In today’s show, get a 101 on what is going on in the U.S. sugar industry with American Sugar Alliance Director of Economics and Policy Analysis, Dr. Rob Johannson. As a former USDA Chief Economist, Dr. Johannson starts off with an overview on what ASA is a clearinghouse for both cane and sugarbeet growers, as well as a voice for the industry. He offers an explanation of what is going on with the sugar supply chain, sugar imports, sugar subsidies in other countries, and U.S. production, the effects of the U.S. mega-drought on growers, and COVID effects on the industry. He also talks about the loss and recovery post-Hurricane Ida.Dr. Johannson makes for a great interview given his background and knowledge and how USDA works when it comes to USDA farmer programs, trade, and data. This interview is not only educational but relevant for both producers and the food business industry experts as he also talks about consumer trends that are evolving.https://sugaralliance.org/
In today’s show is an exciting interview with Ted McKinney, the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. He will lead NASDA in amplifying the voice of state departments of agriculture in Washington, D.C., seeking policy solutions for our food system and expanding and deepening NASDA’s partnerships. Today we recap their annual meeting and talk about important ag issues including trade, Waters of the U.S., barge backups and much more. McKinney most recently served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. He led the development and implementation of the department’s trade policy, facilitated foreign market access, and promoted opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government negotiations. Prior to USDA, McKinney held the position of Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and during his time as a NASDA member, he served on multiple committees for the NASDA Foundation. He also brings over 30 years of experience to NASDA from agriculture’s private industry, including 19 years of experience from NASDA’s partner Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva Agriscience) and 14 years from NASDA’s partner Elanco Animal Health. Prior to his career in agriculture, McKinney grew up on a family farm in Tipton, Indiana.Chief Executive Officer, Ted McKinney as Chief Executive Officer. He will lead NASDA in amplifying the voice of state departments of agriculture in Washington, D.C., seeking policy solutions for our food system and expanding and deepening NASDA’s partnerships.McKinney most recently served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. He led the development and implementation of the department’s trade policy, facilitated foreign market access, and promoted opportunities for U.S. agriculture through various trade programs and high-level government negotiations. Prior to USDA, McKinney held the position of Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and during his time as a NASDA member, he served on multiple committees for the NASDA Foundation. He also brings over 30 years of experience to NASDA from agriculture’s private industry, including 19 years of experience from NASDA’s partner Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva Agriscience) and 14 years from NASDA’s partner Elanco Animal Health. Prior to his career in agriculture, McKinney grew up on a family farm in Tipton, Indiana.
Karol Flynn, Wells Farm Vice President of Food and Agribusiness, is full of stats and data around the economy of the agriculture industry. She’s well versed in AgTech and how that’s changing and shaping the food system. Flynn will talk about drivers in the food business industry, consumer trends when it comes to ordering and picking up food, new work models and hybrid schedules, how retail stores are adapting to new trends and she gives her perspective on the outlook for the ag industry in today’s conversation with Lorrie. Karol previously served as Executive Director covering North American grains and oilseeds for Rabobank.She spent several years as Senior Member at Entira’s strategy consultancy. Karol’s background includes extensive experience in production agriculture with table grapes, almonds, figs, dry land grains, and beef cattle. She co-founded Precision Farming Enterprises, an early GPS/GIS systems integrator based out of Davis, CA in the late 90s.Karol completed her M.B.A. at the University of California, Davis with an emphasis in finance and agricultural management. Her undergraduate degree is from Stanford University.
Dianna Bagnall Research Soil Scientist talks about what the Soil Health Institute and what they do across the United States is collecting and researching soil health and economics. They work with government, nonprofit, and private partners in providing information to assist in managing lands better and more sustainable. The Soil Health Institute also offers a mentoring program, workshops, and training. https://soilhealthinstitute.org/
In today's show, Lorrie talks with the Executive Director of the National Bison Association, Dave Carter. He talks about how producers are coping with extreme drought conditions and COVID. He highlights interesting consumer trends that are good for the bison industry. A recent study shows consumers trust farmers and ranchers, which Carter says is encouraging for the ag industry and bison producers. (Note: this interview was done prior to the Washington D.C. fly-in)Photo from: bisoncentral.comDiscussion points also include the fact that USDA has announced they are increasing how much bison they are purchasing for food distribution and he speaks to infrastructure assistance and what they are doing to be the voice for bison producers.
In this fun interview with Katheryn Bosley, AKA "The Cow Nerd," she tells Lorrie how she is doing her part to advocate for agriculture while educating people in a fun and non-traditional way on social media.
There is never a lack of innovation in agriculture. In today’s show, I interview Pauline Cantenur, Head of Business Development and Partnerships with Farm Wise. Farm Wise is a fairly new company that had developed robots, called “Titans,” that go out into vegetable fields and do the weeding for the farmer. Data is also collected to help the farmer know where there are certain pressures in the fields and give them resources to better produce crops in any given field. She talks about how the company got started and how they design these robot machines along with current and future goals. www.farmwiselabs.com
In today’s show, I visit with Steve Wirsching, Vice President and Director of the U.S. Wheat Associates West Coast Office in Portland, Oregon about white wheat as a class of its own. Over 30 years ago, Hard White wheat was recognized as an official wheat class. Hard White is a premium wheat class that can effectively compete with Russian and Black wheat that have eroded U.S. traditional markets in Africa and Southeast Asia. Hard White wheat has a competitive advantage over Hard Red Winter because it offers overseas customers higher flour milling extraction rates and improved protein functionality. However, it continues to struggle to increase production to achieve critical mass and suffers from illiquid markets. U.S. wheat producers are harmed by these illiquid markets when country elevators discount this wheat class. When the USW Board of Directors met in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 1, 2021, they passed the following motion:U.S. Wheat Associates requests FGIS to evaluate and consider the following changes to U.S. Grain Standards to better facilitate the marketing of Hard White Wheat:1) Differentiate between Hard White Spring Wheat and Hard White Winter Wheat. 2) Create a new Hard Winter Wheat class with subclasses of Hard White Winter Wheat and Hard Red Winter Wheat.3) Increase the allowable Wheat of Other Classes of Hard White Winter Wheat in Hard Red Winter Wheat to 25%.
The Peterson Farm Brothers take a unique and entertaining approach to advocating for agriculture with their farm to music parodies. Today, Greg Peterson talks with Lorrie Boyer about their farm and how they got started with creating fun and entertaining parodies.He talks about their speaking engagements and stage shows and some of where they are headed with incorporating more family into their social media videos.
Can food production occur in concert with solar power generation? Recent advancements and interest in solar-generated power have some asking “will large solar panel projects decrease available land for crop production?” Some of these proposed solar farms can cover 80 acres and more and as power needs continue to grow, tens of thousands of currently cropped acres could be taken out of production. This question of producing both food and electrical power is currently being addressed by Colorado State University (CSU) researchers. Drs. Jennifer Bousselot and Mark Uchanski, CSU researchers located in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture are currently leading a group of CSU Extension researchers and interns investigating agricultural production underneath solar panels. Dr. Bousselot’s specialty is rooftop Agrivoltaics and Dr. Uchanksi’s specialty is vegetable Agrivoltaics in field applications. The research team consists of Horticulturalists and Agronomists working to address cropping questions. In today’s Ag Queen Podcast, Host, Lorrie Boyer and Dr. Bousselot talk in detail of the research being done in Colorado including the research fundamentals, the crop research being done in tandem with solar arrays, and why thought leaders and developers need to think in terms of multi-functional land projects into the future.