AgPro Podcast with Ashley Davenport

Kyle Barton, procurement manager at Simplot Grower Solutions, manages the supply chain of crop protection, adjuvants, micronutrients, and biologicals for the company’s retail locations west of the Rocky Mountains. In total, that’s over 100 supplier relationships.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benny Andres, who oversees the product management team at Bushel, shares how technology—and specifically software—can be used to strengthen the relationship between farmers and their trusted advisers. He says the Bushel team is applying a focus on how to do business better, and when value is demonstrated in the technology adoption, farmers the first in line to be adopters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the final herbicide rule and final insecticide rule announced by EPA, new product labels and FIFRA re-registration comes with additional regulation. Hear from independent consultants James Todd and Steve Hoffman about what everyone should know and how this year is pivotal to the future of pesticide use.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Moore, president of the National Ag Aviation Association, shares how this progressive, and mature industry contributes to the agricultural industry applying on more than 127 million acres each year. With an expanding industry of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, Moore gives top tips and best practices for every aerial application.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ken Zuckerberg, head of global research at CHS Inc., says while current times are VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous), ag retailers should avoid making any quick decisions and spend even more time with customers. Zuckerberg also shares his latest thesis for where U.S. agriculture can find success, and it has to do with “Shake ‘N Bake”…. The key qualities for the next growing markets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For more than 10 years, ResponsibleAg has been an industry-led program where retailers receive compliance audits to stay on track with their regulated safety standards. Industry ambassador Tim McArdle and ARA CEO Daren Coppock share case studies in how ResponsibleAg is an asset for ag retailers in their everyday business across 2,356 locations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Sawyer is the agronomy director at Five Star Cooperative in northern Iowa. He shares what is driving their business forward, and the three things that stand out as tools to bring value to customers and differentiate their business in the marketplace.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trey Malone, Boehlje Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness at Purdue University, says he is working to reshape the way the industry thinks about economic principles in agriculture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Gupton and Hunter Carpenter from the Agricultural Retailers Association give their updates and insights on top policy issues for the ag retail industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now with two full years of experience in the field, Jeff Crissinger and the team at Nu-Way K&H Cooperative are ready to share their takeaways and insights on how selective spraying is changing custom application. With positive grower reception, impressive results, and demand for more, they are adding a second machine this year–using both Greeneye Technology and John Deere See and Spray.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The team at Growers Edge aims to de-risk a farmer from adopting new practices or new products. They have financial technology tools, offered commonly via ag retailers, which can be used to strengthen their relationships with customers and lead to faster adoption of those products and services.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erich Eller and the Forefront Ag team work with growers to conquer legacy mindsets that may be holding growers back. Using technology, agronomic advising, and an openness to try new things, he and his team are looking to move the needle while recognizing risks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clay Houchin, chief operating officer at Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, explains how the history of the company helps shape how its evolution in serving California growers. He says an adaptability to meet regulations while offering leading technology for data-driven decisions has been key.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s ag economy has changed the way United Prairie is partnering with its farmer customers. The focus is still keenly on return on investment, but CEO Curt Miller explains, there are key considerations for how United Prairie is showing up differently for their customers. Their team out of Tolono, Ill., is the 2024 recipient of The Scoop Business Innovation Award, sponsored by Ever.Ag Agribusiness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott Kay, vice president of U.S. agricultural solutions at BASF, details the seed technology, crop protection solutions, and more that farmers and retailers can expect in the near future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greg Martinelli specializes in ag sales team development and shares what can be resolutions for the 2025 selling season. He gives 7 tips for salespeople in the current ag economic cycle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netafim, an international pioneer for subsurface irrigation, has a new offering in its GrowSphere operating system. As Mike Hemman, SVP North America for Netafim explains it's one tool the company is bringing forward to further refine and improve water efficiency and yields.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ambassador Terry Branstad was the first U.S. state governor to host Xi Jinping in 1985, so he carries the unique distinction of being called an “old friend” by the Chinese leader as well as a friend to President Donald Trump. Branstad highlights how “for a trade deal to be good, it needs to be a win-win for both sides,” and he shares more insights about the future of trade and its effects on the agricultural industry in this episode. To hear even more, attend the ARA Conference and Expo, Dec. 3 to 5 in Houston where Branstad will be giving a fireside chat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The team at Aanika Bio is offering a product that combines drift traceability and insurance. Whereas current processes take six months and are accused of being more subjective than objective, Aanika Bio uses synthetic biology (traceable down to one spray droplet on one square yard of leaf surface) to give definitive results in less than one week. This is paired with their drift insurance coverage as well. Hear more from their team on this episode of The Scoop Podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recently announced partnership with Syngenta and Taranis will bring a proof of concept at scale. As explained by Meade McDonald, digital ag solutions marketing manager at Syngenta, starting this fall, select midwestern retailers will be using the artificial intelligence platform and scouting tools provided by Taranis. He explains more on how this fits into the company's digital ag portfolio on The Scoop podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's beyond a traditional understanding of point, click, buy e-commerce. Co-founder and CEO of AgVend Alexander Reichert shares how ag retailers are looking to digitally enable not just the customer experience, but also have best in class tools for their sales teams, their marketing teams, finance, procurement operations, and helping their organization, do their best work with technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Air Force Colonel Mike Mullane shares motivating stories from space learned from 356 logged hours aboard the Atlantis and Discovery Shuttles before retiring in 1990. As a Weapon Systems Operator aboard a RF-4C Phantom aircraft, he completed 134 combat missions in Vietnam. He'll share more lessons in leadership at the 2024 ARA Conference and Expo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Jacobson is the business unit lead for Bayer crop science in southern Iowa. He leads a team of 35 and has been on the frontline of implementing Bayer's new operating model—dynamic shared ownership. Jacobson shares how DSO is changing how Bayer internally works together, works with its channel partners, and shows up on the farm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research outlines the key obstacles in adopting conservation agriculture practices, and how the path of least resistance forward is via ag retail. Dayna Gross, manager of programs and partnership for sustainable and responsible business team at Syngenta, discusses how the company's goal is to make changes as easy as possible for the grower. And she shares why the retailer is a critical part in engaging farmers to make whatever their next step is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What work in agriculture will be revolutionized by artificial intelligence? Ryan Raguse, chief innovation officer and co-founder at Bushel, expects AI to bring further insights, replace repetitive tasks and more. He'll be part of a panel discussion at the upcoming Ag Retailers Association Conference, Dec. 3 to 5 in Houston.