Finding good help on the farm is an age-old problem, but in recent months and years, the difficulty seems to have risen exponentially. Between the struggle of an aging rural workforce, the new pressures introduced by COVID, and the gaps and expenses of federal programs like H-2A, the challenges are piling up, while meaningful solutions remain thin on the ground.

The DTN team is no stranger to this problem, which is why we dedicated a whole series of stories in the summer issue to understanding agriculture’s worker shortage and highlighting how progressive farmers are turning labor struggles into opportunities.

Today, DTN Managing Editor Anthony Greder joins us to discuss these stories. He starts by digging into what the data shows about the true barriers to work on the farm, including why compensation might not be the thing that’s holding farms back. We’ll learn about the current challenges and benefits of the H-2A program, and what tech solutions are becoming increasingly common, thanks to their labor saving benefits.

Finally, we’ll hear about the creative strategies that farmers are turning to — from offering expanded benefits to delivering on a positive workplace culture, in order to attract and keep the employees they need.

The 90-day window that the Trump Administration created in order to negotiate new trade deals with over 200 countries comes to a close on July 9th.

The goal for this time period was to create pressure and opportunities for America’s many and diverse trading partners to come to the table, propose strategies to reduce trade deficits, and offer more favorable treatment for American businesses and products.

So far, the Trump administration has few signed agreements in hand, and seems ready to reimpose drastic tariff costs on those unwilling to meet those demands. As all of this unfolds, American agriculture waits in the wings to see how negotiations fair, bracing for possible retaliation after the dust settles.

Today, Urban Lehner, former DTN editor-in-chief and current author of the Progressive Farmer blog An Urban’s Rural View, joins us to take a deep dive into the current lay of the land in the tariff world, and to offer his perspective on what might be ahead, and which eventualities would prove most lucrative for agriculture.

We’ll dig into the details you might have missed on the current situation with China, hear about the trade deals that have been confirmed, and consider what might be ahead around interest rates, inflation, and other ag policy issues as a quiet three months comes to an end.

Finally, we’ll hear about the potential impacts of the Nippon Steel deal on U.S. agriculture, and learn what other stories Urban is keeping an eye on.

An unprecedented era in U.S. cattle markets continues as what was supposed to be a hot and dry summer looks wetter and more temperate than anyone expected.

In light of that, the idea of record cattle prices is increasingly becoming standard fare, as market fundamentals like herd size remain at historic levels. DTN’s recent Ag Summit Series event on the Future of the Cowherd dug into the weather, the economics, the latest news, and the market reactions to current conditions, and today on the podcast we’re sharing highlights of the event from DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart’s markets outlook.

ShayLe covers a lot of ground today, including taking a deeper look at the current slaughter pace, how it relates to margins for packers, and where the interplay between herd size and carcass weights fits in. She also brings us up-to-date on the latest trade news affecting beef, from declining exports to China in April to the impacts of limited imports of live cattle from Mexico.

Then she’ll dive into the fed cattle and feeder cattle complex, identifying both bearish and bullish factors that are likely to be at play in the weeks and months ahead.