We think all our guests are special, but this one is extra special! Harold Cooper rejoins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. You may already know Harold is the CEO of Premier Companies, but did you know he used to aspire to run for governor? Buckle up as Harold shares the story of how cooperatives were formed in Indiana, some of his leadership philosophies, and how being a student of military history has formed th...
Dec 09, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 163
Should biological biostimulants be used to replace mineral nutrition and pesticides? Premier’s Prince of Corn, Glenn Longabaugh, is back! Glenn joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies and is a fan favorite as the Agronomist at Premier Companies. On today’s episode, we’ll dive into current events in agronomy including changes that may occur in agriculture due to the presidential change and why Glenn sees some paral...
Dec 02, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 162
What might the administration changes in the new year do for the grain industry? To provide his insight, Aaron Bledsoe joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for another episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Aaron is the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, and though he says he doesn’t have groupies, he’s certainly no stranger to the podcast! Aaron will share the updates from the November WASDE report including yield, demand, and the stocks-to-use ratio. You’ll take a loo...
Nov 25, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 161
What is artificial intelligence, and how can it benefit growers? To answer this question, brand new guest Taylor Wetli joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Taylor is the US Commercial and Business Development Manager for Solinftec, a company that specializes in AI and SaaS (software as a service) for agribusiness. In addition to sharing about growing up on a farm and how he ended up in ag technology, Taylor wi...
Nov 18, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 160
We’ve got a dignitary visiting us! That might be a bit of a stretch, but not by much! Special guest, Bruce Kettler, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama on this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Bruce is the CEO and President of the Agribusiness Council of Indiana. In addition to learning about his background in agronomy and agriculture, you’ll hear how he ended up in the Department of Agriculture and ultimately the Agribusiness Council of Indiana. Bruce will explain how ...
Nov 11, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 159
What is the TRAX program, and how can that help growers? Your hosts, Jeff and Sal, are joined in the podcast room by Joe Zimmerman and Glenn Longabaugh for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Joe is the TRAX Agronomy Lead, and Glenn is a frequent guest and the Agronomist for Premier Companies. On today’s episode, you’ll learn more about Glenn and Joe’s background, education, and career history. You’ll learn about the soil sampling process, the nutrients that are tested,...
Nov 04, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 158
Knock, knock. Who’s there? Caroline and Emily! Hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett are joined by special guests Caroline Meer and Emily Welch for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Emily and Caroline are both agronomy account managers for Premier Companies, and they’re here to share about the internship opportunities that exist within the company! In addition to some stellar knock knock jokes, you’ll learn about the account manager role at Premier including the products...
Oct 28, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 157
A kernel is a kernel is a kernel… right? Returning but still special guest Glenn Longabaugh joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Glenn is the Agronomist for Premier Companies, and in addition to being a wealth of knowledge and large words, he’s a fan favorite! Glenn will share some of the surprises growers in the Midwest saw with the late-planted corn and how kernel depth and weight have been impacted by the g...
Oct 21, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 156
“Without our customers, we don’t have jobs!” Special guest, Ben Schutte, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for this employee spotlight on The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Ben is the Agronomy Accounts Manager, and he’s here to share with us about his career path at Premier. Ben will share about life growing up on a dairy farm and how that helped shape his work ethic even today. From working on family farms to working as an account manager, you’ll hear how Ben has solved problems ...
Oct 14, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 155
What is Swinelink and how does it help a new grower obtain a steady income? Hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett are joined by special guest Dan Vague in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. As the VP of Swine Production for Premier Companies, Dan has had a front row seat to the ups and downs of the swine market over the last year and knows exactly how Premier runs their swine program. Dan, Jeff, and Sal will share some insight into the feed efficiency an...
Oct 07, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 154
What will the yields look like with the dry summer heat? On this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama are joined by returning guest and fan favorite, Aaron Bledsoe. If you’ve been around The High Ground very long, you already know Aaron is the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, and he’s the best person around to answer that question. Aaron, Sal, and Jeff tackle a variety of topics including the recent WASDE (World Agricultural Supply and...
Sep 30, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 153
Have you ever heard a podcast recorded from a combine? Today you will! Returning and special guest Glenn Longabaugh joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama from the field. Glenn is a fan favorite and the Agronomist for Premier Companies. In addition to discussing highly important topics like their favorite ice cream, Glenn, Sal, and Jeff will dive into a variety of topics associated with the harvest season. Glenn will share how he handled drainage issues on a field he farms but doesn’t own and the...
Sep 23, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 152
“Worst start to a podcast ever!” Hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama are joined by returning guest Brian Scheid for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Jeff and Sal better watch what they say, because Brian is the Director of HR, and Environmental Health and Safety. On today’s episode, you’ll learn a lot about the Human Resources side of Premier Companies. With around 550 people in a company, there’s a lot to juggle, from recruiting and onboarding to payroll and benefits. B...
Sep 16, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Welcome to Geek Week! For this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama are joined by James Driscoll and Matt Persinger in the podcast room. James is the Chief Technology Officer, and Matt is the IT Project Manager, both of Premier Companies. You’ll learn about Premier’s IT department and the variety of adventures that come at them on a daily basis. From last-minute trips due to router failures to everyone’s favorite question, “Is it plugged in?” you nev...
Sep 09, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 150
How should you time your nutritional and fungicide applications? To shed insight on that topic on this episode of the High Ground powered by Premier Companies, Glenn Longabaugh joins Sal Sama, VP of Agronomy Sales and Marketing and Jeff Jarrett, VP of New Business Ventures and Fertilizer for Premier Ag. Unless you’re brand new to the podcast, you already know and love Glenn, who is the Agronomist for Premier Companies. Glenn will share his thoughts about the current state of our crops and why ce...