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Urban of Bracewell Technologies has advocated for clients on business tax issues, extension of temporary tax provisions, and federal tax policies within the energy sector. He says agriculture has potential game changers in the evolving energy policies, in fact, in many ways ag is in the middle of this evolution. Urban will present a general session with an outlook and insights at the 2024 ARA Conference and Expo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Minton, chief commercial officer at Taranis, encourages ag retailers to embrace the power of technology to improve timeliness in how they can help farmers as well as time savings in their own work. Minton will be part of a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the 2024 ARA Conference and Expo, Dec. 3 to 5 in Houston, Texas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joey Caldwell, senior vice president of retail for GreenPoint Ag, testified in July at the hearing on Financial Conditions in Farm Country. Caldwell was there to express strong support for the 2024 Farm Bill during the hearing that focused on addressing the financial challenges faced by farmers and ranchers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Schultz encourages ag retailers to think differently about their businesses and differentiate themselves. He says, just being better isn't good enough, and retailers need to use strategy to market what is different about their business. He goes into more detail—and how marketing is more than just where you put field signs and your SEO gameplan—in this episode of The Scoop Podcast. You can find more ideas from Schultz in his newsletter, Ag Done Different.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARA's Richard Gupton and Hunter Carpenter discuss the latest policy and regulatory updates from Washington, D.C.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Weddel, President and Founder of Stratus Ag Research joins the podcast to discuss the latest findings by his firm on grower programs. With two ongoing studies, Stratus has studied retailer and grower perceptions of these programs since 2020. Overall, both groups are more positive than they once were, and Weddel explains why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Derek Emerine, National Agronomist with Helena, shares what to watch this season with crop fertility management. He highlights how to effectively use tissue sampling to not miss often overlooked deficiencies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Raising a big crop requires you to pay attention to the small things that make a difference. Austin Anderson, adjuvant brand manager at Helena, shares his top tips for this year's spray season and talks about the latest product from Helena, Cohort, which is a spray tank partner advancing the use of AMS.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Mies and Kristen Ireland of People Spark Consulting offer insights on how to create process and equip people. The duo shares some takeaways for managing a multi-generational workforce. And they share how prepare high performing individuals to take over legacy roles.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Veronica Nigh, senior economist at The Fertilizer Institute, shares the indexes she's watching to gauge the direction of the global fertilizer markets. She discusses a short-term outlook for products as well as some things to watch in the long-term. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ross Bender, director of new product development for The Mosaic Company, references how many are finding success with some new approaches to crop fertility including 4R nutrient stewardship, focusing on crop needs, and finding a fit for biological. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARA's policy team joins the podcast to talk about the recent Farm Bill developments as well as regulations that directly effect ag retailers and their businesses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his 15-year career Travis Fuller says it's been amazing to watch the technology develop for the ag retail industry. As a customer success manager for AgWorks, he helps ag retailers deploy software to streamline their business and gain new insights. The biggest thing he's watching… artificial intelligence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As an agronomist and crop consultant with Nutrien Ag Solutions, Jeff Kloucek says working out in the field is where he enjoys his job the most. While the weather was the biggest challenge last year, Kloucek doesn't expect too much of a reprieve from that unknown this year. However, he and the team are focusing on what they can control. In soil fertility, they are taking a new look at the whole system and how nutrients interact with each other. And for weed control, Kloucek has two pieces of advice: don't cut rates, and the adjuvants are just as important as the herbicide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kyle Meece, agronomy manager at United Prairie, started as a machine operator when the company had four locations. Today, they've grown to 14, and Meece also discusses how the team and the technology they use has changed. Last year, they had 950 acres of side by side drone application trials, which supported the decision to add four more this year. The team is also adding a John Deere See and Spray Ultimate machine to their fleet, which Meece says it an effort to answer the multitude of questions of how the technology fits into their agronomy services.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim Hushon, sustainability and technology director at The Mill, details how sustainability factors into their ag retail business and how to partner with farmers on the technology adoption required. Hushon shares the challenges to find farmers and fields who can qualify for some of the carbon opportunities, while there's still a lot of potential for nitrogen reduction programs, including they as a retailer realizing a future of potentially selling a lower total amount of bulk fertilizer. Then he shares the new equipment their team is working to deploy in 2024 including section control spreading and drone spraying.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the heels of the ARA fly-in, Hunter Carpenter shares details on the association's policy priorities for the year ahead and some insights on how the Farm Bill is shaping up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tyler Mitchell, agronomy account manager at River Valley Cooperative in Davenport, Iowa, details the daily complexities he and his team unravel for farmers as they serve as boots on the ground.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the driest year in over 130 years to extreme hail events, Evan Fust and his teams work with farmers across Colorado and Kansas. Fust is general manager of CHS High Plains, CHS Quintec and CHS United Plains which totals more than 40 locations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.