Agri-Pulse Open Mic Podcast

This week's Open Mic guest is Dr. Peter Beetham, Co-Founder and President of Cibus. Agriculture technology has made major advances since the introduction of genetic engineering in the 1990's. Beetham says Cibus works to develop traits for seed companies through genetic engineering. Beetham explains how decisions by the European Parliament and the U.S. The Supreme Court can help outline the future of agriculture research. Beetham says genetic engineering can provide a pathway to crop output traits desirable to meet today's consumer needs.

This week's Open Mic guest is Richard Fordyce, USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation. Fordyce says USDA staff is working to implement farm program updates provided under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, disburse funds under the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program as well as disaster assistance to farmers who have suffered loss to natural disasters and wildfires. He discusses USDA reorganization efforts and how the agency is trying to streamline applications and reporting.

This week's Open Mic guest is John Bode, President and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association. The annual "Feeding the Economy Report" was recently released, indicating the food and agriculture sector contributes over $10 trillion to the nation's economy and provides over 49 million jobs. Bode discusses the opportunities and challenges presented by the recent Dietary Guidelines and by the MAHA Commission. He says CRA members support free trade and hope for a successful review of the USMCA trade agreement. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Viren Popli, President and CEO of Mahindra North America. The world's largest tractor manufacturer by volume has been growing its customer base between farmers, ranchers and landowners for over two decades. While the machines are assembled in the United States, Popli says the company has been forced to embrace import tariffs from the Trump administration. He sees hope that India and the U.S. could become better trading partners.  Popli says rural development is a key reason Congress needs to complete a new farm bill. 

This week's Open Mic guest is Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean Association. Soybean growers face a number of headwinds approaching a new crop year. High input costs and low commodity prices are squeezing producer profit potential. Censky says uncertain export opportunities, questions over government incentives for renewable fuel, and an outdated farm bill only add to grower uncertainty.  He also comments on government efforts to investigate why fertilizer and other input prices are higher. 

This week's Open Mic guest is National Farmers Union President Rob Larew. The group wrapped up their 124^th annual convention last week in New Orleans and he says the challenges facing family farmers and ranchers continue to grow more complex. Delegates approved special orders of business targeting family farmers and the future of food and agriculture policy. Larew says additional farm assistance from Washington could ease financial stress for some farm operators, but more investments are needed to build value-added domestic demand. NFU supports government investigations into farm input costs and industry consolidation as well as continuing the USMCA trade agreement.