Podcasts about agri pulse

Beth Ford - Land of Lakes CEO on Agri-Pulse

This week's Open Mic guest is Beth Ford, President and CEO of Land O' Lakes. While the cooperative is known for its dairy products, Ford says two thirds of their member enterprises are in other segments of agriculture. Ford says low bulk commodity returns coupled with inflation's impact on inputs have brought financial stress to many operations and uncertainty over global market access further clouds farmer's financial outlook. She now chairs the Immigration Committee of the Business Roundtable and says agriculture desperately needs an adequate workforce as well as a new farm bill and updated tax policy.

This week's Open Mic guest is Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association.  Soybean farmers face surmountable challenges from low crop prices, high input costs and an uncertain future demand outlook. Censky hopes the current trade war is short-lived and brings worthy results. Censky says soybean farmers are watching closely the downsizing at USDA and holding out hope Congress can deliver a new farm bill this year. The EPA's pending RVO announcement could be the determining factor between profit and loss in 2025. 

Congressional Republicans are still a long way from agreeing on the giant budget reconciliation bill, but NCFC leader Chuck Conner says he sees ‘glimmers of hope' for a boost to the farm safety net in the package. Conner also discusses the possibility for ag labor reform this Congress as well as tariffs and brain drain at USDA. Then, Dan Halstrom from the U.S. Meat Export Federation and Krista Swanson from the National Corn Growers Association discuss how tariffs are affecting their industries. Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up for free!

This week's Open Mic guest is Congressman Frank Lucas. The Oklahoma 3rd District representative says covid, global military conflicts and trade have heightened concern surrounding the size of the nation's debt. He believes it is right to question government spending with proper oversight and says the upcoming budget reconciliation process will be the "wildest political rodeo" voters have ever seen. Lucas guided the legislature into approving the 2014 farm bill and wants to see a new bill this year.

President Donald Trump this week temporarily paused country-specific reciprocal tariffs while those applied to China increased to 125%. We asked Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., how the move could change the U.S.' ag trading relationship with China and his thoughts on staff reductions at the Agriculture Department.Then, Tim Lust from the National Sorghum Producers and Ken Barbic with Invariant discuss the tariffs, including how long producers can wait for government payments for market loss.Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

This week's Open Mic guest is Adam Bergman, Managing Director at EchoTech Capital. While opinions still widely vary regarding what sustainability really means, Bergman stands in the gap between would be investors and those willing to adopt certain sustainable practices.  In agriculture the topics include regenerative farming,  a vast array of climate smart practices and even indoor farming. Washington has proven that financial support for renewable fuels as well as electricity from solar and wind sources can influence growth. Moving forward, the question remains which energy sources will see favor from Capitol Hill and what agricultural practices investors will support toward a greener environment and stronger food security. 

President Trump unveiled a massive tariff plan this week adding a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports, plus a higher reciprocal tariff on many U.S. trading partners. We asked Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., how the tariffs will affect producers and how farm bill elements may be incorporated into budget reconciliation.Then, the American Soybean Association's Virginia Houston and Joe Glauber from the International Food Policy Research Institute discuss which producers could be hurt the most by the tariffs and how farmers' cost of production will increase.Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

This week's Open Mic guest is Chuck Conner, President and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. With planting season underway in some areas of the country, Conner suggests the nation's farmer owned cooperatives are well stocked as producers prepare for the 2025 growing season. Conner says many or coops anticipated tariff issues and took early shipment of supplies for this season. A veteran of Capitol Hill policy debates, he acknowledges plenty of uncertainty surrounding the farm bill, tax policy and tariffs. Despite challenges, Conner believes legislators will take action on taxes and hopefully a new set of farm and nutrition programs. 

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I'm Chuck Zimmerman. The first day of spring started the day after the annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Summit and National Ag Day Activities. We have published virtual newsrooms on our AgNewsWire website and story posts on AgWired. So, in this episode I'd like to share a few of the interviews and audio from the events. I'll start out with Agri-Pulse. You can listen to the opening remarks from Ireland's Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason. Next will be Jim Sutter, CEO, USSEC and then Jane Franch, Sr. Director, Climate Impact, Pivot Bio. I'll move to the National Ag Day Activities with a student panel discussion. The students are Taylor Rogers, National Grange Youth Ambassador; Lance Williams, AFA advisor; Caroline Groth, FFA Eastern Region Vice President; and Matias Habib, National 4H. Moderated by Miles Chiotti, Manager, Public & Industry Relations - Agriculture & Turf Division at John Deere. It is Cindy's time to be in Washington, DC this week for the ACE Fly-in. After that the next event coming up soon is the 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference. If you haven't registered, you can still do so. I'll see you there. If you have any ideas for a future ZimmCast podcast just let me know. That's the ZimmCast for now. I hope you enjoy it and thank for listening.

