Send us a text

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 set the tone for the week, how farmers are thinking about tightening belts in 2025, what suppliers are saying (and not saying), and whether biologicals have a place in a year of tight margins. I also dig into the gap between precision tech and real-world ROI, the growing skepticism toward USDA reporting, and why the pork industry currently looks a whole lot more optimistic than the crop side.

If you're trying to farm smart in a year of cautious spending and uncertain markets, this one’s worth a listen.

Send us a text

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 farming wheat, corn, and cattle in Kansas with her husband Hayden.

In this episode, we explore:

• How New Ag Supply ships replacement planter parts nationwide (yes, even to Alaska and Hawaii!)
• Staying optimistic during challenging commodity prices
• Direct-to-consumer beef marketing as farm diversification
• Using your own corn to feed cattle as a value-added opportunity
• Cover crops as a gateway to thinking outside the traditional row crop box
• Off-farm income through photography and videography
• Real-world examples of farm diversification beyond the traditional corn-soy-wheat rotation

Mary shares honest insights about the current agricultural climate across the country and encourages farmers to explore diversification opportunities - whether that's different crops, livestock, or even leveraging skills like photography to support the farm operation.

Contact New Ag Supply:

• Website: newagsupply.com
• Phone: 620-938-7009
• Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Whether you're looking for quality replacement planter parts or inspiration to diversify your operation, this episode delivers practical ideas and genuine conversation about agriculture today.

#Agriculture #FarmDiversification #DirectToConsumer #CoverCrops #FarmBusiness #PatroPondering

Send us a text

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 spring crop insurance pricing window, corn marketing decisions are getting tight — especially in the Eastern Corn Belt.

Aaron breaks down what he’s seeing in the countryside on old crop vs. new crop movement, why January–February brings forced sales due to cash flow, and how basis is behaving across Ohio and Indiana after a year of mixed yields. They also dig into how exports, the Brazil safrinha crop, and southeast feed demand influence local basis strength.

Jim and Aaron also tackle one of the biggest points of confusion in the market right now — the 45Z biofuel credit. Aaron explains why 45Z currently benefits biofuel plants but isn’t yet flowing value back to farmers, what’s holding up climate-smart scoring, and why sustainability incentives are still worth tracking.

Aaron closes with pragmatic advice for 2026: know your true cost of production, don’t fall asleep during potential rallies, and use target orders rather than emotional marketing.

Send us a text

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 profitability has always been fragile.

My grandparents scraped through the Depression with $12.34 a month in recorded farm income. My grandfather warned me that “there’s no money in farming.” And nearly fifty years later, I’m running numbers with disaster assistance, government payments, and market swings driven by noon WASDE releases. Different decades, different tools, different programs — same fragility.

In this episode I talk about:
• Why profitability remains fleeting across generations
• What USDA reports actually do to real farm margins
• How disaster programs distort our view of survivability
• The emotional weight behind farm financial decisions
• Why the “zeros” changed, but the struggle didn’t
• The uncomfortable continuity between 1930 and 2025

If you’ve ever felt the stress of bookwork, market reactions, or the silence that comes after a USDA report moves the board — you’re not alone. The tools and programs change, but the story is older than any of us.

Send us a text

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 doctorate program out of town or stay close to home and fight for a place in an uncertain ag job market.

It was a conversation about choices, identity, timing, and how mentorship really works — especially in agriculture. Not the formal “assigned mentor” programs, but the quiet kind that happens when someone trusts you enough to ask for advice.

In this episode I talk about:
• Why ag professionals are facing tough career decisions
• The hidden value of lived experience in career guidance
• Informal mentorship vs. formal mentorship programs
• The role of friendship when the chips are down
• How the ag economy is impacting young talent
• Why listening matters more than having the “right” answer

If you’re between jobs, navigating the ag industry, or wondering where you fit next — you’re not alone. And if someone calls you looking for guidance, don’t underestimate the impact of simply showing up.

Keywords: agriculture careers, ag jobs, ag economy, mentorship in ag, informal mentorship, agricultural workforce, career crossroads, farm life, rural careers, ag professional development, ag education, PhD vs industry, ag unemployment, advising young farmers, agricultural roots, agriculture podcast

Send us a text

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 agricultural roots shape perspective as careers evolve — especially in an industry that has shifted from family-run operations to large, integrated systems.

Justin shares his journey growing up in Southeast Iowa, his early exposure to agriculture through family farms, FFA, and livestock judging, and how those experiences carried him through Iowa State, graduate work at North Carolina State, and roles with the National Swine Registry, Smithfield, and The Maschhoffs before returning home to Iowa.

Together, Jim and Justin explore:

• What it means to grow up around “traditional” agriculture in the Midwest
• How working with small, family-run producers builds empathy that carries into large systems
• The transition from purebred and youth-focused genetics to integrated commercial pork production
• Why genetics, nutrition, health, and management can never be viewed in isolation
• How consolidation has changed decision-making, communication, and leadership in the pork industry
• The importance of listening, respect, and understanding context when working across silos

This episode is less about equations and data — and more about people, perspective, and problem-solving in modern agriculture.

Whether you work in pork production, animal genetics, nutrition, or simply care about how food systems evolve, this conversation offers thoughtful insight into where the industry has been — and where it may be headed next.

Send us a text

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 grew up on a working farm where responsibility came early and lessons were learned through doing. From dangerous chores around silos and augers to long days learning efficiency one acre at a time, those early experiences formed a deep respect for hard work, accountability, and the risks that come with producing food.

Our discussion moves through Jay’s reflections on community and small-town life, the importance of neighbors helping neighbors, and how those early examples of service shaped the way he views responsibility and leadership today. Jay shares stories that highlight both the strength and fragility of rural life, and the lasting impact of showing up for others when it matters most.

Later in the conversation, Jay opens up about facing serious illness, extended hospitalization, and moments when quitting would have been understandable. He reflects on the mindset that carried him through those seasons, the importance of attitude, and why persistence often matters more than circumstance.

This episode is a thoughtful reflection on resilience, responsibility, and the belief that it is always too soon to quit.

—

Patio Pondering is a long-form podcast exploring the important and the obscure in agriculture through thoughtful conversation.

https://www.patiopondering.com/podcast

Send us a text

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.

Roy grew up farming in Iowa’s prairie pothole region, shaped by parents and grandparents who lived through the Great Depression, drought, loss, and relentless hard work. Those early experiences instilled a deep respect for land and water — and a belief that soil is not something we own, but something we are entrusted to care for.

Our discussion moves through Roy’s early lessons in soil structure and water management, his adoption of no-till farming long before it became common, and the skepticism he faced for sticking with conservation practices even when they were unpopular. Roy explains how firsthand observation of erosion, runoff, and soil loss convinced him that long-term soil health requires patience, humility, and the willingness to stand apart from the crowd.

We also explore Roy’s decades of service beyond the farm, including leadership roles in his church and nearly 30 years serving the soybean industry at the state, national, and international levels. For Roy, service was never about prestige or power, but about responsibility: using the gifts you’re given and leaving institutions stronger than you found them.

Faith weaves quietly but firmly through the conversation. Roy reflects on how the teachings of Christ shaped his approach to leadership, conservation, and community; returning again and again to a simple but demanding principle at the heart of faith and farming: love your neighbor, live by example, and care for what you have been given.

This episode is a thoughtful reflection on stewardship, resilience, and the long view — of land, people, and purpose.

—
Patio Pondering is a long-form podcast exploring the important and the obscure in agriculture through thoughtful conversation.
https://www.patiopondering.com/podcast