Podcasts about Agriculture

In an effort to make their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable, some farmers are experimenting with agrivoltaics: growing crops underneath solar panels. This dual harvest is working for some, but what will it take for agrivoltaics to work on a larger, more industrial scale? Joining Host Ira Flatow are journalist Jana Rose Schleis and environmental economics expert Madhu Khanna.Guests:Jana Rose Schleis is a news producer at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. Her podcast series, “The Next Harvest,” is available on podcast platforms.Dr. Madhu Khanna is a professor of environmental economics and director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

Stay informed on current events, visit www.NaturalNews.com - Introduction and Segment Overview (0:10) - Brightelearn.ai Milestone and AI Avatar Introduction (4:36) - AI Avatar Creation and Voice Issues (8:41) - Future Plans for AI Avatars and Content Creation (25:24) - Special Report on China's Export Restrictions (38:25) - Impact of China's Export Restrictions on US Military (1:08:42) - Conclusion and Call to Action (1:18:13) - Meeting of Two Worlds: Corporate and Independent Innovators (1:18:55) - Technology and Human Enhancement (1:23:34) - Impact of Automation on Jobs (1:26:59) - Singularity University and Exponential Organizations (1:30:13) - Community and Consulting Services (1:32:58) - Decentralization and Value Creation (1:38:26) - Radical Abundance and Decentralization (1:44:11) - Challenges and Opportunities in Agriculture (1:47:57) - Energy and Battery Technology (1:52:30) - Governance and AI in Decision-Making (2:08:56) - Privacy and Self-Sovereignty (2:11:17) - Automation and Decentralization (2:22:16) - Embracing Free Speech and Technology (2:30:21) - Revolutionizing Creativity and Activism (2:32:36) - Challenging the Status Quo (2:34:11) - Call to Action for a Better World (2:36:21) - Valentine's Day Sale at Health Ranger Store (2:37:59) Watch more independent videos at http://www.brighteon.com/channel/hrreport  ▶️ Support our mission by shopping at the Health Ranger Store - https://www.healthrangerstore.com ▶️ Check out exclusive deals and special offers at https://rangerdeals.com ▶️ Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed: https://www.naturalnews.com/Readerregistration.html Watch more exclusive videos here:

The difference between agroecology and regenerative agriculture is the deep social change we need in the food and agriculture system. As Laura Ortiz Montemayor told us once "ecology without social justice is just gardening". Million Belay, who leads the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, the largest social movement on the African continent, is very clear stop intervening with agriculture on the continent, stop imposing all kinds of rules, practices, seeds, inputs etc, which don't serve in this context (and we could argue in the context we come from as well, how many European banned pesticides are exported to the continent?)We talk about the shut down of the USAID which was actually a good shock to the system. And finally donors, which unfortunately dictate quite a bit the direction, are talking and slowly also acting around agroecology. We discuss how through lobbying they managed to get many countries to adopt agroecology policies in the last few years, what Million would do with a billion dollar and what his message for investors is.More about this episode.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================

We're back. Season 9 of the Hemp Show is here. In this season opener of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we'll take you inside a hearing organized by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania that was meant to explain the hemp industry to state lawmakers — and ended up revealing something else entirely. The original intent of hemp in the Farm Bill was about agriculture and manufacturing, but the conversation has been dominated by intoxicating cannabinoids, chemical definitions and law enforcement concerns. This episode weaves together testimony from regulators, business owners and legislators and ultimately asks a simple but important question: When "hemp" is used to describe everything, what does the word actually mean anymore? Will farmers who want to grow fiber and grain get the short end of the stick again? Listen to what the hearing revealed and why clear definitions may be the key to Pennsylvania's hemp future. SUBSCRIBE to Lancaster Farming Newspaper https://www.lancasterfarming.com/subscribe/ Learn More: Pennsylvania Hemp Program (PA Dept. of Agriculture) https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp Video of the Hemp Industry Hearing (Pennsylvania Farm Show) https://vimeo.com/1154816396/314acd404f Center for Rural Pennsylvania (Hearing Organizer) https://www.rural.pa.gov 2018 Farm Bill – Hemp Definition (USDA) https://www.usda.gov/farmbill Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast Archive https://www.lancasterfarming.com/podcasts/hemp Thanks to our Sponsors: IND HEMP https://indhemp.com Americhanvre https://americhanvre.com King's AgriSeeds https://kingsagriseeds.com Hempcutter.com https://hempcutter.com HEMI hempinitiatives.org/

Today we welcome Sandy to the R2Kast

Did you know that The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026), the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and the International Year of the Woman Farmer? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and Registered Dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn for her conversation with Seth Itzkan, environmental futurist and cofounder of Soil4Climate, an international nongovernmental organization advancing the science, policy and practice of soil restoration through regenerative grazing and agroforestry practices as a climate solution. Itzkan discusses the role ruminants play in agriculture, soil restoration and sustainability. For state policies on soil health, see: https://nerdsforearth.com/state-healthy-soils-policy/ ; and for the  Friends of the Earth report on the misconceptions on  No-Till Farming, see: https://foe.org/resources/rethinking-no-till/Related Websites: www.soil4climate.org

National Farmers Union submitted comments this week to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore crop insurance buy-up coverage for acres prevented from being planted, warning that recent changes weaken a critical risk management tool for farmers facing mounting economic pressure. Source: National Farmers UnionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newscast from Capital Public Radio

After a brief series of amendments were rejected, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee voted to advance its version of the crypto market structure bill to its next phase. It's also lacking Democratic support that would be required for an eventual passage in the overall Senate, though Democrats remain at the negotiating table.~This episode is sponsored by Mevolaxy~Boost your crypto with Mevolaxy ➜ https://bit.ly/Mevolaxy00:00 Intro00:10 Gold crash?00:50 Rate Hikes off the table02:30 Tom Lee: Crypto has been a huge disappointment04:20 Sponsor: Movalaxy06:20 Ag Bill Hearing06:50 Coinbase problem07:30 Corey Booker on not supporting Ag Bill today (frustrated)09:40 Statement on Tokenization Securities11:00 Arbitrum CEO: Robinhood announcement12:00 Robinhood ready to unleash12:50 Ondo Summit13:20 Banks are winning14:00 Solana wins no matter what14:45 Market on fire16:10 Outro#Crypto #Bitcoin #Ethereum~Crypto Crashes After CLARITY Vote Again!

