Manure is not created equally. Livestock feces and urine is composed of unused carbohydrates, nutrients, and water, and it is not homogeneous. Corn, soybeans, and forages go into livestock and poultry feed, but what comes out depends on environmental conditions, … Continue reading →
We do not live in a straight-line world. Although food markets are much easier to navigate in 2 dimensions. A linear, food industry supply chain makes intuitive sense when thinking about inputs > farming > processing > retail (Model #1 … Continue reading →
In the throes of providing leadership on contract poultry grower challenges in the late 1990s, a brilliant mentor, Larry Cole, PhD., challenged me on whether I wanted to be 1) part of the defining the problem or 2) part of … Continue reading →
One of the quiet benefits of membership in the St. Louis Agribusiness Club, is getting to know Club members like Philip Bradshaw, a retired farmer from Pike County, Illinois. At the April 2026 meeting, Philip reintroduced his 2019 book, Your … Continue reading →
In 2016, I was invited to build a 4-year agribusiness program at Greenville University (GU) in Greenville, Illinois. We did it. Success is sometimes difficult to measure, but in this case, success is a measure of achieving our goals and … Continue reading →
Is it the 4-year, higher education, secondary education, or the rapidly changing agricultural industries? In a perfect world all these groups would complement each other. They do work together, actually, but under the surface there is competition for that leadership … Continue reading →
With great confidence, all organics are going to rot. There is a gratifying consistency in this certainty. The global and US farm economies are on fire with wars and rumors of wars. It is a difficult season to be a … Continue reading →
In January 2026, the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) published the latest update of Rural America at a Glance: 2025 Edition. The companion chart to this post is from that publication, but is also the same chart that was published … Continue reading →
I am a fierce advocate for farms and farming. But what is a farm? And who is a farmer? There are lots of social media posts on this topic. I write often on this topic and have asked these questions … Continue reading →
It is also a slow way to build capital. While I was in high school, I remember one of our farm neighbors, built a commercial hog farm largely on his spirit and work ethic. Several large farmers helped cover his … Continue reading →
