Groundwork

Kevin Van Trump has built a successful career translating the economics of agriculture as president and founder of Farm Direction and author of the Van Trump Report.  

So, when USDA released its updated report on America’s Diverse Family Farms – a critical report on American farm production, but one that is easily open to misinterpretation and misuse by farm policy critics – we knew we had to get Kevin’s insights.

Challenges in the cattle markets are not new, but the pandemic has herded these problems to the forefront with historic packer profits – a function of spreads between the prices ranchers are paid for their cattle and the prices people pay at the grocery store or other retail markets for beef.

In the wake of these unprecedented conditions, Congress commissioned a new report from the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) to examine fed cattle pricing, packing capacity, and related issues.

More than ten years ago, Michelle Miller gave up gluten and swore off GMOs after believing the pervasive misinformation often peddled online about modern-day farming. Then, she fell in love with a real-life farmer – and with farming itself.

Now, Miller is arming everyday Americans with the real facts about agriculture. It’s all part of her mission as the Farm Babe.

“I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve sustained a sugar policy that has operated at zero cost to taxpayers,” Jack Roney, the veteran sugar economist, said on a recent episode of Groundwork while reflecting on his storied career at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA).

“I’m particularly proud of that because I think our sugar farmers are among some of the best in the world at what they do.”

Roney would know. After 25 years of working at ASA, and nearly 50 years total working in agriculture, there might be no one else in America that understands the ins and outs of the sugar industry as well as Roney does. Luckily, Farm Policy Facts had the opportunity to speak with Roney prior to his retirement in August. 

For decades, West Texas cotton growers have had a fearless champion on their side: Steve Verett. As the recently retired CEO of Plains Cotton Growers, Verett advocated for both cotton growers and all of agriculture with passion and authenticity. 

Verett joined Farm Policy Fact’s Groundwork podcast to reflect on his career and talk about what lies ahead for the next generation of farm leaders.

A small group of radical environmentalists have declared war on America’s cattle producers and sworn off burgers, all with the dubious claim of fighting climate change.

We wanted to dig into the real story behind this beef with beef. So, we called up Dr. Tryon Wickersham, an Associate Professor of Animal Nutrition at Texas A&M University, to give Groundwork listeners the facts about cattle production in America.

While it can be easy to get caught up in buzzwords or trending policy ideas when it comes to climate change, America’s farmers and ranchers are already doing the hard work to increase resiliency and efficiency. They’re the original conservationists.

Rather than build a policy that works on Capitol Hill but not on the farm, Arkansas rice farmer Mark Isbell instead recommends that we look to rural America to identify existing opportunities to support farmers and ranchers through smart policy.

Kevin Brinkley, President and CEO of the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA), joined Farm Policy Fact’s Groundwork podcast to discuss the importance of infrastructure to efficient global trade. Brinkley also addressed the need for Congress to examine the problems facing agricultural exports at America’s ports.

Collin Peterson, former Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, recently retired from Congress after thirty years of service to America’s farmers and ranchers.

His retirement was short-lived.

Collin Peterson is utilizing his decades of expertise to once again tackle the challenges facing rural America and joined Groundwork to discuss what's on the horizon for farm policy.

We must not weaken the farm safety net.

That was one of the messages esteemed ag economist Dr. Rob Johansson shared on this month’s episode of Groundwork.

Dr. Johansson is the Associate Director of Economics and Policy Analysis at the American Sugar Alliance (ASA), a position he recently assumed after previously serving as Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.