DTN’s 2022 Ag Summit has just wrapped up, with farmers from across the country convening virtually to discuss and learn about conquering the chaos– Strategies to Build Endurance for farm Businesses. The conference provided tons of insights and information on everything from volatile commodity markets to supply chain challenges to the war in Ukraine and the outlook for 2023. But in the midst of it all was one DTN’s most exciting annual announcements, that of the 2022 winners of the Best Young Far...
Dec 15, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 130
The December WASDE dropped Friday, December 9th, largely meeting market expectations with a few key updates around demand and global crop levels. And yet, as the 2022 draws to a close, a few key riddles remain in the market– leaving many scratching their heads about what USDA, and traders, might be missing. DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to dig into the relevant changes in the corn export and ethanol demand pictures, as well as to walk us through the inexplicable current state of the global wheat m...
Dec 09, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 129
There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the global fuels market as what’s expected to be a cold winter comes into play-- from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to winter weather to the moves of key players at the Federal Reserve and among OPEC leaders. Today, DTN’s Refined Fuels Analyst Brian Milne joins us again to update the story on European natural gas demand and how that’s likely to affect the global supply and demand picture, as well as to highlight other key issues that are affecting...
Dec 02, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 128
A colder than expected weather pattern is shaping up for much of the country heading into the winter months, and the slight shift in outlook is offering some hope that a cold, hard winter might be the start of a shifting pattern towards less heat and more precipitation. To help us put the forecasts into context, team lead for Ag Weather John Baranick joins us today to discuss the long range outlook that DTN’s analysts are tracking, and what that might mean as farmers across the country continue ...
Nov 22, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 127
There were a lot of divergent expectations going into the 2022 midterm election, after a tumultuous year of national and state level politics. For the agricultural community, the end of the election season means that the 2023 farm bill season will be starting in earnest, especially after the new members of the house and senate ag committee are chosen and seated. Here to help us unpack who won, who lost, and what it all means for American agriculture is DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton, who’s b...
Nov 15, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 125
The November WASDE dropped Wednesday, Nov 9th, offering just a few small surprises for a market that was expecting USDA to hold steady from the October numbers. With more than 90% of the 2022 crop out of the field, the department is honing in, making minor adjustments to the crop size, but not enough to relieve the incredibly tight supply situation across all the major grains. DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to highlight the adjustments and where they’re likely coming from, and to discuss how the la...
Nov 10, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Just in the last year or so, Congress and the USDA have determined to spend more than $3 billion dollars on what’s being called climate smart agriculture– including projects and pilots carried out by private companies and nonprofits to help support the ag industry in its efforts to improve soil health and reduce negative impacts on the planet. Progressive Farmer reporters and editors have been keeping a close eye on the evolution of climate smart policy and spending, and are bringing their repor...
Oct 31, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Since 2005, DTN Progressive Farmer has been selecting two farmers every year from various parts of the country to participate in their annual View from the Cab Project. These farmers spend a full year getting to know DTN’s Pamela Smith as they work through weekly calls and check-ins, sharing their stories and their seasons with the rest of the broader farm community. 2022’s farmers are no exception, and today we’re happy to be joined by Colorado farmer Marc Arnusch to talk about water, farm busi...
Oct 20, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 123
The October WASDE dropped Wednesday, October 12th, and this month’s estimates include insight from farmer surveys as harvest gets underway across the country. Markets have rallied as USDAs numbers inch closer to those reported by Gro Intelligence and other yield tours, though outside influences are holding down prices in some regions. DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to help us link the data from the recent September 30th report with today’s global figures, and to unpack what changes in inputs, expor...
Oct 13, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 122
From the Federal Reserve’s moves to raise interest rates to the war in Ukraine to droughts around the world, the challenges facing the global ag sector are many– begging the question, how does a thoughtful farm manager keep up. Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to talk more about key issues that she’s been focusing on this year, related in particular to the economy, and what the evolution of these issues might mean for the year ahead. She’ll discuss labor shortages, on far...
