majority of sugar consumed in America is derived from beets (not cane)? Jayson and I cover everything from land prices to canola in this episode — pull up a chair! Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

BDA Farms, a 6,000 acre operation in Uniontown, Alabama, quit conventional row crop farming to pursue direct to consumer Agriculture. The operation has grown into other categories. The farm produces grass fed beef and lamb, and pasture raised pork and eggs. BDA also grows organic vegetables on ten acres that continues to expand and runs three lodging facilities for Agri-tourism. Mark Harris, a former farmer turned CEO and Allen Williams, a former Mississippi State professor turned farming partner explain their business. And no, BDA isn't just some rich guy's passion project — it's a for profit business. I know because I asked! Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

When you dig into your pork chop you probably aren't thinking about the boar semen and breeding sow that made that pork chop so delicious. But if you want to know about the fascinating, behind the scenes work that goes on in Agriculture to produce tasty meat in a hugely efficient manner, listen to this. Meat starts with genetics from the sire and dam and this episode will explain it all. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

I have long held the opinion that the United Nations is an activist organization not unlike PETA or the Environmental Working Group. The notable exception being that the U.N.'s funding comes from taxpayers of its wealthy nation members. In anticipation of this Fall's COP26 summit on climate change, the U.N. released another of its studies, which usually paint Agriculture as environmental evil doer. Todd Thurman joins me to share the real facts about Ag's environmental footprint and explains how modern farming practices can benefit the environment. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

We've come a long way from yesterday's tractors and farm equipment. Technologically, environmentally, and from the basis of what the machine can accomplish. Matt Ramage and Karl Huebner with Hutson, Inc — a chain of John Deere dealerships, join me to discuss the farm equipment business. We're paying roughly $1,000 per one rating of horsepower — what is the ROI and what are these machines doing now compared to just a few decades ago? Are autonomous implements coming? (answer: yes, but how soon) Are electric tractors far off? Will we consolidate the machinery biz even more? We discuss all this and more. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

To grow crops, you need seed, as such seed is a big business within the business of Ag. Like all things, technology is changing how we plant and even the seed that we plant. Three seed professionals sit down with me to discuss changes they see happening in the seed biz and take a look at where genetics and seed sales may go in the future. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Sustainability has, frankly, been mostly a marketing phrase for well over a decade. But that's changing amid increasing demands from consumers and governments to "be sustainable." Companies are pushing their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards onto their producers. Meaning, farmers will be held to certain production practices to be allowed to sell their products. That's where Hummingbird Technologies comes in — they're the verification arm for large Ag companies and they use artificial intelligence to do it. Listen to founder Will Wells explain where Ag is and where it's going in relation to sustainability. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

We waste about 35% of the food we produce. In poor countries it's more due to lack of infrastructure, in affluent countries it's because food is cheap and easy to discard. But there's an environmental cost that will increasingly become an issue. Re-Nuble is an Ag startup that seeks to prevent food waste while giving an assist to indoor Agriculture. The company harvests vegetative waste and turns it into a pasteurized, pathogen free fertility product for soil-less indoor farming operations. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

No, we're not talking about pretend meat in this episode. We're talking lentils, peas, and beans and their potential growth opportunity as a food and crop category. Lionel Kambeitz, CEO and co-founder of Above Food, explains his company's role in providing improved plant protein products to a hungry marketplace. He discusses food tribalism, the concept of "naturally regenerative" crops, and the five specifications his company requires of their contract farmers. In many ways this is a discussion about where food production and marketing is headed, beyond plant proteins. Sponsored by LandTrust landtrust.com

Bobbi Brockmann, VP of Sales for Immucell, manages 9 field sales reps as well as the behind the scenes staff who cover the entire country calling (principally) on dairy operations. She joins me to discuss how changes in scale, size, and management of farms has changed how companies go to business. What do Ag sales people do in a world adapting to online commerce, where simply showing up with an order form won't cut it? As a seasoned veteran, adapting to succeed in marketing and sales, Ms. Brockmann shares her five success traits and much more. Bonus: a dire prediction about the future of Ag Sales — half of those who do it, won't be necessary soon!