FOCUS on Agriculture

Congressman Brad Finstad was elected to Congress in a special election on August 9, 2022, and was sworn in three days later with his family by his side as he took the Oath of Office to proudly represent Minnesota’s First District.

Brad is a fourth-generation farmer and resident of the New Ulm area. He and his wife, Jackie, met on the school bus in second grade and they are now the proud parents of seven children. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Agriculture Education and an emphasis in Rural Leadership Development, Brad and Jackie now operate an agriculture business in New Ulm while working alongside extended family to run their generational family farm.

Brad is proud to have served as State Director for USDA Rural Development in Minnesota where he worked to support infrastructure improvements, business development, homeownership, community services such as schools, public safety, health care, and high-speed internet access in rural areas. He previously served three terms in the Minnesota Legislature. In 2017, he was appointed Minnesota’s State Director of USDA Rural Development and held executive positions with the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Dr. Donald Ort is is the Robert Emerson Professor in Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois and Deputy Director of the RIPE (Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency) project.  His research seeks to understand and improve plant growth and photosynthetic performance in changing environmental conditions, such as increasing CO2 temperature and drought.  Don earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and his doctorate in plant biochemistry from Michigan State University. He has served as the president of the American Society of Plant Biologists, the International Society of Photosynthesis Research, and the International Association of Plant Physiology. He also served as editor-in-chief of Plant Physiology and is an associate editor of Annual Review of Plant Biology. Don has received numerous awards and recognitions, including election to the National Academy of Sciences and being named one of Thomson Reuters’ Most Influential Scientific Minds. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers in journals that include Science.

Stu Ellis has been a well-known agricultural communicator in Illinois for 50 years.  He began as the farm broadcaster at WSOY in Decatur and expanded his service to corn belt farmers through radio, television, newspapers, newsletters, and the Internet.  Listen to hear Stu's story - from growing up on the farm, attending college, and through a long, distinguished, and impactful career "helping farmers make money and stay out of jail."

The mission of AmplifiedAg is to provide global access to safe food, by growing the indoor agriculture category through innovation, experience, and partnership.  In this episode, we speak with CEO Don Taylor about how the company is achieving this mission.  Listen to learn how a unit of land can produce over 100X the amount of food compared to traditional outdoor methods by taking advantage of a controlled environment.  Don explains how this approach can partner with and complement traditional growing methods.

Each year farmers are faced with a unique set of challenges, and 2022 was no exception.  In this episode, Preston and Jason recap the 2022 growing season and discuss the future of farming.  For added context to the discussion, check out the following episodes:

Dr. Jayson Lusk is an ag economist at Purdue University, where he is a distinguished professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics.  Dr. Lusk studies what we eat and why we eat it.  He is the author of several books, including his latest, Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology are Serving up Super Foods to Save the World.  In this episode, we discuss his book, which discusses the role of innovation in modern food production in the context of history.

Duane Simpson is Vice President, Head of North America Public Affairs, Science & Sustainability at Bayer Crop Science.  He leads the company's Policy & Advocacy and Industry Affairs teams to bring farmer and value chain perspective to agricultural policy making in North America and around the globe.  Duane is passionate about helping farmers and agribusinesses share their voices in the current political landscape.

Bringing a new pesticide to market involves years of research and huge capital investments.  As environmental toxicologists with Bayer Crop Science, Dr. Tim Fredricks and Dr. Dan Schmehl study the effects of these products on the environment to ensure that adverse effects are minimized.  In this episode we discuss the process of evaluating new crop protection products with greater specificity to control target pests while minimizing harm to other organisms.

Tara Bohnert is a business development manager with Nedap Livestock Management, a Netherlands-based company that provides monitoring equipment for pigs and dairy cattle.  In this episode we learn about the data that is collected and how it is used to improve farmer profitability as well as animal welfare.  We also discuss the evolution of the dairy industry over the past century and what the future holds.

Sri Lanka has been in the news recently due to an economic crisis leading to political instability.  One of the factors behind the civil unrest is spiking food prices caused in part by governmental policy eliminating the use of synthetic fertilizers and crop protection products.  In this episode, we once again chat with Dr. Stuart Smith, professor in ag and resource economics at the University of Saskatchewan about the situation in Sri Lanka and other topics related to modern agriculture.