Oct 10, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 121
As farmers across the country get into the thick of harvest, a late season hurricane– Ian – slams into the Southeast, threatening to disrupt work across the Carolina’s, Georgia, even up into Virginia and over into Kentucky and Tennessee. Otherwise, however, a relatively dry forecast offers a mix of benefits, a positive outlook for getting through harvest quickly, but no relief from devastating dryness in many areas. Today, team lead for Ag Weather John Baranick will help us understand these late...
Sep 29, 2022•25 min
The Biden Administration’s big announcement in 2021, announcing new funding specifically aimed at increasing competition in the US’s meat packing sector, was not by far the first sign that ranchers and feedlots alike are feeling the sting of tough conditions, even while consumers paid record high prices at the meat counter. In the wake of such funding, a number of new meat packing facilities have been proposed all over the country. DTN AG Policy Editor Chris Clayton has been keeping an eye on a ...
Sep 23, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 119
With harvest well in view for most farmers, plans for winter down time are also coming into focus. For years, DTN’s Ag Summit has been helping farmers prepare strategically for the uncertainties in the markets, weather and current events of the year to come, and this year is no exception. We’re talking to DTN’s Katie Dehlinger today, who brings up updates on what to expect from the all virtual event this year, as farmers and ag professionals join from across the country and around the world. She...
Sep 23, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 118
The September WASDE dropped Monday, September 12th, and with harvest looming and the crop looking lackluster, grain markets in particular are on tender hooks as they await any new information about the 2022 stocks. DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to unpack some surprise adjustments that USDA made ahead of the September 30th report. And as corn and soybeans information gets an update, he’ll put it in context giving shifting demand at home and abroad and the risking input market going into this winter...
Sep 14, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 117
It’s just weeks away from the end of another year for the cattle market, and the most recent news for and from the markets has been discouraging. But for DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart, the next steps for savvy cattlemen are clear– don’t panic, and keep the fundamentals in mind. Today, we’ll talk through the latest data with ShayLe, checking in on feed markets, drought impacts, and slaughter pace to understand whether recent sputtering activity is the beginning of a trend or just a hiccup....
Aug 31, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Senior Editor for The Progressive Farmer Joel Richenberger is fresh off a visit to the 2022 InfoAg conference, and has been digging into the rapidly maturing world of drone technology since his return. What was once a piece of fringe equipment used for scouting and photography has this summer grown into a valuable implement that farmers around the country are using for precision spraying. Not one but many companies are wading into the drone space, angling towards bigger machines that can carry m...
Aug 23, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 115
DTN’s 5th annual Digital Yield Tour wrapped up just days ago on August 12th, 2022, and yield estimates meaningfully lower than USDA’s left some surprised and others feeling validated. Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to reveal the latest estimates that Gro Intelligence published during the tour, including granular estimates for 10 key midwestern states and national yield numbers for both corn and soybeans. We’ll dig into the meaning behind the numbers, talk through the hy...
Aug 16, 2022•31 min
The August WASDE dropped Friday, August 12th, and with the broader US economy reckoning with turmoil and the global harvest still uncertain, markets were eager for the information infusion from USDA. DTN’s Lead Analyst Todd Hultman joins us to unpack some of the adjustments the department made that moved markets as analysts zero in on final estimates before harvest. He covers the drought picture, USDA’s planted acres update, and zooms out to put the latest news in the context of a record tight s...
Aug 13, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 113
A host of factors — from the war in Ukraine to the global pandemic — have been putting the refined fuels market through the wringer, both in the US and around the globe. The result — record low inventories in recent months for fossil fuels from gasoline and diesel to propane and natural gas. The inevitable price increases have helped contribute to price inflation for consumers, but for farmers, the prospect of securing enough fuel to harvest and dry down their crops is an additional hurdle. Toda...
Aug 04, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 112
DTN’s 5th annual digital yield tour is just a few days away-- taking place August 8th through August 12th. With the help of cutting edge data from Gro Intelligence, including satellite imagery, AI and machine learning that updates day by day, the tour promises to add some very timely clarity on what as currently an uncertain crop picture. Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us for a preview of the tour, including her expectations of what she might see in the data and on the gro...