The January 29 edition of the AgNet News Hour delivered one of the most wide-ranging and passionate interviews of the year as hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill sat down with Dayna Ghirardelli, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. From animal-rights extremism to water insecurity, vineyard market shifts, and the rising cost of simply staying in business, Ghirardelli laid out why farming in Sonoma County has become a daily fight — and why giving up is not an option. Ghirardelli opened by acknowledging the beauty of Sonoma County, while making it clear that agriculture there faces relentless pressure. Wine grapes remain under market strain, the Potter Valley Project threatens regional water reliability, and animal-rights activists continue to target dairies and poultry operations despite strong local voter support for agriculture. “It's another day in agriculture in Sonoma County,” she said. “And it never slows down.” A major focus of the conversation was Measure J, a ballot initiative backed by animal-rights groups that aimed to ban so-called “factory farms” in the county. Ghirardelli explained that the measure deliberately misused the EPA's CAFO definition, which is meant to regulate water quality — not eliminate animal agriculture. Had it passed, she said, the fallout would have devastated poultry, dairy, and the many businesses that support them. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure, stopping what she called an attempt to turn Sonoma County into a statewide test case for eliminating animal agriculture altogether. The interview also addressed the recent conviction of Zoe Rosenberg, an activist tied to the Measure J campaign who was found guilty of felony conspiracy and multiple misdemeanors after trespassing, tampering with vehicles, and stealing livestock. While Ghirardelli welcomed accountability, she expressed frustration that the sentence amounted to just ten days in jail. “It sends a dangerous message,” she said, warning that weak penalties embolden extremists who view arrest as a badge of honor. Water and environmental policy were another major theme. While Sonoma County hasn't faced the wolf pressure seen in other regions, Ghirardelli noted that predator issues, NGOs, and environmental lawsuits are increasingly being used as tools to financially bleed farmers dry. “They don't need to win,” she said. “They just need to make it expensive enough to keep farming.” Education, she emphasized, is agriculture's strongest defense. Ghirardelli said the industry has done a good job marketing, but not nearly enough educating. Programs like Ag Days, Farm Fest, and school outreach events are critical to reconnecting the public with where food actually comes from — especially in a state where many residents believe it comes straight from a grocery shelf. Looking ahead to 2026, Ghirardelli called the moment urgent. Rising costs, regulatory overload, housing challenges, and political polarization are pushing California toward a breaking point. “People need to stop voting by party and start voting by reality,” she said. “Quality of life is on the line.” Papagni summed it up simply: Dayna Ghirardelli isn't just defending agriculture — she's defending common sense.

*Calving can be tough in the middle of a freeze.  *We'll look at how the freeze affected the Panhandle.*A new report shows that dairy is poised to help meet protein demand.  *The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association is disappointed after a federal judge dismisses a lawsuit challenging Texas' ban on lab grown protein.*Texas High Plains farmers are waiting for information on the corn leaf hopper.  *President Trump is weighing in on year-round E15 sales.  *Pastures and hay fields can benefit from burning.  *There's a new treatment for arthritis in horses.  

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has confirmed plans to close seven federal research facilities across the country, including the Lacombe Research and Development Centre in central Alberta. The move is part of a broader federal expenditure review that will eliminate hundreds of positions, with over 100 jobs affected at Lacombe alone. AAFC says the changes... Read More

Today’s episode features the latest in agribusiness news, markets and weather with Tony St. James [...]

Comme pour de nombreuses villes, l'agriculture joue un rôle essentiel pour la région de Dakar qui concentre près du quart de la population au Sénégal. À la fois source de nourriture, d'emplois, de biodiversité, de lien social pour les habitants, les jardins partagés, les sites maraîchers servent également d'îlots de fraicheur. Un aspect essentiel compte tenu des dérèglements climatiques et des hausses de températures. Les données manquent pour comprendre concrètement l'impact de l'agriculture urbaine et périurbaine, mais elle alimente environ 60% de la demande dakaroise en produits frais. Alors que l'agglomération abrite plus de 4 millions d'habitants, l'explosion de la croissance urbaine ne fera qu'accroitre les besoins. Mais la pression foncière induite par la hausse de la population, fragilise les zones de productions. À Dakar, les sites maraichers historiques de la Grande Niaye de Pikine et de Lendeng–Rufisque sont de plus en plus touchés par le grignotement de la ville.   Dans ce contexte, quels sont les acteurs de cette agriculture de ville ? Comment la convertir aux enjeux de la transition écologique ? Comment structurer la filière de la production à la distribution ? Bref, comment faire comprendre à la puissance publique l'importance de la fonction nourricière des villes ?   Émission enregistrée à Dakar, reportage et débat.  Avec : • Abou Ba, chercheur en  Agriculture urbaine et Systèmes alimentaires, conseiller en Environnement au Bureau régional à Dakar de SOCODEVI, une ONG canadienne qui favorise l'amélioration des conditions de vie des familles dans les pays en développement, membre du Laboratoire d'Agriculture urbaine de l'UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal) et auteur de Agriculture urbaine à Dakar, eau et impacts sur la santé (Éditions Universitaires Européennes)   • Ibrahima Faye Diouf, enseignant chercheur au Département de Géographie à l'Université CheikhAnta Diop, Ucad, coordonnateur du Programme de renforcement de la recherche en Sciences humaines et sociales au sein du Laboratoire de Géographie humaine, LaboGehu • Abdou Touré, connu sous le nom de Tonton vert, activiste écologiste, formateur et agriculteur urbain, initiateur du projet Quartier Vert Challenge. Ambassadeur des Jeux Olympiques de la jeunesse de Dakar 2026.  Un reportage sur le site maraîcher de Pikine en banlieue de Dakar avec Pape Diagne, représentant de l'association des producteurs.     Programmation musicale :  ► J'prends la confiance - Youssoupha & Dip Doundou Guiss  ► Toi et Moi - VJ, Sidiki Diabaté.

Newscast from Capital Public Radio

From Washington DC to Minneapolis, MN to all of Iowa, Simon covers it in today's 1st hour beginning with President Trump's NEW plan to de-escalate the atmosphere in MN. His first big step was sending 'Border Tzar' Tom Homan there who gave a press conference today. Later, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig is live in studio to announce his re-election campaign and how he plans to continue to help and promote Iowa Ag and Iowa farmers.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, MIKE NAIG is live in studio with SIMON to announce his re-election campaign and how he plans to continue to help and promote Iowa Ag and Iowa farmers.

