The Business of Agriculture Podcast
Damian travels all over the globe talking to audiences about the topics surrounding the business of food fuel and fiber. With his clever wit and his easy to understand delivery, he has turned these topics into interesting (and sometimes controversial) podcast topics.
Episodes
121 episodes
121 - Hardwoods — Indiana’s Largest Agricultural Industry (Believe it or Not)
Per the Indiana Department of Agriculture, hardwoods are my home state's largest agricultural industry in terms of economic impact. That’s why I thought it was time to give timber it’s due credit. Ray Moistner, Executive Director of the Indiana Ha...
•
36:13
120 - From Onions to Bagged Alfalfa - an Agricultural Entrepreneur’s Tale
Jay Hill wasn’t a farm kid but at age 16 he decided he wanted to be a farmer. He went about pursuing his professional vision by joining forces with his father — who wanted Jay to attend college — by producing onions on the ten acres his father own...
•
35:40
119 - Starbucks Uses P.R. to Make Milk Its Sacrificial Cow and Appease Enviros
Starbucks made an announcement pledging to do its part to save the world. The coffee chain, with 31,000 stores worldwide, will “encourage” customers to opt for dairy alternatives rather than cow’s milk to accent their over-priced beverages. I expl...
•
32:15
118 - Selling Fruit, Specialization, and Way More with The FruitGuys Founder Chris Mittelstaedt
Chris Mittelstaedt isn’t from a farming background but he became an Agricultural entrepreneur at an early age — he sold vegetables from his mom’s garden around his suburban Philadelphia neighborhood out of a radio flyer wagon. Today, Mr. Mittelsta...
•
42:34
117 - Walmart Didn’t Bankrupt Borden Dairy (or Dean Foods!)
On January 6th, 2020, Borden Dairy filed for bankruptcy protection. The 163 year old milk processor’s announcement comes just 2 months after Dean Foods - the nation’s largest milk processor - filed for bankruptcy. Within minutes of the Borden news...
•
44:53
116 - Meat vs. Veganism: The Battle is on in 2020
This week’s Golden Globe Awards is the first (of way too many) Hollywood awards shows for the year. It’s also the first award show to distinguish itself by serving an all-vegan menu. This, along with increasing media hit pieces on the meat industr...
•
26:00
115 - Grass Fed Beef - with Rich Bradbury
Rich Bradbury is an Oregon rancher with an eye on the future. Along with other cattlemen, he started a cooperative to process and market their brands of beef. Country Natural is their conventional beef product but he’s most excited about their oth...
•
46:47
114 - Food Fear
I’m so excited to announce the release of my new book, Food Fear — How Fear is Ruining Your Dinner and Why You Should Celebrate Eating. It’s straight talk about food, foodies, farming, food fights, food police, food myths, and the future of food ...
•
32:14
113 - Regenerative Agriculture with Gabe Brown
I first heard of Regenerative Agriculture this spring via congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s televised town hall meeting. Given Ms. Cortez’s stance and multiple comments on the evils of cheeseburger consumption and cow farts, I assumed this...
•
41:14
112 - Food 5.0 and The Future of Food Production
Friend of show, Rob Saik, joins me to discuss his new book, Food 5.0 and the future of food production. He explains the 5 iterations of Agricultural advancement then tells us what will change moving forward. We share our predictions (some of whic...
•
36:42
111 - 35 Years in the Machinery Business, Trends and Predictions with Machinery Pete
Greg Peterson began his business of reporting on used farm equipment sales prices in 1989. After a decade of hand written figures and entering data into desktop computers, then sending out floppy discs, his business flourished. Today his company, ...
•
36:24
110 - Organic and Conventional in the Same Room
Friend of Show, Andy Ambriole joins me to discuss the positives and negatives of both conventional and organic farming practices. He is the owner of BioSteward Farms and he’s been an Ag entrepreneur since age 9. He got into organic production for...
•
34:27
109 - An Initiative to Revive Rural America with Tennessee Department of Agriculture
If you work in the Business of Agriculture, you understand the reality of what’s happening in rural America. Many small towns that once supported a grain elevator, a farm store, an implement dealership, and several other businesses have been shut...
•
32:19
108 - Farm Machinery, The Future, and More with Casey Seymour
Past client and host of the Moving Iron podcast, Casey Seymour, joins me for my first ever “Swap Cast.” In this episode we discuss the future of farming, who’s going to farm, what equipment they’ll use, and where the opportunities lie. Consolida...
•
34:31
107 - Food Fear & Baby Food
A recent study found 95% of baby food contains toxic metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. As an Ag & Food person, I naturally assumed the business of food production would be maligned. So far, farming isn’t being blamed (too much) for...
•
17:34
106 - Making Hay — the Business of Forage
Did you know hay and forage are the third largest use of Ag land in the U.S.? We’ve never talked about hay on the Business of Agriculture podcast but that changed after I was hired to speak for the National Hay Association. Jeff Plourd from Califo...
•
33:00
105 - County Agent: Past, Present, and What’s the Future Look Like?
105 years ago the Smith-Lever Act created the Cooperative Extension Service. The county Agent’s role was to extend information and education from each of his or her state’s land-grant university. If you grew up in Agriculture, you probably are fam...
•
35:25
104 - Meat: A Conversation - with Joe Harris
Joe Harris is the CEO and President of Southwest Meat Association. His membership is mostly in Texas but spans a total of 34 states. He joins me to discuss industry trends and challenges facing the animal protein business. His role is sometimes ...
•
39:38
103 - Alberta Agriculture 101 - with Steve Cowan
Over the years I’ve spoken to a lot of Agricultural audiences in the Canadian province of Alberta. For this episode I thought it would be fun to bring in a past client to explain farming, food, and Ag in central Alberta. Steve Cowan and I discus...
•
33:24
102 - Sugary Drinks, Plant Based “Meat,” and a Cookie for Every Diet — Food Trends
Agriculture is a consumer business that’s impacted by consumer trends. (By the way, so are ALL businesses!) Jim Dudlicek, Editorial Director for Progressive Grocer joins me to talk about food trends. What changes are going on in food and beverage ...
•
33:50
101 - Hemp: A Growth Category for Agriculture
David Hasenauer is the founder of Greenpoint Research, a Florida based hemp company. This young Ag entrepreneur is looking to do some big things with an old crop. He explains the history of hemp, why it went away for several decades, and why it ha...
•
34:09
100 - Meat and the Marketplace with CattleFax Analyst Troy Bockelmann
Troy Bockelmann is an analyst with CattleFax. He joins me to discuss beef, of course, along with a whole bunch of other stuff. We talk consumption numbers and trends in beef, pork and poultry, and what a cattle cycle is. Did you know 40% of beef p...
•
32:47
99 - Banking Tips for Producers, Agribusiness People, and even Bankers!
Whether you’re a Farmer, Agribusiness person, or an Ag Banker, this episode is for you! John Blanchfield is a former Ag lender who then worked with the American Bankers Association Ag division. He now runs Agricultural Banking Advisory Services. H...
•
34:15
98 - Interpreting the USDA’s August Crop Report - with AFBF Economist John Newton
Friend of show and chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, John Newton joins me to break down this week’s USDA crop report. The immediate result of the report: markets tanked on better production forecasts than the trade anticipat...
•
25:30
