Ryan may be starting his career as an author penning “A Day in the Life at the Stockyard” after this episode! Returning guest, Ryan Batt, joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. If you’ve been around the podcast, you already know Ryan is the Facility Manager at United Producers in Little York, Indiana and among other things, spends his time chasing cattle.

Ryan, Jeff, and Sal will discuss the current state of the cattle market, challenges to overcome for those looking to get into cattle, and why the market has stayed so strong. Get ready for story time with Ryan telling about a buyer who wanted to put a calf in the van or a woman who put pigs in her fancy car! In addition to story time, you’ll learn about some of the interesting animals Ryan has seen come through the yard. “It’s just exciting because you never know what you’re gonna get in there!”

What’s the most traded nitrogen product that’s out there? Returning guest, Josh Linville, joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett for today’s episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. As you may remember, Josh is the Vice President of Fertilizer at StoneX and has over 20 years of experience in the fertilizer industry.

Josh will give us a glimpse into what’s happening in the global urea market and how that sets the tone for the anhydrous market. You’ll learn how navigating transportation through war zones has impacted costs and why we’re dependent upon imports to meet our fertilizer demand. Josh will also discuss the UAN (Urea Ammonium Nitrate) market and why it’s much smaller than the urea market. Josh, Sal, and Jeff will take a look at the reasons behind import duties and Josh will share his advice as you head into 2025. “Look for your opportunities… Do not let the emotion of where it looks as we go into 2025 run your decision-making process.”

Jeff’s asking the good questions today, like, “What’s the strangest species you’ve created feed for?” Special guests, Kristy and Alan Lowe, join hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Kristy and Alan are co-owners of Lowe’s Pellets and Grain which has offered premium feeds for livestock for over 60 years.

In addition to learning about Kristy and Alan’s career paths, you’ll learn about the family business that was started by Alan’s grandparents and the business that exists today. You’ll also learn about the interesting animals that have been fed specialty feed from Lowe’s Pellets and Grain and the way pellets are created. You’ll also learn how the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has impacted food and pellet mills and get a glimpse into what it means that Lowe’s Pellets and Grain is Safe Feed/Safe Food (SF/SF) certified. “Today I think we’re selling our feed in 18 states. It’s been cool to see the growth, but you talk about a learning curve!”

“The farmer is struggling because they’re really dying the death of a thousand apps.” On this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies, Tracey Wiedmeyer joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama in the podcast room! He grew up on a farm, and now Tracey is the co-founder and CEO of Gripp Ag, a company that creates mobile software to help growers scale their agriculture operations because of their operational data tracking.

Tracey will share about his career path and how he ended up connecting with Purdue University and DIAL Ventures. You’ll learn what the acronym stands for and how a traditional venture fund differs from a venture studio and what their relationship is to venture fellows. He’ll share how Gripp offers the ability to track operations, how growers are able to create training videos for their farming operation, and how the app has even been used to track diseases on apple trees.

We think all our guests are special, but this one is extra special! Harold Cooper rejoins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. You may already know Harold is the CEO of Premier Companies, but did you know he used to aspire to run for governor?

Buckle up as Harold shares the story of how cooperatives were formed in Indiana, some of his leadership philosophies, and how being a student of military history has formed those philosophies. You’ll learn about how Harold views the cooperative system and what it means that Premier is farmer-owned and farmer-controlled. You’ll hear about the challenges of dealing with rapid changes and how, through the use of partnerships with groups like DIAL Ventures, Premier works to find new ways to make improvements for all stakeholders. “When I think about what happens here and how do you guide and lead Premier, I first look back. What was the character and the makeup of those that formed us? …That should be enduring in my mind.”

Should biological biostimulants be used to replace mineral nutrition and pesticides? Premier’s Prince of Corn, Glenn Longabaugh, is back! Glenn joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies and is a fan favorite as the Agronomist at Premier Companies.

On today’s episode, we’ll dive into current events in agronomy including changes that may occur in agriculture due to the presidential change and why Glenn sees some parallels to what was experienced in the past. Glenn will share his thoughts regarding what inputs you should prioritize first and what is most important to do to the crop to increase the yield and make a grower a better steward of the environment and crop. We’ll learn more about what biological biostimulants are, what they do, and why they have become the wild west of agriculture. “I can’t think of anything that is harder on the environment, really, than organic farming.”

What might the administration changes in the new year do for the grain industry? To provide his insight, Aaron Bledsoe joins hosts Jeff Jarrett and Sal Sama for another episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Aaron is the Grain Merchandiser for Premier Companies, and though he says he doesn’t have groupies, he’s certainly no stranger to the podcast!

Aaron will share the updates from the November WASDE report including yield, demand, and the stocks-to-use ratio. You’ll take a look at what’s happened in the past and how our corn is used domestically and globally and the types of events that could impact overall demand. In addition to discussing the overall outlook for the grain industry in light of the presidential election, he’ll also show why it’s important to keep an eye on the oil prices and the correlation to corn usage. “The market is an emotionless animal. It doesn’t care how you feel… We get caught up in projecting our own emotions, our own thoughts, onto a free market that only cares about the numbers or geopolitical headline news.”

What is artificial intelligence, and how can it benefit growers? To answer this question, brand new guest Taylor Wetli joins hosts Sal Sama and Jeff Jarrett in the podcast room for this episode of The High Ground powered by Premier Companies. Taylor is the US Commercial and Business Development Manager for Solinftec, a company that specializes in AI and SaaS (software as a service) for agribusiness.

In addition to sharing about growing up on a farm and how he ended up in ag technology, Taylor will share a bit about Solinftec and what it’s like to work for a cutting-edge company that’s working closely with growers and ag retailers. You’ll learn how the robot can not just help make applications in the field, but how it can also help understand issues that exist in the field and make informed decisions regarding how to move forward. You’ll learn how the technology has evolved over the last couple of years and what possibilities may exist in the future. “This is leading edge technology, and we want to be part of it for our customers.”