As the old paradigm splinters into rage-filled, grief-stricken fragments, how can we lay the foundation for the total systemic change we so badly need?Even beyond the listeners to this podcast, it is obvious by now that there is no going back. As Oliver Kornetzke wrote in a particularly sharply written piece on Facebook back on 22nd January - before Alex Pretti was murdered by Trump's Federal Agents - what white America is not experiencing is not new, and is not a flaw in the system, it is the system.  This is what he says in more detail: White Americans are not witnessing the collapse of something noble. They're witnessing the unveiling of what has always been true. The rot now visible is not a flaw in the foundation. Rather, it is the foundation. It was poured with concrete, inscribed into laws, and baked into the American mythos. The violence, the inequality, and the selective application of “justice”—none of it is a betrayal of the American promise. It is the American promise, applied unevenly by design.For centuries, Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities have lived under the weight of this system—disenfranchised, disappeared, surveilled, caged, and killed. They were told to be patient, to be peaceful, to vote harder, to “work within the system.” And when they told the unvarnished truth—that the system is the violence—they were mocked, criminalized, and ignored.Now the machinery begins to grind down those it once served, and only now does the shock begin to register. But this isn't the system breaking. It's merely the mask coming off.The laws of this land protects power and wealth. It has always protected power and wealth. The state defends itself. And democracy here has always been ornamental—used to sanctify what power had already decided. The rule of law is not impartial. It's a weapon, a performance, a convenience afforded to the privileged. The pageantry of justice is reserved for those never meant to feel its weight.What you're seeing now is not the end of the American dream. It is the truth of the American reality, finally uninterested in disguising itself. The empire is simply turning inward.Many will not want to read this. They will flinch, deflect, and rationalize. They will call me divisive, bitter, and extreme. They will attack, argue, and dismiss. And in doing so, they will only prove the point by choosing their comfort over clarity, and their denial over responsibility. Because that, too, is by design: the privilege of ignoring the truth until it shows up at your own door.So what do we do?  It is a founding principle of this podcast that there is still time to turn the bus that is humanity from the edge of the cliff of species-level extinction. We believe the Egregor, the Super-Organism, the death cult of predatory capitalism... whatever you like to call it, is in its death throes.  In its flailing, it might yet take us all with it, but that's not a given and in every single act of compassion, courage and community that we're seeing around the world from Greenland, to Venezuela, to Minnesota and beyond, we are building the leading edge of a new system. But we need a spiritual base to this.  I genuinely think we get through only if we can lift ourselves out of our Trauma Culture and into a new way of being - an Initiation Culture fit for the twenty first century.  We talk about this a lot on the podcast, and sometimes, we talk to other people who get this, and who are working explicitly towards a shift in consciousness of the whole human race.  Today's episode is one of those. Our guest is Marc-John Brown who describes himself with characteristic humility, as an integration coach, transpersonal life coach, and spiritually-oriented business coach. Since 2019, he has been an apprentice of the Shipibo-Konibo tribe of the Peruvian Amazon Jungle and an ally and collaborator among multiple other living indigenous peoples. Having met him, I'd say that Marc-John  is deeply connected with the spirits of the land in a way that is both profoundly wise, and deeply grounded.  He is one of those who comes to Elderhood at a young age, moving through the world with dignity and humility, helping others to reach the core of what it is to be human at this moment of total transformation.  Born and raised in Scotland, he has a deep spiritual connection to south America and to the indigenous peoples of that land. With his wife, Erika Huarcaya a native Peruvian of the Chanka peoples, Marc-John runs the Native Wisdom Hub, which seeks to bring people of our culture - the white, western culture that is currently eating itself alive - into authentic, enduring connection with the web of life such that we can all begin to change the way we are in the world.  On a recent Substack post, Marc-John says, 'We believe that, in large part, healing happens through nervous system co-regulation between indigenous wisdom keepers and modern seekers. Building healthy relationships. Creating psychological safety. Allowing trust to grow where mistrust has festered.'So this conversation delves deeply into the nature of the trauma we experience - and how we might heal the relationships between all parts of ourselves, ourselves and each other, ourselves and the web of life.  LinksNative Wisdom Hub https://www.nativewisdomhub.com/NWH on FB https://www.facebook.com/nativewisdomhub/Marc-John's Substack https://substack.com/@marcjohnbrownOliver Korntezke on FB https://www.facebook.com/okornetzkeWhat we offer—If you'd like to support us, come along and join the Accidental Gods Membership. Here, you can share in the ideas, the programme that will help you connect to the Web of Life in ways that will last—and you can come to the Gatherings half price. Or if that doesn't appeal, come along to one of the Gatherings. Or buy a subscription/Gathering for a friend... do something that feels like a good exchange of energy and minimises our connection with old economic paradigm. Remember that if any of this is difficult, contact us and we'll find something that works for you. Details below: We offer three strands all rooted in the same soil, drawing from the same river: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass If you'd like to join our next Open Gathering offered as part of our Accidental Gods Programme, it's 'Honouring Fear as your Mentor' on Sunday 8th February 2026 from 16:00 - 20:00 GMT - details are here. You don't have to be a member - but if you are, all Gatherings are half price.If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life. If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here. If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass

In this episode: The pace is picking up in the Florida Legislature, which is now into the third week of its 2026 session. Bills have begun moving that would give a tax break to Philip Morris; let people pay for vending machine lottery tickets with debit cards; strip local communities of the power to regulate everything from religious gatherings to home playgrounds; block teenagers from obtaining birth control without permission from a parent — oh, and rename a major airport after Donald Trump. An update from Day 15 of Florida's 60-day legislative session.Show notes The bill's discussed in today's show: House Bill 377 — Heated Tobacco ProductsPassed the House Ways & Means Committee by 14-1 vote (vote sheet)Senate Bill 530 — State LotteriesPassed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee by a 9-0 vote (vote sheet)Senate Bill 1444 — Preemption to the StatePassed the Senate Community Affairs Committee by 6-2 vote (vote sheet)House Bill 173 — Parental RightsPassed the House Health & Human Services Committee by a 19-7 vote (vote sheet)Senate Bill 706 — Commercial Service AirportsPassed the Senate Transportation Committee by a 9-0 vote (vote sheet)Senate Bill 332 — Public MeetingsPassed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 10-0 vote (vote sheet)House Bill 167 — Former Phosphate Mining LandsPassed the Senate Rules Committee by a 22-0 vote (vote sheet)House Bill 1119 — Materials Harmful to MinorsPassed the House Education & Employment Committee by a 16-5 vote (vote sheet)House Bill 7009 — OGSR/Public Service CommissionPassed the House State Affairs Committee by a 24-1 vote (vote sheet)House Bill 981 — Tributaries of St. Johns RiverPassed the House Budget Committee by a 28-0 vote (vote sheet)Senate Bill 290 — Department of Agriculture and Consumer ServicesPostponed by the Senate Rules Committee without a voteStories discussed on today's show: DeSantis grants tax favor for Philip Morris after $500,000 giftFlorida AG made sweeping claims in confidential abortion caseWho's behind a thorny Florida property rights bill? A real estate empireA gun company gave lots of money to Florida lawmakers. Now it's lobbying for legal immunity.Questions or comments? Send ‘em to Garcia.JasonR@gmail.comListen to the show: Apple | SpotifyWatch the show: YouTube Get full access to Seeking Rents at jasongarcia.substack.com/subscribe

Byron Kominek knew the family farm needed a more profitable crop than hay to survive.  By installing  photovoltaic panels and growing crops underneath, he now supplies electricity to 300 neighboring houses while also producing food and hosting educational programs at what is now a popular learning center.

Farm+Food+Facts host Joanna Guza talks with Gary Wickham, founder and CEO of MagrowTec, about how better spray performance is reducing grower input costs and down time, and what questions to ask agronomists.   To stay connected with USFRA, join our newsletter and become involved in our efforts, here.  

*Feedlot inventories continue to shrink.   *There's an investigation of Mexican tomato imports.  *The number of screwworm cases in northern Mexico continues to rise. *A Texas High Plains rancher is seeing red, but he's actually happy about it.*The show goes on in Cowtown.  *The Trump administration could soon release details on a biofuels rule that encourages fuel producers to buy more feedstocks like corn and soybeans.  *Winter storm Fern packed a big punch in the Texas Rolling Plains.*Cattle have a well developed sense of smell.  