Sep 02, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 149
What does it mean when we say we’re in a “carry market”? Returning guest, Aaron Bledsoe, joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. As the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, Aaron has a front row seat to the changing markets and is here to provide some insight for what that could mean for growers in the Midwest. Aaron will share his thoughts on the impact of on-farm storage on overall grain movement, and how another high yield ha...
Aug 26, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 148
Grain prices stink. So why shouldn’t we talk about fertilizer, too? On this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, our favorite fertilizer guy, Josh Linville, is joining hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama fresh from the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference. Josh is the Vice President of Fertilizer at StoneX, and with over 20 years of experience in fertilizer, he’s got a plethora of topics to cover today. Are you curious about the fertilizer tariffs and how those are impacting the fer...
Aug 19, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 147
You see insects and say, “Let’s go bomb ‘em,” right? Well, maybe. Everyone’s favorite guest, Glenn Longabaugh, joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Glenn is the Agronomist for Premier Companies, and he’s here to talk about all things involving pest management. You’ll learn about why the presence of certain insects means you should hold off on treatment and why the threshold for integrated pest management has changed since the 1980...
Aug 12, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 146
What does the Indiana State Board of Animal Health do? Bret D. Marsh, D.V.M. joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama in the podcast studio for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Dr. Bret, a 30-year Indiana State Veterinarian, is a Boone County native who received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University. You’ll hear about his background on the ranch, education at Purdue University, and what it’s like to practice veterinary medicine at the Indiana State Fai...
Aug 05, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 145
What’s the difference between sustainability and conservation? Special guests Sydney Calhoun and Evan Eggersman join hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Sydney is the Trax Conservation Agronomy Lead, and Evan is the Trax Ag Technology and Sustainability Lead for Premier Companies. In addition to learning about the basics of sustainability, you’ll learn how participating in the Trax program can increase the effectiveness of the conserva...
Jul 22, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 144
“It’s about these big flat fields, and big skies, and that’s truly where the passion is, and I may not get to do that a lot, but I get to work for the guys who do.” Chris Weldon joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Chris is the Market Development Project Manager for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council. In addition to telling some wild plumbing and closet stories, Chris will share the...
Jul 15, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Why is the beef market so exceptional right now? Returning guest, Ryan Batt, joins Andy Pinnick and hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies to dig into that question! As you may remember, Ryan is the Facility Manager, and Andy is the Senior Director of Livestock Marketing for United Producers Inc. Ryan will share where the markets currently stand along with the perfect storm that has created it. You’ll learn about what h...
Jul 08, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Tell us why the market continues to do what it does! Aaron Bledsoe is back in the podcast room with your hosts, Ryan Priest and Sal Sama, for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Aaron is no stranger to the podcast and is quite the fan favorite! An aspiring gator hunter and well-known Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, he’s here to share his thoughts on all things connected to the most recent USDA report. Aaron will share how the weather in Illinois, Iowa, and Ind...
Jul 01, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 141
What’s all this hype around renewable diesel? To help us dig into this topic, Matt Makinson comes back to join hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Matt is the Vice President of Supply and Marketing for CountryMark, and he’s got a lot to share regarding what’s happened in the two years since he joined us last! You’ll hear about the latest CountryMark news and their renewable diesel co-processing project which involves expanding the capa...
Jun 24, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 140
Why is Premier spending the money on another plant? David Brim and Scott Sharp, both returning guests, join hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Scott is the Vice President of Crop Nutrients and Operations for Premier, and David also works for Premier as the Manager of the Mitchell facility. You’ll hear about the new facility that’s being built in Washington County, Indiana and why they’re moving two older plants together. They’ll sh...
Jun 17, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 139
We’ve got vines already starting to grow and ragweed up to the interns’ armpits! How much money are we supposed to spend on this? Special guest Glenn Longabaugh is in the house today! He joins hosts Ryan Priest and Sal Sama back in the podcast room for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. You don’t have to be around the podcast too long to know that Glenn is the Agronomist for Premier Companies, and he’s here to share why it’s time for growers to start to transition f...
Jun 10, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 138
If you’ve ever wondered how Mario Andretti is connected to soybeans or where the money that gets sent to the checkoff programs goes, this is the episode for you! Special guest and “accidental aggie,” Courtney Kingery joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Courtney is the CEO of the Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, and the Indiana Corn Growers Association. In addition to hearing about how ...
Jun 03, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 137
How do answer plots help farmers choose the best products for their land? An old friend but new guest, Kyle Pearson, who was rained out from planting today, joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest in the podcast room for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Kyle is the Answer Plot Senior Research Manager for WinField United, and he’s been in the agriculture industry for over 20 years. You’ll hear about Kyle’s career path including his experience at Purdue, FFR, and how t...
May 27, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 136
As growers, sellers, and agronomists, what should we be watching for at this point in the spring season? Returning guest and fan favorite, Glenn Longabaugh, joins hosts Ryan Priest and a singing Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. As the Agronomist for Premier Companies, there’s no one better to give us the lay of the land. Just don’t ask Glenn questions about pop culture! In this episode, you’ll hear about current planting conditions ac...
May 20, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 135
As Ryan says, the world of fertilizer is rocked just about every day! Returning guest Josh Linville joins hosts Sal Sama and Ryan Priest for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, and as StoneX’s Vice President of Fertilizer, Josh is able to shed a ton of insight into the quickly-changing world of fertilizer. In addition to explaining how some of the key events around the world impact fertilizer availability and prices, you’ll hear why Iran is a key country to keep your ey...
May 13, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 134
