Patio Ponderings
Exploring the Expected and the Obscure in Agriculture
From a lifetime in agriculture to deep dives into leadership, rural life, and the evolving food system, Patio Pondering is a podcast where thoughtful conversations meet the open air. Hosted by Jim Smith, Ph.D., a seasoned Swine Nutritionist, agricultural thinker, and storyteller, this podcast explores the connections between our agricultural roots and the broader world.
What started as daily reflections—scribbled with a morning coffee in hand—has grown into a podcast that uncovers the insights, challenges, and sometimes-forgotten history of the industry that feeds us all. Whether solo pondering or engaging in candid discussions with guests, this show digs into everything from livestock production to food trends, rural business shifts, and the personal stories that shape agricultural life.
Now available in both audio and video formats, Patio Pondering brings these discussions to life on YouTube and podcast platforms alike. Whether you prefer to listen on the go or watch the conversation unfold, you’ll find fresh perspectives, candid storytelling, and the kind of conversations that make you think twice.
Subscribe and join the conversation—because agriculture is more than just dirt and livestock. It’s a story worth telling.
Episodes
85 episodes
Dr. Trey Kellner on Swine Nutrition, Pork Industry Challenges, and Leadership
What does the future of the U.S. pork industry really look like?In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, swine nutritionists Jim Smith and Dr. Trey Kellner from AMVC discuss the biggest challenges facing modern pork production—and...
Are We in a Farm Crisis Or Seeing the Gap Between Good and Struggling Operations? — Shay Foulk
There’s a lot of noise in agriculture right now.From ag media to Washington, depending on who you listen to, we’re either heading into a financial crisis… or standing on the edge of a golden age.But what if the real story isn’t ei...
Shaping the Story of Agriculture — A Conversation with Shaun Haney
When I started the Patio Pondering Podcast, there were a handful of conversations I hoped I might get to have someday. This is one of them.In this episode, I sit down with Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, to talk about something ...
Seeing Risk from All Sides of the Desk - Anya Pinkerton
Agriculture runs on risk.Weather. Markets. Policy. Input costs. And increasingly — the mental weight of managing all of it.In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with Anya Pinkerton — a Purdue Animal Science...
Stay Positive and Look Forward — Lessons from the Farm with Terry Sible
Terry Sible grew up on a farm outside Churubusco, Indiana, learning the same lessons many farm kids do: responsibility, patience, and the value of community.At eighteen, Terry’s life took an unexpected turn. Just five years earlier he ha...
Leadership, Service, and the Power of a Pause — with Jill Zimmerman
Leadership in agriculture is often talked about as if it simply appears — the loudest voice in the room or the person willing to take charge.But real leadership is something different. It can be cultivated, sharpened, and intentionally d...
Beef, Raw Milk, Rifles, and RFK Jr. — A Conversation with Brian McFarlane
In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with Brian McFarland, a longtime leader in the beef packing industry and a cattle producer with experience across multiple parts of the beef supply chain.Jim and Brian first m...
Patio Pondering at 18 Months — The Three-Legged Stool
Over the past week something happened that made me stop and think about Patio Pondering.At the Niman Ranch Annual Meeting, a young woman at a lunch table suddenly looked across the table and said, “Oh… you’re Patio Pondering.” The moment...
Teaching Agriculture And Teaching Life - Dr. Travis Park
What does it take to turn a farm kid into a professor preparing the next generation of agricultural teachers?In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with longtime friend and FarmHouse brother Dr. Travis Park of N...
Hard Working. Determined. Strategic. — A Conversation with Jamee Krug Blahauvietz
In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with longtime friend and agricultural leader Jamee Krug Blahauvietz.Jamee’s career path is anything but typical. Starting with a unique combination of journal...
Hope Is Not a Marketing Plan — Episode 75 with Ryan Moe
In this milestone episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim sits down with Ryan Moe of StoneX for a conversation that moves beyond farm roots and into the harder questions of discipline, risk, and decision-making.At what point does bei...