In this powerful and timely conversation, Tracy speaks with Lauren Van Ewyk, a registered social worker, therapist, sheep farmer, foster mom, and dedicated agricultural mental-health advocate. Lauren brings both personal and professional insight into the challenges farmers face and the critically needed support systems being built today. From stress and financial uncertainty to rural isolation and family dynamics, this episode unpacks what is too often kept quiet in agriculture — and shines a light on real solutions and hope. What You'll Learn in This Episode • How Lauren's farm upbringing and social work background drive her mission • The story behind the National Farmer Mental Health Alliance • Services, tools, and resources available to farmers right now • How farmers can access therapy: cost, confidentiality, and convenience • The purpose and impact of the Rural Well Podcast • What "agriculture-informed therapy" means and why it's essential • Myths and misconceptions about mental health in agriculture • How financial stress affects farmer well-being • The effects of rural isolation and how to reduce disconnection • Signs and red flags that signal professional support may help • Insights and surprises Lauren has discovered through her work • Why she's optimistic about the future of mental health in agriculture • A vision for better support systems industry-wide • How to connect with NFMHA and access help Episode Highlights ✔ Honest talk about invisible pressures on farmers ✔ Strategies to build resilience and support networks ✔ A hopeful look at progress across rural communities ✔ A reminder that strong people still need support Farmer mental health is not a luxury — it's foundational to our food system, our rural economy, and our families. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. There is help. There is hope. And conversations like this one are how change begins. Thanks for tuning in friends, Tracy SHOW RESOURCES - National Farmer Mental Health Alliance https://nfmha.ca - Rural Well Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rural-well/id1763638851 ============ ✅ CONNECT With The Impact Farming Show & Farm Marketer

Today’s episode features the latest in agribusiness news, markets and weather with Tony St. James [...]

Vance McCoy - Lead Educator for Transitional Ag Consulting Powered by Graze Master and Kerry Hoffschneider - Executive Director of the Graze Master Group talk frankly about what's happening on the frontlines of agriculture, and how we can make a life, not just a living on the farm and ranch.These are serious times and the Graze Master Group, led by real farmers and ranchers and agriculturists with global and local ag business experience, has developed pathways to increase soil health, enhance water conservation, and more. -- To learn more about the Graze Master Group network visit www.grazemastergroup.com or call/text Kerry Hoffschneider at (402) 363-8963.  -- Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe. HOST: Kerry Hoffschneider GUESTS: Vance McCoy --CREDITS: Mitchell Roush, ProducerBibi Luevano, Cover ArtPurple Planet Music, Theme

Agricultural yields across sub-Saharan Africa are falling. We can create better seeds, fertilisers and insecticides which has the potential to increase agricultural yields. But what stops that potential being realised? We put a lot of attention on how to influence the behaviour or the choices of farmers, but what can policy also do to help the firms, large and small, that provide the inputs that farmers use? Hope Michelson of the University of Illinois is one of the authors of a new review of agricultural input markets. She tells Tim Phillips about the important gaps in our knowledge of how those markets are working.

In this episode, Secretary Brooke Rollins joins the show to break down how agricultural policy intersects with food prices, national security, and public health under President Donald Trump. Rollins discusses the mounting challenges facing American farmers, the real-world impact of tariffs on agriculture, and why transparency and compliance in food labeling matter more than ever. Lisa & Sec. Rollins also dive into the Make America Healthy Again movement, highlighting efforts to promote healthier eating while strengthening domestic food supply chains. Rollins underscores the urgency of protecting American farmland from foreign ownership—particularly by China—and explains why agricultural independence is a core pillar of U.S. national security.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, Amy Vu and Dr. Jamie Ellis discuss yellow-legged hornets with David Williams, Senior Manager in the Plant Protection Division for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. This episode ends with a Q&A segment. Check out our website: www.ufhoneybee.com for additional resources from today's episode. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently launched its new Regenerative Agriculture Pilot Program. That means more funding for Montana farmers and ranchers who prioritize the health of the land they work.

What does it mean to build a life with horses – both inside the rodeo arena and at home? On this episode of Beyond the Barn, host Katy Starr chats with Mitch Pollock, NFR saddle bronc rider, rancher, and Backyard Bash producer, for an honest conversation about horsemanship, mindset, and the values that shape life beyond competition, including: How his very first saddle bronc ride landed him on the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) rodeo teamWhy mindset and horsemanship matter just as much as physical abilityThe hard truth about rodeo careers that most riders don't want to talk about and how he's planning ahead Whether you're a rodeo fan, horse owner, or someone who values the Western way of life, this episode offers meaningful insight into what it looks like to live with purpose. 

Nationally, we'll look at a new law aimed at helping dairy farmers grow their market to schools. Statewide, we recognize farmers and ag leaders appointed to the state FSA Committee, and hear from the winner of the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association's Horizon Award. Federation news features the Taste of Alabama annual event and a major donation to Children's of Alabama.Finally, we'll hear report of crops with the Commodity Column, find out how ag is doing at the Alabama Legislature, and check the markets for any movement.From the Commodity Column:The 31st annual Alabama Extension Beekeeping Symposium is Feb. 7 at Wallace State Community College. The cost to attend is $45. Register by Feb. 1.Alabama Extension has launched a new master Beef Producer training program where cattle farmers can learn the newest technologies and best management practices during 15 classroom sessions. Workshops will be in Northport and are a joint effort between Tuscaloosa County Extension and Tuscaloosa County Cattlemen's Association. Starting March 2, classes will be every Monday and Tuesday evening until April 20. Learn more.Registration is still open for the Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Annual Conference & Trade Show Feb. 4-6 in Gulf Shores. Register and view agenda.The Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment's Emmett & ViAnn Thompson Lecture in Forest Economics and Policy is Feb. 25 at The Hotel at Auburn University. The keynote speaker is Cade Warner, president and CEO of The Westervelt Co. Learn more.The Alabama Peanut Producers Association is hosting a series of peanut grower production meetings in conjunction with Alabama Extension and Auburn University College of Agriculture. Growers are encouraged t

Gbenga Ajilore analyzes how recent policy changes are creating challenges for rural communities. Topics include rural hospitals facing closure as ACA subsidies expire, electricity price increases amid clean energy program cancellations, and concerns about state-level management of food assistance programs.

*The first Cattle on Feed report of the year was mostly neutral.  *U.S. dairy farmers can now sign up for 2026 through the Dairy Margin Coverage program.  *Cow herd rebuilding should be underway. *Some Southern Plains farmers are looking at making significant changes for the future.*Continued innovation in seed research holds big potential for farmers.  *USDA has launched a new tool for reporting foreign agricultural land purchases.*The colder weather should benefit Central Texas wheat.*Cribbing is a centuries-old problem in horses.

Today’s episode features the latest in agribusiness news, markets and weather with Tony St. James [...]

The EU and India have hailed their new free trade agreement as "the mother of all deals". While the pact eliminates or significantly reduces tariffs on a vast majority of goods traded between the two sides, it excludes politically sensitive farming products. We take a closer look. Also in the segment, some Cypriot fishermen have taken their battle against invasive fish to the dinner table. 