This week's Open Mic guest is Bill Hoagland, Senior Vice President of the Bipartisan Policy Center. In a day where Washington faces mounting issues of government outlays and rising national debt, Hoagland say partisanship must give way to solutions that maintain essential federal programs and services. Hoagland provides key insights on budget reconciliation, DOGE, tax reform, a farm bill and the debt ceiling, which are all critical issues facing the 119thCongress.

After three hurricanes hit her Florida district in 13 months, Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., overviews recovery efforts and the possibility to embed USDA staff in FEMA to assist with future disasters. She also discusses the potential for including farm bill elements in budget reconciliation, saying it is “absolutely feasible.”Then, T.A. Hawks with Monument Advocacy and Mike Stranz from the National Farmers Union discuss USDA's release of $10B in market relief payments and the potential impact of the administration's trade policies on agriculture.Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

National Agriculture Day brings needed financial relief to farmers across the nation.  Agri-Pulse spoke with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on the nation's farm and fuel policy. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer AG. The global company is heavily invested in developing innovative technology for farmers around the world. The company's pursuit of crop genetics, herbicide resistance, chemical crop protection and data management has benefitted farmer goals toward both sustainability and productivity. Anderson tells Agri-Pulse that legal challenges to glyphosate are limiting the company's investments in innovation and may result in eliminating the sale of a herbicide that many farmers consider essential to sustainable production. 

The agriculture industry is beginning to feel shocks from retaliatory tariffs aimed at U.S. farm products. We speak with National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney about how President Trump's aggressive trade agenda is impacting American agriculture and look ahead to NASDA's farm bill priorities.Then, Scott Gerlt with the American Soybean Association and Roger Cryan from the American Farm Bureau Federation discuss whether farmers should be concerned about another trade war.Want to receive Newsmakers in your inbox every week? Sign up! http://eepurl.com/hTgSAD

This week's Open Mic guest is Chris Abbott, CEO of Pivot Bio. The California company was formed 15 years ago with a premise of using soil microbes to utilize naturally occurring nitrogen to sustainably feed plants and replace synthetic fertilizers. After going commercial five years ago, the company continues to grow the number of farmers and acres utilizing their gene edited products. Abbott sees a bright future for growth in the use of soil microbes to increase productivity, reduce nutrient costs and boost producer sustainability.

Agri-Pulse offers a special edition of Newsmakers featuring key agriculture leaders from this week's Commodity Classic in Denver. 

This week's guest on Open Mic is U.S. Representative John Garamendi. California's 8th district Democrat is a strong advocate for agriculture, nutrition programs and global humanitarian aid. As a member of the Agriculture Research Caucus, Garamendi believes DOGE cuts in government employees and spending cuts will lead to ill fated consequences for farmers in the form of crop and livestock disease research and readiness as well as dramatic cuts to food and medical aid for those in impoverished areas of the world. Garamendi sees little chance the California legislature will make changes to Prop 12, leaving that responsibility to Washington and perhaps a new farm bill. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins tells Agri-Pulse the department intends to meet or beat the Congressional deadline to distribute economic and disaster assistance payments approved by legislators last year. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Kurt Coffey, Vice-President, Case IH North America. Reduced farm income has resulted in lower volume sales of large agriculture equipment in the nation.  Coffey expects some improvement if USDA releases disaster and economic assistance funds approved in the continuing resolution in the latter hours of the 118th Congress. Coffey says artificial intelligence is helping in machine repairs as well as more efficient field operations. Case-IH supports farmer repairs to their machines. Coffey says proposed tariffs on Canadian imports as well as tariffs on steel could impact their operating margins in the year ahead.

This week's Open Mic guest is U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Less than 24 hours after being sworn in as the 33rd lead of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, Brooke Rollins found herself in Louisville, Kentucky being introduced in Freedom Hall at the Championship Tractor Pull. A native of the small town of Glen Rose, Texas, her career path led to the White House in President Trump's first term and now as a member of the Trump Cabinet. Speaking on the sidelines of her first event outside the Beltway as Secretary, Rollins shared thoughts on building her team at USDA, working with other cabinet members and how downsizing government may impact the work of the USDA. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Jeffery Hall, Board Chairman and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration and the longest serving member of the current FCA board. Hall reports system debt at the end of 2024 at just over $448 billion dollars - just shy of an 8% increase from the end of 2023. Since the beginning of 2020, system debt outstanding has grown over 52%. The FCA has seen a dramatic downturn in the number of institutions and farmers since the farm crisis of the 1980's, but the amount of debt continues to climb. He discusses softer farmland values in some areas, the interest rate environment, and future areas of focus for the FCA.

This week's Open Mic guest is Garrett Hawkins, President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation.  Hawkins says his state's farmers echo calls to Washington to get a new, modernized farm bill approved as quickly as possible. Hawkins says his state takes issue with the Biden administration's Green New Deal policies favoring electricity instead of an “all of the above” approach to the nation's energy future. Missouri landowners are facing property rights issues as the private Grain Belt Express has been given the power of eminent domain to run transmission lines across the state.

