People In The Know

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn - Foreign Service - Vietnam to Cambodia

Kenneth Quinn did not seem destined for greatness as a young man.  He was born in the Bronx (1942) but his family moved to the Midwest when he was ten years old.  Intelligent, but with few resources, he worked and lived at home to gain a degree from Loras Collage in Dubuque, Iowa.
After college, he worked in a packing plant with the hope of becoming a lawyer.  Without enough money to take the LSAT, he found he could stand for the U.S. Foreign Service Exam, for free, but with almost no chance of passing the test or getting a job.  He did, but but was posted to Vietnam in the 1960's.
Under fire, Quinn, as a civilian, began to distinguish himself and show leadership skills.  He cheated death several times.  His life lessons began to converge with those of Dr. Norman Borlaug but it took almost forty years for the two men to join forces. This podcast is abut Quinn's amazing career before helping found the World Food Prize in Des Moines.  He is a story teller, par excellence. 

Big Pumpkin at Iowa State Fair won by Don Young, Legendary In GPC Competition

Don Young lives on a half acre of very good soil in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. His pumpkin patch has produced monster pumpkins for almost twenty years.  He is a self taught agronomist and attacks each season with new research and tools.  
Young has had a lot of fame from his hobby.  He was on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show and has won the most prestigious pumpkin contest in America at Half Moon Bay, California.  He has yet to grow a world record...But he tries hard every year.

The Life of a Cattle Judge - Dick Burns

In Rural America, everyone knows that county fairs are about competition.  When you advance to state events, the competition gets more intense.  The annual contests for the best breeding bull or market steer can mean long term profit or loss for breeders who produce animals that catch the judge's eye in the show ring or score carcass quality that is higher than others. 
For each exhibition, an individual is selected to sort through the exhibitors, bottom to top.  When he, or she, finishes the task, there may be many who accept the placings of the judge but only one exhibitor gets the purple ribbon.
Dick Burns, an Angus cattle breeder from Peoria, Illinois, talks with me about how he approaches these high pressure events, evaluates the animals, and sleeps at night after doing so.
 

Daren Coppock - Ag Retailers Executive

Daren is the President and CEO of the Agriculture Retailers Association
You may know it as similar to the Fertilizer and Agri-Chemical Retailers Association in your state but he heads up the national association in Washington, D.C.
He has an active relationship with a sister organization in Brazil and also works with Argentina.  
I ask Daren if he thinks we remain competitive and the major challenges facing the cooperatives and independent dealerships in your communities.
(In the 1990's, I was the Executive Director of an organization (NARA) that merged and became a part of the current ARA organization.)  I give Daren an A+ for the work that he and ARA are doing.

The Story Behind the Price of Eggs

Emily Metz is CEO of the Egg Board.  We discuss the ups and downs of the poultry industry, primarily laying hens.  
Bird Flu has been devastating to the industry with a big hit last year.
California laws have impacted all egg producers across the country.
Supply and Demand are the real drivers of egg prices in grocery stores.
"An Egg for Everyone"  and "Egg Farmers are Price Takers"

USDA Museum Re-Established

I've spent almost fifty years covering the US Department of Agriculture.
During my week in Virginia to visit family, I went to the USDA headquarters in the District of Columbia and spoke with the new Historian for the Department and a member of the communications staff.
Nothing High Level in this visit.  The current location of the archives is an office that is unoccupied with a large assortment of historical photos and stories.
It could be the beginning of a much larger effort to capture the spirit of one of the oldest departments of the US government.
Wayne Connelly and Stephanie Ho are my guests with a cameo visit from Layla Ginty, my grand daughter.
 

Agriculture In The Red River Valley Guest: Mike Hergert

A northern landscape with black gumbo soil, a short growing season and a river that flows north.  That's the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota.
Mike Hergert is a retired farm broadcaster from the Red River Farm Network.
He spoke to me while we were at Lake of the Woods on a fishing trip.
Color from Ken.  Facts from Mike.
 

Phosphate Update Morocco Fertilizer Imports Still Restricted by Tariff

I spoke with Kevin Kimm, CEO of OCP North America
We have been talking since 2020 on efforts to remove the tariff on Moroccan Phosphate (fertilizer) so that it can be competitive with that produced in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.  With Russia and China as other restricted suppliers, the story gets more involved.
Moroccan Phosphate, shipped up the Mississippi River, is not required to pay a tariff to be sold in Canada.  It is not restricted in Brazil, nor other grain exporting countries around the world.
The politics here are thick with U.S. farm organizations on one side and the U.S. Fertilizer Industry on the other. 
Kevin Kimm is an American, based in St. Louis. 

Union City Tornado 50th Anniversary

I was a young teacher at Union City, Oklahoma in late May of 1973.  At 5:12 pm the town was struck by a very strong tornado.  Two people were killed and there was great property damage. 
To the east of town, the tornado hit the home of the Ninman family and destroyed it.  They sought shelter by driving their car into a trench silo as their only protection.  The tornado pulled the car, with four occupants, out of the silo and slung it across the pasture.  
Larry Ninman, was almost 16 when the tornado almost killed him and his family.  He was one of my students and went on to a 40 year career in coaching, teaching and high school administration.  Larry gives his memories of the storm and miraculous survival from a direct hit by one of the most famous tornadoes in history.

Agriculture’s Future Russ Green

Russ Green was an Iowa kid who made his way to the top of the Ag Equipment Industry.  Upon Retirement, he didn't slow down.  He turned his attention to helping the youth and young professionals develop themselves and their businesses.
A fascinating speaker and a sincere leader.  He's still the kind of person I'd like to see in charge of corporate America.
A half hour that will inspire 4-H members and retired farmers.