Jacob sits down with agricultural economist Dr. David Kohl to unpack what a brutal downturn in farm profitability reveals about globalization, capital concentration, labor shortages, and long-term economic resilience. The two touch on tariffs, debt, and the limits of export-led growth, and then the conversation widens to examine how technology, demographics, and financial fragility are reshaping both rural America and the national economy. --Timestamps:(00:00) - Introduction (00:56) - Discussion on US Ag Economy(02:17) - Challenges and Opportunities in Agriculture(07:09) - Land Values and Institutional Investments(12:24) - Generational Transition in Farming(18:02) - Export Markets vs. Domestic Focus(23:03) - Future Trends and Strategic Insights(25:55) - Venture Capital in Agriculture(28:09) - Economic Outlook for 2026(29:21) - The K-Shaped Economy Explained(31:39) - Impact of AI and Job Cuts(34:55) - Global Economic Concerns(41:05) - Technological Advancements in Farming(49:39) - Financial Literacy and Life Skills(51:32) - Closing Remarks and Future Outlook--Referenced in the Show:Dave Kohl: https://www.farmprogress.com/author/david-kohl--Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapJacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe --The Jacob Shapiro Show is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com--Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today's volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.--

In this episode, Bill Scherkenbach, one of W. Edwards Deming's closest protégés, and host Andrew Stotz discuss why leadership decisions shape outcomes far more than frontline effort. Bill draws on decades of firsthand experience with Deming and with businesses across industries. Through vivid stories and practical insights, the conversation challenges leaders and learners alike to rethink responsibility, decision-making, and what it truly takes to build lasting quality. Bill's powerpoint is available here. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.2 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussions with Bill Scherkenbach, a dedicated protégé of Dr. Deming since 1972. Bill met with Dr. Deming more than a thousand times and later led statistical methods and process improvement at Ford and GM at Dr. Deming's recommendation. He authored the Deming Route to Quality and Productivity at Deming's behest and at 79, still champions his mentor's message: Learn, have fun, and make a difference. The discussion for today is, I think we're going to get an answer to this question. And the question is: Where is quality made? Bill, take it away.   0:00:44.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Where is quality made? I can hear the mellifluous doctor saying that. And the answer is: In the boardroom, not on the factory floor. And over and over again, he would say that it's the quality of the decisions that the management make that can far outweigh anything that happens on the shop floor. And when he would speak about that, he would first of all, because he was talking to the auto industry, he would talk about who's making carburetors anymore. "Nobody's making carburetors because it's all fuel injectors," he would say. And anyone who has been following this, another classic one is: Do you ever hear of a bank that failed? Do you think that failed because of mistakes in tellers' windows or calculations of interest? Heck no. But there are a whole bunch of other examples that are even more current, if you will. I mean, although this isn't that current, but Blockbuster had fantastic movies, a whole array of them, the highest quality resolutions, and they completely missed the transition to streaming. And Netflix and others took it completely away from them because of mistakes made in the boardroom. You got more recently Bed Bath & Beyond having a great product, a great inventory.   0:02:51.4 Bill Scherkenbach: But management took their eyes off of it and looked at, they were concerned about stock buybacks and completely lost the picture of what was happening. It was perfect. It was a great product, but it was a management decision. WeWork, another company supplying office places. It was great in COVID and in other areas, but through financial mismanagement, they also ended up going bust. And so there are, I mean, these are examples of failures, but as Dr. Deming also said, don't confuse success with success. If you think you're making good decisions, you got to ask yourself how much better could it have been if you tried something else. So, quality is made in the boardroom, not on the factory floor.   0:04:07.9 Andrew Stotz: I had an interesting encounter this week and I was teaching a class, and there was a guy that came up and talked to me about his company. His company was a Deming Prize from Japan winner. And that was maybe 20, 25 years ago. They won their first Deming Prize, and then subsidiaries within the company won it. So the actual overall company had won something like nine or 10 Deming Prizes over a couple decades. And the president became...   0:04:43.5 Bill Scherkenbach: What business are they in?   0:04:45.5 Andrew Stotz: Well, they're in...   0:04:47.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Of winning prizes?   0:04:48.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I mean, they definitely, the CEO got the distinguished individual prize because he was so dedicated to the teachings of Dr. Deming. And he really, really expanded the business well, the business did well. A new CEO took over 15 years ago, 10 years ago, and took it in another direction. And right now the company is suffering losses and many other problems that they're facing. And I asked the guy without talking about Deming, I just asked him what was the difference between the prior CEO and the current one or the current regimes that have come in. And he said that the prior CEO, it was so clear what the direction was. Like, he set the direction and we all knew what we were doing. And I just thought now as you talk about, the quality is made at the boardroom, it just made me really think back to that conversation and that was what he noticed more than anything. Yeah well, we were really serious about keeping the factory clean or we used statistics or run charts, that was just what he said, I thought that was pretty interesting.   0:06:06.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. And that reminds me of another comment that Dr. Deming was vehement about, and that was was the management turnover. Turnovers in boardrooms every 18 months or so, except maybe in family businesses. But that's based on the quality of decisions made in the boardroom. How fast do you want to turn over the CEOs and that C-suite? So it's going to go back to the quality is made in the boardroom.   0:06:50.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, and I think maybe it's a good chance for me to share the slide that you have. And let's maybe look at that graphic. Does that makes sense now?   0:07:00.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Sure, for sure.   0:07:02.2 Andrew Stotz: Let's do that. Let's do that. Hold on. All right.   0:07:15.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Okay, okay, okay. You can see on the top left, we'll start the story. I've got to give you a background. This was generated based on my series of inputs and prompts, but this was generated by Notebook LM and based on the information I put in, this is what they came up with.   0:07:48.6 Andrew Stotz: Interesting.   0:07:50.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Based on various information, which I think did a fairly decent job. In any event, we're going to talk about all of these areas, except maybe the one where it says principles for active leadership, because that was the subject of a couple of our vlogs a while ago, and that is the three foundational obligations. And so the thing is that quality, even though Dr. Deming said it was made in the boardroom, one of the problems is that management did not know what questions to ask, and they would go, and Dr. Deming railed against MBWA, management by walking around, primarily because management hadn't made the transition to really take on board what Dr. Deming was talking about in profound knowledge. And that is, as you've mentioned, setting that vision, continually improving around it, and pretty much absolutely essential was to reduce fear within the organization.   0:09:25.9 Bill Scherkenbach: And so management by walking around without profound knowledge, which we've covered in previous talks, only gets you dog and pony shows. And with the fear in the organization, you're going to be carefully guided throughout a wonderful story. I mentioned I was in Disney with some of my granddaughters over the holidays, and they tell a wonderful story, but you don't ever see what's behind the scenery. And management never gets the chance because they really haven't had the opportunity to attain profound knowledge. So that's one of the things. I want to back up a little bit because Dr. Deming would... When Dr. Deming said quality is made at the top, he only agreed to help companies where the top management invited him, he wasn't out there marketing. If they invited him to come in, he would first meet with them and they had to convince him they were serious about participating, if not leading their improvement. And given that, that litmus test, he then agreed to work with them. Very few companies did he agree to on that. And again as we said, the quality of the decisions and questions and passion that determine the successfulness of the company. And so.   0:11:40.0 Andrew Stotz: It made me think about that letter you shared that he was saying about that there was, I think it was within the government and government department that just wasn't ready for change and so he wasn't going to work with it. I'm just curious, like what do you think was his... How did he make that judgment?   0:12:00.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, it wasn't high enough. And again, I don't know how high you'd have to go in there. But quite honestly, what we spoke about privately was in politics and in the federal government, at least in the US, things change every four years. And so you have management turnover. And so what one manager, as you described, one CEO is in there and another one comes in and wants to do it their way, they're singing Frank Sinatra's My Way. But that's life….   0:12:49.3 Andrew Stotz: Another great song.   0:12:50.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Another, yes.   0:12:52.1 Andrew Stotz: And it's not like he was an amateur with the government.   0:12:57.5 Bill Scherkenbach: No.   0:13:00.3 Andrew Stotz: He had a lot of experience from a young age, really working closely with the government. Do you think that he saw there was some areas that were worth working or did he just kind of say it's just not worth the effort there or what was his conclusions as he got older?   0:13:16.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, as he got older, it might, it was the turnover in management. When he worked for Agriculture, although agriculture is political, and he worked for Census Bureau back when he worked there, it wasn't that political, it's very political now. But there was more a chance for constancy and more of a, their aim was to do the best survey or census that they could do. And so the focus was on setting up systems that would deliver that. But that's what his work with the government was prior to when things really broke loose when he started with Ford and GM and got all the people wanting him in.   0:14:27.0 Andrew Stotz: I've always had questions about this at the top concept and the concept of constancy of purpose. And I'm just pulling out your Deming Route to Quality and Productivity, which, it's a lot of dog ears, but let's just go to chapter one just to remind ourselves. And that you started out with point number one, which was create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service with the aim to become competitive, stay in business and provide jobs. One of my questions I always kind of thought about that one was that at first I just thought he was saying just have a constancy of purpose. But the constancy of purpose is improvement of product and service.   0:15:13.