The leaders of the House Agriculture committee shared their thoughts on developing a new farm bill at today's American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Paul Bertels, Principal and Senior Consultant for Farmgate Insights. Much attention is given to the potential demand for billions of bushels of row crops should they be included as acceptable feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel. Drawing from his long career with the National Corn Growers Association and the ethanol industry, Bertles says the SAF market won't be as easy to develop as the process involves creating molecules of actual jet fuel instead of simply blending the product. Favorable regulations, incentives, subsidies and carbon sequestration will all have to be accomplished in order to open this new opportunity for farmers and the ag industry. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council. Swine producers are coming off a period of negative returns thanks to ample demand from domestic and global consumers. Humphreys says pork producers are concerned about the consequences of potential tariffs on global market access and hope for a farm bill which would include limits on state mandated production practices like those in California and Massachusetts. He also discusses the Biden administration's ruling on packer line speeds, ag labor and more. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Greg Tyler, President and CEO of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. Tyler spoke with us while he was visiting Asian customers and dealing firsthand with issues like avian influenza, potential tariffs from the coming Trump administration, as well as a weak global economy and a strong U.S. dollar. Tyler says new trade negotiations and trade enforcement will be critical to grow market access in the presence of HPAI.

This week's Open Mic guest is Kevin Kelly, CEO of Emerald Packaging. The global packaging industry is expected to grow to over $600 billion dollars by 2033. Kelly says packaging is essential to limit food waste and maintain fresh produce quality for consumers across the country and around the globe. But just as health experts encourage higher consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, several states and countries are considering various restrictions on food packaging and waste disposal that would be very challenging for growers, shippers and packers to meet. Kelly says the packaging industry continues to research biobased packaging materials, but says thus far none have proven effective or affordable for retailers or consumers. 

 Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson has been reelected as House Speaker. Only one member of the GOP did not vote for the incumbent.  

This week's Open Mic guest is Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. The company is creating an industry-led platform to assist in funding carbon projects within the livestock value chain which enables producers to make systemic change while optimizing their operations. The company values both the economic viability of producers and the health of the environment. The platform helps to combine, certify and fund greenhouse gas reductions throughout the entire livestock value chain with an overall goal of greater environmental sustainability for animal agriculture. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council. As trade tensions with China have shifted more of their imports from Brazil, U.S. soybean farmers have successfully diversified their global demand base. Sutter says domestic supplies have higher quality than soybeans from anywhere else in the world and thus prove a better value for customers both in raw beans and in soy products. Sutter says production sustainability is becoming a greater priority in some markets which is a big advantage for U.S. soybean farmers and he sees increases in both global demand and production of oilseeds. 

Agri-Pulse's Lydia Johnson offers exclusive comments from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins during her visits with legislators on Capitol Hill. E-15 waiver could "kick start" greater retail opportunities for higher ethanol blends. 

Members of congress continue to set their sites on approving farm and nutrition legislation. Agri-Pulse's Lydia Johnson gathered comments from key leaders this week on Capitol Hill. 

America just elected a new president and many states just elected new chief executives and legislators. What does this time of transition mean for ag, for agbioscience and for entrepreneurs? Sara Wyant, farmer, editor and publisher of Agri-Pulse, joins today to help us understand what's ahead. Sarah gets into regulatory topics – from immigration to sustainability – and talks through what the industry might expect from a second Trump administration, its new players as well as Congress. She also talks innovation, removing barriers to market entry and what lawmakers have to get done in order for farmers to plan for their operations. Sarah founded Agri-Pulse with the idea that someone should be telling the story of how policy affects the hard work of farmers and, ultimately, the food we consume. With eyes on the future, Sarah talks what's ahead for Agri-Pulse and what issues her team has an eye on headed into a new era of leadership in our country.

America just elected a new president and many states just elected new chief executives and legislators. What does this time of transition mean for ag, for agbioscience and for entrepreneurs? Sara Wyant, farmer, editor and publisher of Agri-Pulse, joins today to help us understand what's ahead. Sarah gets into regulatory topics – from immigration to sustainability – and talks through what the industry might expect from a second Trump administration, its new players as well as Congress. She also talks innovation, removing barriers to market entry and what lawmakers have to get done in order for farmers to plan for their operations. Sarah founded Agri-Pulse with the idea that someone should be telling the story of how policy affects the hard work of farmers and, ultimately, the food we consume. With eyes on the future, Sarah talks what's ahead for Agri-Pulse and what issues her team has an eye on headed into a new era of leadership in our country. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Michael McAdams, President of the Advanced Biofuels Association. After an extensive career serving on Capitol Hill, McAdams founded the ABFA in 2006.  The group represents all aspects of the advanced biofuels in the nation from large refiners to major feedstock providers and new technology groups.  McAdams believes government statutes for advanced biofuels are not working with taxpayer incentives to grow the industry. While the nation transitions to new leadership in Washington, a delay in the release of new regulations has the industry operating in a cloud of confusion. McAdams believes Congress needs to act in the Lame Duck Session to provide a window of time to provide clear rules for the industry to follow and meet the growing need for advanced biofuels.