Aug 01, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Farmers and ranchers across the US are in the thick of the season, and watching carefully as even the slightest weather shifts move markets. What has been a hot, dry, and drought-stricken summer for many has ag commodity watchers on the edge of their seats as harvest looms, and the size and condition of the corn, soybean and wheat crops, among others, come into sharper focus. DTN’s Team Lead for Ag Weather John Baranick joins us today to offer us an inside look at weather conditions as we move t...
Jul 20, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Transitioning a farm from one generation to the next is a many stepped process, some of which are legal or financial, but many more of which are personal, interpersonal, and emotional. And that can make this work really, really hard. Today, DTN Special Correspondent Elizabeth Williams joins to talk more about her series on the process of succession planning. She’ll share wisdom she’s learned in her reporting, discuss the advice she’s heard from experts advisors and farmers who have been through ...
Jul 14, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Since the now infamous occurrence of a class of compounds described as forever chemicals on a West Virginia farm years ago led to devastating consequences for animals and humans alike, EPA, state regulators, and scientists have been detecting PFAS across the country, in soil, water, and even human blood. High concentrations of PFAS in some areas have led authorities to prohibit farmers in multiple states from selling their goods, from dairy and meat from exposed cattle to produce. DTN AG Policy ...
Jul 08, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 108
The USDA’s June 30th acreage report has been long anticipated– as conditions over the months since the March prospective planting report have shifted considerably. DTN’s lead analyst Todd Hultman joins us today to put the report’s findings into perspective– as ag markets have softened, and that trend looks to continue, despite market fundamentals. Todd unpacks his expectations going into the report, as well as a bit of history around the reliability of June numbers. He also puts USDA’s estimates...
Jul 06, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 107
For many months now Boerson Farms has been at the center of a federal investigation, led by the IRS. This comes after a number of lawsuits were filed against the farm in recent years, primarily attempting to force Boerson Farms to pay money owed to companies both local and national, that had provided products and services used to operate the farm’s 83,000 cropland acres. One creditor, Helena Agri-Enterprise, obtained a $15 million judgment against the farm, but this proved to be just the tip of ...
Jul 06, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 106
The 2022 Ag Symposium was held by the Kansas City Fed May 23rd and 24th, and the theme of the bank’s annual event is help wanted in agriculture . Today, DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger joins us to talk more about what she heard from President of the Kansas City Fed, Esther George, and from various Fed economists who have their attention trained on the ag sector as inflation climbs, global factors disrupt supply chains, and the resources farmers need to run their businesses get harder to...
Jun 20, 2022•32 min
The June WASDE dropped Friday, June 10th, and what is usually a quiet report ahead of a more interesting USDA missive at the end of the month did not disappoint. Nevertheless, DTN’s Todd Hultman joins us to unpack the smaller updates that the department made to their production and stock estimates, and to talk about why even small tweaks matter in today’s historically tight supply situation. We’ll discuss the near and long term weather forecasts and what they might mean for heat and dryness in t...
Jun 13, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 104
After months of back and forth on various legislative proposals, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees both sat down for a hearing in recent weeks to learn more from industry leaders about the problems and needs of the cattle market when it comes to price transparency. In light of the added recent hardships of rising feed prices and inflation in the grocery store, many ranchers are looking for answers, but there’s little agreement about what possible actions might be the most sensible way ...
Jun 01, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 103
On May 19th, the annual Winter Wheat Tour wrapped up its survey of the Southern Plains wheat crop, which were estimated yields based on the results of 550 stops through the region. Progressive Farmer Crops Editor Matt Wilde made his way to Kansas with dozens of other industry experts to participate in collecting the data, and reports what he saw on the ground. Today, we’ll talk about crop development and weather risk still to come, in addition to pest and disease pressure and quality expectation...
May 25, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 102
In the last few years, the ethanol industry has been through a lot. From promised E15 expansion and small refinery waivers through a global pandemic that cratered driving demand through today’s energy scarcity that has prompted the Biden administration to expand E15 availability during the summer months once again. Though demand is certainly looking up for ethanol, there are risks too as corn and other commodity grains rise in price. And at the same time, legislative uncertainty looms. Today, DT...
May 20, 2022•27 min