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, yes and no. I mean, that's what he said. I believe I was quoting what his point number one was. And as it developed, it was very important to add, I believe, point number five on continual improvement. But constancy of purpose is setting the stage, setting the vision if you will, of where you want to take the company. And in Western management, and this is an area where there really is and was a dichotomy between Western and Eastern management. But in Western management, our concept of time was short-term. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And he had a definite problem with that. And that's how you could come up with, well, we're going to go with this fad and that fad or this CEO and that CEO. There was no thinking through the longer term of, as some folks ask, "what is your aim? Who do you think your customer base is now?" don't get suckered into thinking that carburetors are always going to be marketable to that market base. And so that's where he was going with that constancy of purpose. And in the beginning, I think that was my first book you're quoting, but also, in some of his earlier works, he also spoke of consistency of purpose, that is reducing the variation around that aim, that long-term vision, that aim.   0:17:19.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Now, in my second book, I got at least my learning said that you've got to go beyond the logical understanding and your constancy of purpose needs to be a mission, a values and questions. And those people who have who have listened to the the previous vlogs that we've had, those are the physiological and emotional. And I had mentioned, I think, that when when I went to GM, one of the things I did was looked up all the policy letters and the ones that Alfred Sloan wrote had pretty much consistency of three main points. One, make no mistake about it, this is what we're going to do. Two, this is why we're going to do it, logical folks who need to understand that. And to give a little bit of insight on on how he was feeling about it. Sometimes it was value, but those weren't spoken about too much back then. But it gave you an insider view, if you will. And so I looked at that, maybe I was overlooking. But I saw a physiological and emotional in his policy letters.   0:19:00.7 Bill Scherkenbach: And so that's got to be key when you are establishing your vision, but that's only the beginning of it. You have to operationalize it, and this is where management has to get out of the boardroom to see what's going on. Now, that's going to be the predictable, and some of your clients, and certainly the ones over in Asia, are speaking about Lean and Toyota Production System and going to the Gemba and all of those terms. But I see a need to do a reverse Gemba and we'll talk about that.   0:19:49.6 Andrew Stotz: So, I just want to dig deeper into this a little bit just for my own selfish understanding, which I think will help the audience also. Let's go back in time and say that the, Toyota, let's take Toyota as an example because we can say maybe in the 60s or so, they started to really understand that the improvement of product quality, products and service quality and all that was a key thing that was important to them. But they also had a goal of expanding worldwide. And their first step with that maybe was, let's just say, the big step was expanding to the US. Now, in order to expand to the US successfully, it's going to take 10, maybe 20 years. In the beginning, the cars aren't going to fit the market, you're going to have to adapt and all that. So I can understand first, let's imagine that somebody says our constancy of purpose is to continuously improve or let's say, not continuously, but let's just go back to that statement just to keep it clear. Let's say, create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service with the aim to become competitive, stay in business and provide jobs.   0:21:07.2 Andrew Stotz: So the core constancy in that statement to me sounds like the improvement. And then if we say, okay, also our vision of where we want to be with this company is we want to capture, let's say, 5% of the US market share within the next 15 years or five or 10 years. So you've got to have constancy of that vision, repeating it, not backing down from it, knowing that you're going to have to modify it. But what's the difference between a management or a leadership team in the boardroom setting a commitment to improvement versus a commitment to a goal of let's say, expanding the market into the US. How do we think about those two.   0:21:53.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well as you reread what I wrote there, which is Dr. Deming's words and they led into the, I forget what he called it, but he led into the progression of as you improve quality, you improve productivity, you reduce costs.   0:22:33.6 Andrew Stotz: Chain reaction.   0:22:34.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah, the chain reaction. That's a mini version of the chain reaction there. And at the time, that's what people should be signing up for. Now the thing is that doesn't, or at least the interpretations haven't really gone to the improvement of the board's decision-making process. I mean, where he was going for was you want to be able to do your market research because his sampling and doing the market research was able to close the loop to make that production view a system, a closed-loop system. And so you wanted to make sure that you're looking far enough out to be able to have a viable product or service and not get caught up in short-term thinking. Now, but again, short-term is relative. In the US, you had mentioned 10 or 20 years, Toyota, I would imagine they still are looking 100 years out. They didn't get suckered into the over-committing anyway to the electric vehicles. Plug-in hybrids, yes, hybrids yes, very efficient gas motors, yes. But their constancy of purpose is a longer time frame than the Western time frame.   0:24:27.1 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, that was a real attack on the structure that they had built to say when they were being told by the market and by everybody, investors, you've got to shift now, you've got to make a commitment to 100% EVs. I remember watching one of the boardroom, sorry, one of the shareholder meetings, and it's just exhausting, the pressure that they were under.   0:24:55.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep, yep. But there... Yeah.   0:25:00.0 Andrew Stotz: If we take a kid, a young kid growing up and we just say, look, your main objective, and my main objective with you is to every day improve. Whatever that is, let's say we're learning science.   0:25:17.3 Bill Scherkenbach: You're improving around your aim. What is your vision? What are you trying to accomplish? And that obviously, if you're you're saying a kid that could change otherwise there'd be an oversupply of firemen.   0:25:38.5 Andrew Stotz: So let's say that the aim was related to science. Let's say that the kid shows a really great interest in science and you're kind of coaching them along and they're like, "Help me, I want to learn everything I can in science." The aim may be a bit vague for the kid, but let's say that we narrow down that aim to say, we want to get through the main topics of science from physics to chemistry and set a foundation of science, which we think's going to take us a year to do that, let's just say. Or whatever. Whatever time frame we come up with, then every day the idea is, how do we number one improve around that aim? Are we teaching the right topics? Also, is there better ways of teaching? Like, this kid maybe learns better in the afternoon and in the morning, whereas another kid I may work with works better in another... And this kid likes five-minute modules and then some practical discussion, this kid likes, an hour of going deep into something and then having an experiment is when we're talking about improvement, is the idea that we're just always trying to improve around that aim until we reach a really optimized system? Is that what we're talking about when we're talking about constancy of purpose when it comes to improving product and service?   0:27:14.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Well there's a whole process that I take my clients through in coming up with their constancy of purpose statement. And the board should be looking at what the community is doing in the next five years, 10 years, where the market is going, where politics is going, all sorts of things. And some of it. I mean, specifically in the science area, it's fairly well recognized that the time of going generation to generation to generation has gone from years to maybe weeks where you have different iterations of technology. And so that's going to complicate stuff quite honestly, because what was good today can be, as Dr. Deming said, the world could change. And that's what you've got to deal with or you're out of business. Or you're out of relevance in what you're studying. And so you have to... If you if you have certain interests, and the interests are driven... It's all going to be internal. Some interests are driven because that's where I hear you can make the most money or that's where I hear you can make the most impact to society or whatever your internal interests are saying that those are key to establishing what your aim is.   0:29:25.7 Andrew Stotz: Okay. You've got some PowerPoints and we've been talking about some of it. But I just want to pull it up and make sure we don't miss anything. I think this is the first text page, maybe just see if there's anything you want to highlight from that. Otherwise we'll move to the next.   0:29:43.0 Bill Scherkenbach: No I think we've we've covered that. Yeah, yeah. And the second page. Yeah, I wanted to talk and I only mentioned it when the Lean folks and the Agile folks talk about Gemba, they're pretty much talking about getting the board out. It's the traditional management by walking around, seeing what happens. Hugely, hugely important. But one of the things, I had one of my clients. Okay, okay. No, that's in the the next one.   0:30:29.4 Andrew Stotz: There you go.   0:30:30.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Okay, yeah. I had one of one of my clients do a reverse Gemba. And that is, that the strategy committee would be coming up with strategies and then handing it off to the operators to execute. And that's pretty much the way stuff was done in this industry and perhaps in many of them. But what we did was we had the operators, the operating committee, the operations committee, sit in as a peanut gallery or a, oh good grief. Well, you couldn't say a thing, you could only observe what they were doing. But it helped the operators better understand and see and feel what the arguments were, what the discussions were in the strategy, so that they as operators were better able to execute the strategy. And so not the board going out and down, but the folks that are below going up if it helps them better execute what's going on. But vice versa, management can't manage the 94%, and Dr. Deming was purposely giving people marbles, sometimes he'd say 93.4%. You know the marble story?   0:32:37.5 Andrew Stotz: I remember that [laughter]. Maybe you should tell that again just because that was a fun one when he was saying to, give them marbles, and they gave me marbles back.   0:32:45.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, he said there was this professor in oral surgery that said there was a an Asian mouse or cricket, whatever, that would... You put in your mouth and they would eat all of the... Be able to clean the gums of all the bacteria better than anything. And described it in detail. And that question was on the test. Okay, please describe this mouse procedure. And he said all of the people, or a whole bunch of people except one, gave him back exactly step by step that he had taught. And one said, Professor, I've talked to other professors, I've looked around, I think you're loading us, that's what Deming said. And so he made the point that teaching should not be teachers handing out marbles and collecting the same marbles they they handed out. And so to some extent, he was testing, being overly precise.   