Skip-Generation Farming: Clint Gorden’s Path Back to the Land
Clint Gorden, a central Illinois farmer, joins the Patio Pondering Podcast to discuss what it means to be a skip-generation farmer—connected to farming through grandparents, but without a parent actively farming to provide ...
Snowboarding, Nano-Fertilizer, and Geopolitics: A Conversation with Clark Bell
What do snowboarding, nano-fertilizer, and geopolitics have to do with modern agriculture?In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim talks with Clark Bell, CEO of NanoYield and former TEDx speaker, about his journe...
Eipsode 72: PRRS, Investment, and the Questions We Don’t Like Asking
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) remains one of the most costly and frustrating diseases in modern swine production. Despite decades of research, new technologies, and substantial industry investment, PRRS continues to disru...
Episode 71: Be Careful What You Wish For — PRRS, Pig Survival, and the Risk of Too Much Success
In this solo episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim Smith explores an uncomfortable but necessary question facing the U.S. pork industry: are we actually prepared for success if PRRS were eliminated?Drawing on decades of expe...
Episode 70: Dallas McDermott – Not Your Dad’s Ultrasound
In Episode 70 of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim Smith sits down with longtime friend and swine ultrasound innovator Dallas McDermott on the floor of the 2026 Iowa Pork Congress to talk about how ultrasound technology has quietly evolve...
Episode 69: An Industry That Changed — and Events That Haven’t
In this solo episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, recorded on the road in Des Moines after the first day of the Iowa Pork Congress, I share an observation that kept coming up in conversations across the trade show floor.I didn’t hear ...
Episode 68: Tight Margins and Tough Questions at the Fort Wayne Farm Show
This episode is my raw take from the Fort Wayne Farm Show. I intended to record more interviews, but the show floor was packed — so instead, I’m sharing what I saw, heard, and felt over three days.We talk about the WASDE bombshell that s...
Episode 67: Diversification & Direct-to-Consumer with Mary Marsh Heigele
Join Jim at the Fort Wayne Farm Show for an energizing conversation with Mary Marsh Heigele from New Ag Supply in North Central Kansas. Mary brings a unique perspective on agriculture, having grown up in California's almond country and now farm...
Episode 66: “Don’t Be Asleep at the Wheel”: Corn Marketing Advice for 2026 with Aaron Kuhn
In this episode, Jim talks with Aaron Kuhn, Regional Manager with Poet Biorefining in Portland, Indiana, about market realities facing farmers as they head into the 2026 crop year. Coming off a sharp USDA report and entering the s...
Episode 65: The Silk Thread of Fragile Farm Profits
This solo episode starts with a memory from 1978 on the tailgate of my grandfather’s Ford pickup and ends with the blunt reality of 2025 farm bookkeeping and modern USDA market reports. What connects those pieces is uncomfortable: farming profi...
Episode 64: Mentorship When You Least Expect It
This solo episode starts with the simple act of closing out farm books and ends with a phone call that hits much deeper. A young professional in agriculture reached out after losing his job and facing a major crossroads: pursue an accelerated d...
Episode 63: Justin Fix — From Southeast Iowa Roots to Modern Swine Genetics
In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim Smith is joined by Justin Fix, Ph.D., a swine geneticist with AcuFast, joining the conversation from Muscatine, Iowa.This is a wide-ranging discussion about how ...
Episode 62: Jay Setchell – It’s Always Too Soon to Quit
In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, I sit down with Jay Setchell for a wide-ranging conversation shaped by farm life, service, perseverance, and the quiet grit required to keep moving forward when life gets hard.Jay gr...
Episode 61: Roy Bardole — A Conversation on Stewardship, Soil, and Faith
In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, I sit down with longtime friend, mentor, and Iowa farmer Roy Bardole for a wide-ranging conversation about conservation farming, soil health, faith, and stewardship.