Diseases attacking agricultural crops cause millions of bushels of yield loss for farmers across the United States each year.  Farmers battle these diseases in several ways including the use of resistant varieties and hybrids, crop rotation, and fungicides.  To complicate things, new diseases arise from time to time.  One example is Tar Spot, which has become a major yield robber in Midwestern corn fields over the past several years.  In this episode, Dr. Randy Myers from Bayer Crop Science explains how companies develop new tools that farmers can use to protect their crops.

Today we wrap up our series on ag tech with a conversation with Dr. German Bollero.  Dr. Bollero is currently Interim Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, & Environmental Sciences and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Illinois.  In this discussion, he describes exciting new opportunities for students to combine their passions for computer science and agriculture.

Our Podcast series on the Past, Present, and Future of Ag Tech continues with returning guest Jack Marck, who is managing director of the Illinois Agtech Accelerator.  Located at the University of Illinois Research Park, this program provides mentoring, funding, and office space for Agtech startups.  In today's conversation, we discuss the opportunities for new technologies to improve farmers' operations and strengthen the food supply chain.  You can contact Jack through email at jack@gener8tor.com.

Scott Spal is a scientist with The Climate Corporation.  In his current role, he investigates how enhancements to Climate FieldView can improve farmer profitability, as well as transparency and sustainability in agriculture.  Listen to this episode to learn how farmers benefit from the massive amounts of data that they collect in their fields.

Dr. Mike Canady is a scientist with a background in plant breeding who is currently director of agronomy for specialty crops at Verdesian Life Sciences.  In this conversation, we learn about how farmers can help plants use nutrients more efficiently.  We also discuss the use of biostimulants to enhance plant production.

"Before John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester became icons of American business, they were competitors in a forgotten battle for the farm.  From 1908 to 1928, against the backdrop of a world war and economic depression, these brands were engaged in a race to introduce the tractor and revolutionize farming."

Neil Dahlstrom is the author of The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere, and Lincoln’s Wrath: Fierce Mobs, Brilliant Scoundrels, and a President’s Mission to Destroy the Press. Since the release of these two books he’s built a career in corporate archives, agricultural and brand history. Today, Neil is the Manager of Archives and History at John Deere.  

Neil has appeared on The History Channel, NatGEO, PBS, and Book TV. He’s a member of the Kitchen Cabinet, the Food and Agriculture Advisory Board of The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and was recently chair of the Society of American Archivists Business Archives Section and the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board.  Listen to this episode in which he discusses the little-remembered story described in his latest book, Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of American Agriculture.

Bret Sill grows diverse crops including alfalfa, corn, wheat, garlic, carrots, walnuts and almonds with his family on their farm which is over 100 years old.  In this episode we discuss the similarities and differences between raising almonds and other crops.  Bret also explains the incorporation of cover crops into his operation and we discuss the annual migration of thousands of honey bee hives into California almond orchards during bloom.

Due to a variety of factors, 2021 and 2022 have seen significant increases in both commodity prices and farm input costs.  In this episode, we discuss this market volatility with ag economist Dr. Paul Mitchell, who also offers advice for farmers to maintain or even increase profit margins in a challenging marketing environment.

Corn Rootworm is the most important insect pest facing corn growers in the United States.  Each year, around $2 billion is spent to manage this problem.  In this episode Preston and I discuss the latest development in the battle against the pest.

Over the past several years, farmers in the Midwest have been planting a greater portion of their soybean crop increasingly early each year.  In this episode, Preston and Jason discuss the results of their own research on the risks and benefits of this trend.

Fertilizer is the most expensive input that farmers use to produce crops.  The rapidly increasing price of fertilizer in 2020 and 2021 has put additional pressure on producers.  In this conversation with Megan Dwyer, nutrient loss reduction manager for the Illinois Corn Growers Association, we discuss strategies that growers can implement to more efficiently utilize these products.

Georgia gets a lot of press as The Peach State, but in this episode we learn that it is not even in the top 3 states for peach production.  Listen in to learn where it falls in the rankings.

The Donald Danforth Center in St. Louis, Missouri is the largest non-profit plant science research institution in the world.  In today's episode, we spoke with Dr. Jim Carrington, who leads the Center in its mission to improve the human condition through plant science.  One topic of conversation was the lack of access to technology in third world countries, and how the Danforth Center is working to alleviate this problem.  Listen to learn about this and other exciting research with the potential to radically change agriculture.

Dr. Chinmay Soman is the co-founder of Earthsense, an ag startup that is developing teams of robots which can collect data on every individual plant in a field.  It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but is much closer to reality than you might think.  Listen to learn how Chinmay's passion for making a difference in the world has led him to the intersection of technology and agriculture.

Brown marmorated stink bugs are the latest in a long line of insect invaders which causes severe damage to agricultural crops.  They were first collected in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s, and since that time, have steadily continued westward across the United States.  This pest not only damages crops, but also likes to congregate in homes and other buildings as fall weather begins each year.

Kelly Estes monitors and studies this and other insect pests for the Illinois Natural History Survey.  In this episode she discusses the biology of the brown marmorated stink bug, and its history and migration within the US.  She also discusses the risk it poses to Midwestern crops and the long-term outlook for its management.

John and Eve Ackerman are owners of Ackerman Family Farms which is located in the Pumpkin Capital of the World, Morton, IL.  Each fall, thousands of visitors to this popular agritourism destination are able to choose from an wide range of pumpkin varieties, feed farm animals, or explore a corn maze.

In this episode, John shares the story of the evolution of his family's farm over the past century and describes how he and his wife decided to become involved in agritourism.  He shares advice for other farmers who may be considering diversifying in a similar manner, and we learn a bunch of fascinating pumpkin facts along the way.

John Kowalchuk is a farmer in western Canada who grows canola, malt barley, wheat, yellow peas, faba beans, and red lentils on his 2,000 acre farm.  He enjoys actively sharing the stories of his farming journey and promoting agriculture through social media.  In this conversation, we learn about John's farm and he shares tips to encourage his fellow farmers to become active in sharing their stories with consumers.

We're all familiar with the tendency of apples to turn brown shortly after cutting them up in preparation for eating.  Okanagan Specialty Fruits is a biotechnology company that has developed a technique to turn off this browning reaction, allowing apples to maintain a favorable appearance and flavor for extended periods.  Listen to this episode to hear company president Neal Carter describe RNAi technology, and how this process can help reduce the worldwide problem of food waste.

Tar Spot is a devastating disease of corn that was first identified in the upper midwestern United States in 2015.  The disease led to devastating yield losses in farmer fields in 2018 and 2021.  Dr. Matthew Helm is a research molecular biologist with the Agricultural Research Service arm of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-ARS) and is stationed at Purdue University.  Dr. Helm's current research involves understanding the molecular interactions between the tar spot pathogen and its host to ultimately develop plants that can prevent and/or tolerate infection.

This episode is the second part of our conversation with Dr. Stephen Powles, one of the world's foremost experts on herbicide resistance in weeds.  In this conversation we discuss novel methods of managing herbicide resistant weeds.  Listen for Steve's explanation of his seemingly counterintuitive advice, "When you're on a good thing, change it."  If you haven't listened to Steve tell the fascinating story of his educational and career journey, be sure to check out the previous episode.

Dr. Stephen Powles is one of the world's most highly respected and cited plant scientists.  He has received countless awards for his pioneering work in the area of herbicide resistance and published over 250 research papers on the subject.  You may be surprised to learn that Steve's career began inauspiciously when he dropped out of high school to help support his family.  In part one of this two-part series, we discuss Steve's fascinating history as his lifelong quest for knowledge carried him across the globe in his educational journey.

The World Food Prize was created by Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Norman Borlaug to honor those who have made significant and measurable contributions to improving the world's food supply.  To date, there have been 50 laureates, with the 2021 World Food Prize winner to be announced in May.

Barbara Stinson was named the second president of the World Food Prize Foundation in 2020.  In a career spanning over 3 decades, she has focused on improving global food security and safety while addressing the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity.  Her work emphasizes policies and programs that support smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, by bringing institutional support and access to new tools, technologies and data to improve the quantity, quality and availability of food.