0:34:12.8 Bill Scherkenbach: He wanted people to look into it, to see, go beyond as you were speaking of earlier, going beyond this shocking statement that there perhaps is some way that that really makes sense. So he wants you to study. Very Socratic in his approach to teaching in my opinion. And any event, management can't understand or make inputs on changing what the various levels of willing workers, and you don't have to be on the shop floor, you can be in the C-suite and be willing workers depending on how your company is operating. Go ahead.   0:35:12.0 Andrew Stotz: So let me... Maybe I can, just for people that don't know, Gemba is a Japanese word that means "the actual place," right? The place where the value is created.   0:35:23.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Sure.   0:35:26.2 Andrew Stotz: And the whole concept of this was that it's kind of almost nonsense to think that you could sit up in an office and run something and never see the location of where the problem's happening or what's going on. And all of a sudden many things become clear when you go to the location and try to dig down into it. However, from Dr. Deming context, I think what you're telling us is that if the leader doesn't have profound knowledge, all they're going to do is go to the location and chase symptoms and disrupt work, ultimately...   0:36:02.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Get the dog and pony shows and all of that stuff. And they still won't have a clue. The thing is...   0:36:08.6 Andrew Stotz: So the objective at the board level, if they were to actually go to the place, the objective is observation of the system, of how management decisions have affected this. What is the system able to produce? And that gives them a deeper understanding to think about what's their next decision that they've got to make in relation to this. Am I capturing it right or?   0:36:40.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well there's a lot more to it, I think, because top management, the board level, are the ones that set the vision, the mission, the values, the guiding principle, and the questions. And I think it's incumbent on the board to be able to go through the ranks and see how their constancy of purpose, the intended, where they want to take the place is being interpreted throughout the organization because, and I know it's an oversimplification and maybe a broad generalization, but middle management... Well, there are layers of management everywhere based on their aim to get ahead, will effectively stop communication upstream and downstream in order to fill their particular aim of what they want to get out of it. And so this is a chance for the top management to see, because they're doing their work, establishing the vision of the company, which is the mission, values and questions, they really should be able to go layer by layer as they're walking around seeing how those, their constancy, their intended constancy is being interpreted and executed. And so that's where beyond understanding how someone is operating a lathe or an accountant is doing a particular calculation, return on invested capital, whatever.   0:38:47.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Beyond that, I think it's important for management to be able to absolutely see what is happening. But the Gemba that I originally spoke about is just the other way. You've got the strategy people that are higher up, and you have the operations people that are typically, well, they might be the same level, but typically lower. You want the lower people to sit in on some higher meetings so they have a better idea of the intent, management's intent in this constancy of purpose. And that will help them execute, operationalize what management has put on paper or however they've got it and are communicating it. It just helps. So when I talk about Gemba, I'm talking the place where the quality is made or the action is. As the boardroom, you need to be able to have people understand and be able to see what's going on there, and all the way up the chain and all the way down the chain.   0:40:14.4 Andrew Stotz: That's great one. I'm just visualizing people in the operations side thinking, we've got some real problems here and we don't really understand it. We've got to go to the actual place, and that's the boardroom[laughter]. It's not the factory line.   0:40:31.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. Absolutely. And if the boardroom says you're not qualified, then shame on you, the boardroom, are those the people you're hiring? So no, it goes both ways, both ways.   0:40:46.8 Andrew Stotz: Now, you had a final slide here. Maybe you want to talk a little bit about some of the things you've identified here.   0:40:53.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Okay, that's getting back to, in the logical area of this TDQA is my cycle: Theory, question, data, action. And it's based on Dr. Deming and Shewhart and Lewis saying, where do questions come from? They're based on theory. What do you do with questions? Well, the answers to questions are your data. And you're just not going to do nothing with data, you're supposed to take action. What are you going to do with it? And so the theory I'm going to address, the various questions I've found helpful in order to, to some extent, make the decisions better, the ability to operationalize them better and perhaps even be more creative, if you will. And so one of the questions I ask any team is, have you asked outside experts their opinion? Have you included them? Have you included someone to consistently, not consistently, but to take a contrarian viewpoint that their job in this meeting is to play the devil's advocate? And the theory is you're looking for a different perspective as Pete Jessup at Ford came up with that brilliant view of Escher's.   0:42:47.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Different perspectives are going to help you make a better decision. And so you want to get out of the echo chamber and you want to be challenged. Every team should be able to have some of these on there. What's going to get delayed? The underlying theory or mental model is, okay, you don't have people sitting around waiting for this executive committee to come up with new things, time is a zero-sum game. What's going to get delayed and what are they willing to get delayed if this is so darn important to get done? Decision criteria. I've seen many teams where they thought that the decision would be a majority rule. They discuss and when it came down to submit it, they said, "no, no, this VP is going to make the decision." And so that completely sours the next team to do that. And so you have to be, if you're saying trust, what's your definition of trust? If the people know that someone is going to make the decision with your advice or the executive's going to get two votes and everyone else gets one, or it's just simple voting.   0:44:35.3 Bill Scherkenbach: The point is that making the decision and taking it to the next level, the theory is you've got to be specific and relied on. Team turnover, fairly simple. We spoke about executive turnover, which was a huge concern that Dr. Deming had about Western management. But at one major auto company, we would have product teams and someone might be in charge of, be a product manager for a particular model car. Well, if that person was a hard charger and it took product development at the time was three and a half years, you're going to get promoted from a director level to a VP halfway through and you're going to screw up the team, other team members will be leaving as well because they have careers. You need to change the policy just to be able to say, if you agree that you're going to lead this team, you're going to lead it from start to finish and to minimize the hassle and the problems and the cost of turnover, team turnover. And this is a short list of stuff, but it's very useful to have a specific "no-fault policy."   0:46:20.6 Bill Scherkenbach: And this is where Dr. Deming speaks about reducing fear. I've seen teams who know they can really, once management turns on the spigot and says, let's really do this, this is important, the team is still hesitant to really let it go because that management might interpret that as saying, "well, what are you doing, slacking off the past year?" As Deming said, "why couldn't you do that if you could do it with no method, why didn't you do it last year?" but the fear in the organization, well, we're going to milk it. And so all of these things, it helps to be visible to everyone.   0:47:23.0 Andrew Stotz: So, I guess we should probably wrap up and I want to go back to where we started. And first, we talked about, where is quality made? And we talked about the boardroom. Why is this such an important topic from your perspective? Why did you want to talk about it? And what would you say is the key message you want to get across from it?   0:47:47.1 Bill Scherkenbach: The key message is that management thinks quality's made in operations. And it's the quality of the... I wanted to put a little bit more meat, although there's a lot more meat, we do put on it. But the quality of the organization, I wanted to make the point depends on the quality of the decisions, that's their output that top leaders make, whether it's the board or the C-suite or any place making decisions. The quality of your decisions.   0:48:28.9 Andrew Stotz: Excellent. And I remember, this reminds me of when I went to my first Deming seminar back in 1990, roughly '89, maybe '90. And I was a young guy just starting as a supervisor at a warehouse in our Torrance plant at Pepsi, and Pepsi sent me there. And I sat in the front row, so I didn't pay attention to all the people behind me, but there was many people behind me and there was a lot of older guys. Everybody technically was pretty much older than me because when I was just starting my career. And it was almost like these javelins were being thrown from the stage to the older men in the back who were trying to deal with this, and figure out what's coming at them, and that's where I kind of really started to understand that this was a man, Dr. Deming, who wasn't afraid to direct blame at senior management to say, you've got to take responsibility for this. And as a young guy seeing all kinds of mess-ups in the factory every day that I could see, that we couldn't really solve. We didn't have the tools and we couldn't get the resources to get those tools.   0:49:47.9 Andrew Stotz: It just really made sense to me. And I think the reiteration of that today is the idea, as I'm older now and I look at what my obligation is in the organizations I'm working at, it's to set that constancy of purpose, to set the quality at the highest level that I can. And the discussion today just reinforced it, so I really enjoyed it.   0:50:11.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, that's great. I mean, based on that observation, Dr. Deming many times said that the master chef is the person who knows no fear, and he was a master chef putting stuff together. And we would talk about fairly common knowledge that the great artists, the great thinkers, the great producers were doing it for themselves, it just happened that they had an audience. The music caught on, the poetry caught on, the painting caught on, the management system caught on. But we're doing it for ourselves with no fear. And that's the lesson.   0:51:11.8 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, I hope that there's a 24-year-old out there right now listening to this just like I was, or think about back in 1972 when you were sitting there listening to his message. And they've caught that message from you today. So I appreciate it, and I want to say on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, of course, thank you so much for this discussion and for people who are listening and interested, remember to go to deming.org to continue your journey. And of course, you can reach Bill on LinkedIn, very simple. He's out there posting and he's responding. So feel free if you've got a question or comment or something, reach out to him on LinkedIn and have a discussion. This is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'm going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming, and it doesn't change. It is, "people are entitled to joy in work."

