AEI.ag Presents – Details, episodes & analysis

In the season finale, we head to Michigan for our last story as we think about the future of the farm financial system. 

Featured Guests: Brent King (B. Riley Advisory Service), Jeff Conrad (AgIS Capital LLC), Thomas Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), Nate Franzen (First Dakota National Bank)

We shift our focus from understanding the past and present to trying to predict and prepare for the future. Experts weigh in with actions that producers can take now as we enter uncharted financial waters… but will they?

Featured Guests: Curt Covington (AgAmerica), Thomas Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), Jim Knuth (Farm Credit Services of America)

Conditions in the farm economy have changed rapidly since season one of the AEI.ag Presents podcast explored the 1980s farm crisis, and in sometimes contradictory ways. 

You may have heard that there is way less leverage and debt today than there was back then. Yet, farming has also gotten more capital intensive. Interest rates and inflation are also adding to growing uncertainty in 2022. So how much debt is there, really, in today’s agriculture economy? And what might be in store for the farm sector as the U.S. economy barrels toward an uncertain future? 

Featured guest:  Mike Boehlje (Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics). 

Season 3 of AEI.eg Presents: Nothing Borrowed, Nothing Gained

AEI.ag Presents will return this fall for season 3! While you are waiting on that, check out our newest podcast, Ag Interrupted, where we’ll take a deep look into agricultural trends that matter to learn more about the often unexpected ways that the agricultural industry, agricultural markets, and agricultural businesses get shaped by the history we’re not paying attention to.  Listen to & follow Ag Interrupted wherever you listen to podcasts.

For the tenth and final episode, Sarah, Brent, and David reflect on the season and key lessons. From biases to mental models, it’s important to consider how our own thought processes can impact our conclusions about ethanol and shape our expectations about carbon.

Learn more about becoming and AEI Premium subscriber at AEI.ag/premium.

From policy to electric vehicles, the future of ethanol is arguable as uncertain as it has ever been. Have the seeds for ethanol’s demise already been sown, or is the outlook less dire than it initially seems?     

In this episode, you’ll join Ag Economic Insights David Widmar and Brent Gloy, as well as economists, historians, policy advisors, and entrepreneurs as they share their perspectives on the birth of two environmental ag policies. 

Learn more about becoming and AEI Premium subscriber at AEI.ag/premium.

What happens when a demand shift pushes commodity prices and farm incomes higher? To answer this, we have to consider the short-run and long-run implications. Just as the challenges that ethanol faced evolved and shifted, so will the future of carbon and carbon markets.     

This episode, you’ll join Ag Economic Insights David Widmar and Brent Gloy, as well as economists, historians, policy advisors, and entrepreneurs as they share their perspective on the birth of two environmental ag policies. 

Learn more about becoming and AEI Premium subscriber at AEI.ag/premium.

Just as corn-based ethanol production was surging to fulfill the mandates of the 2007 RFS, enthusiasm began shifting to the new kid on the block: cellulosic ethanol. With the help of the government - including mandated usage- the even better renewable fuel made from switchgrass, corn stover, or other biomass feedstocks was just around the corner, or so we thought. This raises important questions for carbon markets, what happens if the technologies needed, despite the enthusiasm and investments, don’t materialize? 

This episode, you’ll join Ag Economic Insights David Widmar and Brent Gloy, as well as economists, historians, policy advisors, and entrepreneurs as they share their perspective on the birth of two environmental ag policies.

Learn more about becoming and AEI Premium subscriber at AEI.ag/premium.

The goals of every policy are eventually tested in the real world. For ethanol, the challenges came in the form of the “blend wall,” which effectively capped the growth of this formerly booming sector. Even the best-designed policies will struggle to navigate conditions that were uncertain or difficult to predict when legislation was passed. For carbon, detecting those potential limits on future growth are critical, and making sure our eyes are open to the possible pitfalls in terms of policy and market growth that might be on the horizon. 

In this episode, you’ll join Ag Economic Insights David Widmar and Brent Gloy, as well as economists, historians, policy advisors, and entrepreneurs as they share their perspective on the birth of two environmental ag policies.

Learn more about becoming and AEI Premium subscriber at AEI.ag/premium.