A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

This week’s FarmCon Conversations starts with what makes FarmCon different from a normal ag event: it is not built around vacation travel, generic networking, or people telling producers how to farm. Kevin explains why FarmCon is positioned as a room for serious producers, operators, ranchers, ag businesses, and decision-makers who are trying to make better business, market, and capital-allocation decisions ...

For over a year, the US border was closed to live Mexican cattle to keep out the New World screwworm (NWS). Now, the US Department of Agriculture is slowly reopening border entry points under strict inspection rules. While consumers will no doubt welcome relief at the grocery store, but the decision has split the livestock industry right down the middle ...

AI may not replace the producer, but it may greatly help some improve their decision-making process and, in turn, further accelerate the consolidation in agriculture as modern farming has become a much more complex business than many people outside the industry understand.The thesis that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will accelerate agricultural consolidation is rooted in the long history of technology adoption ...

This week’s FarmCon Conversations starts with a FARMCON update, then corn, soybeans, wheat, but the better discussion is really about how Kevin thinks through risk, markets, business, and change. In this episode: 18:00 - Why Kevin believes producers should focus less on being right about the final yield and more on being right about how the market trades USDA’s number ...

Folks around the country are already enjoying one of summer’s best perks - sweet corn season! The tasty treat comes out of the field a few months earlier than dent corn. Dent corn, also referred to as "field corn,” is the type of corn that the USDA reports on and underpins commodity futures contracts. According to the National Corn Growers ...

I've always been a big believer in "cover crops" and the benefits they can bring to our fields. Below is some interesting data recently released, and some might not like some of the data points. In today's world, it's easy to turn away from data and results that don't necessarily fit our "opinions," since we can so easily find something ...

This week’s FarmCon Conversations starts with corn, soybeans, wheat, and the latest USDA numbers, but the better discussion is really about how Kevin thinks through risk, markets, business, and change. Kevin and Todd talk through what has driven the recent grain rally, why producers should avoid becoming locked onto a single price forecast, and how to recognize when bullish headlines ...

Researchers at Tufts University have just demonstrated “plant wearables” — tiny tattoo‑like sensors that stick to the underside of leaves and stretchable bands that attach to stems. Together, the self-powered sensors create a battery‑free, multimodal system that the researchers say could one day be plant-level, whole-field monitoring networks. The Tufts team developed two complementary devices: an ultra‑thin leaf tattoo sensor ...

America’s agricultural land base is shifting under two main forces: changing land use and changing land ownership. A new analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) underscores that the core issue is not simply “how many acres exist,” but whether productive ground remains accessible and affordable for farmers and ranchers. Drawing on decades of data from USDA’s National Resources ...

House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) has introduced new legislation that would overhaul the country’s H-2A guest worker program. Known as the “Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act” (SAWA), the bipartisan bill would address farm labor shortages, especially for year‑round operations, while locking in a more predictable wage framework for employers. It does not create a path to citizenship but ...