Aengus Cox, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs correspondent, reports on a protest by members of the Irish Farmers' Association outside the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin against a decision not to remove Bord Bia Chairman Larry Murrin from his role.

Cattle on Feed and Cold Storage Reports Kansas Land Values Faces in Agriculture: Tana McCarter   00:01:05 – Cattle on Feed and Cold Storage Reports: Tyler Cozzens and Brandon Dodd from the Livestock Marketing Information Center begin today's show as they explain what they saw in the recent Cattle on Feed and Cold Storage reports.   00:12:05 – Kansas Land Values: K-State Extension land and crop market specialist, Megan Hughes, keeps the show rolling as she discusses the 2025 Kansas Land Values book and how farmers and ranchers can use it. 2025 Kansas Land Values Book  mnhughes@ksu.edu    00:23:05 – Faces in Agriculture: Tana McCarter: Ending the show is a segment of Faces in Agriculture with Tana McCarter from Wilson County as she shares about her involvement and excitement in agriculture.      Send comments, questions or requests for copies of past programs to ksrenews@ksu.edu.   Agriculture Today is a daily program featuring Kansas State University agricultural specialists and other experts examining ag issues facing Kansas and the nation. It is hosted by Shelby Varner and distributed to radio stations throughout Kansas and as a daily podcast.   K‑State Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

*Cattle prices may top out this year.  *Applications are now open for Texas Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher contests.  *The new dietary guidelines for American's contain good news for livestock producers.*Farmers in the Texas High Plains are looking for answers to economic challenges. *Innovations in crop research are benefitting U.S. farmers.  *The current spending bill moving through Congress does not include year-round E15.  *This winter storm highlights the challenges of caring for livestock in the winter.  *There is new research on cribbing in horses.  

For today's episode, we are at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. We sat down and had a discussion about pork (since it was Pork Day at the show) with Courtney Gray, Executive Director for the PA Pork Producers Council. Links: https://www.whypapork.com/https://www.sonofabutchershow.com/Support the show

In today's conversation, Lisa Foust Prater sits down with Caydee Savinelli for an open discussion about leadership, career growth, and how women are shaping the future of agriculture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices