Why does it feel like everybody in agriculture is making money except the farmer?

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden joins Logan and Bobby Lee in studio for a straight-talking conversation about the issues hitting America's farmers hardest and what Washington is doing about them. A fellow West Tennessean with deep family farming roots, Vaden brings an inside perspective on the fight for more competition, lower input costs, and a stronger future for rural America.

We dig into equipment manufacturer investigations, right to repair, dealer restrictions, and why farmers should have more control over the machines they own. Vaden also explains the push to bring new competitors into the fertilizer market and when he thinks that added supply could start making a difference.

We cover mandatory country of origin labeling, the farm bill holdup, USDA reorganization, and a question we've all wrestled with: Are American farmers too good at growing crops? Plus, we talk biofuels, export markets, and how USDA comes up with the crop report numbers that can send commodity prices sideways.

And because this is Talk Dirt To Me, we squeeze in our Top 3 books and a Made in USA conversation featuring American-grown cotton and a Tennessee pencil company.

Big questions, candid answers, and plenty of laughs with one of the highest-ranking agriculture officials in the country.

Go check out Helena! Where inovation never stops!

https://helenaagri.com/

Go check out Agzaga! It is the ultimate online farm store. American owned and operated. Go check out their site and get what you need. Be sure to use the code TalkDirt20 to get $20 off your order of $50 or more! Visit them at: https://agzaga.com

Get your FerAppease here!

https://feraah.com/pages/ferappease-mbas

Check out Y-Tex and all their awesome products here!

https://www.y-tex.com/

👉 Listen now, hit subscribe, and leave Logan and Bobby Lee a 5-star review to keep the dirt talk rolling every week!

Follow us on social media:

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Bobby Lee: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=hurricane%20creek%20farms

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/hurricanecreekfarm/

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/HurricaneCreekFarms

Logan: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LHFarmsTN

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lo.hanks/

Who really owns American agriculture, and does it even matter?

This week on Talk Dirt To Me, Logan and Bobby Lee dive into some major developments shaking up the agriculture industry. The USDA and FTC are taking a closer look at the farm equipment industry, while the DOJ and USDA are turning their attention to competition and pricing in the seed business. Are farmers finally getting some answers about the rising costs of doing business?

We also discuss the Trump administration's temporary red diesel relief, allowing qualifying farmers to use dyed diesel on public highways, and what that could mean for producers battling high fuel costs.

Then things get interesting. Did you know Bill Gates, through his investment interests, owns nearly 9% of John Deere? That discovery sends us down a rabbit hole about who actually owns America's agricultural equipment companies. We highlight some of the companies still under family ownership, including Kinze, Vermeer, Sukup, Priefert, and our partners at Y-TEX.

But that leads to an even bigger question: What the hell actually qualifies as a family farm? Everybody claims to support family farms, but some of the biggest farming operations in America are still family-owned. So why do we celebrate family farms until they become successful enough to be considered "Big Ag"?

Does size matter? Does ownership matter? Or should we judge agricultural businesses by how they operate rather than how big they've become?

We're tackling all of it with our usual unfiltered opinions, plenty of laughs, and a healthy dose of common sense.

Go check out Helena! Where inovation never stops!

https://helenaagri.com/

Go check out Agzaga! It is the ultimate online farm store. American owned and operated. Go check out their site and get what you need. Be sure to use the code TalkDirt20 to get $20 off your order of $50 or more! Visit them at: https://agzaga.com

Get your FerAppease here!

https://feraah.com/pages/ferappease-mbas

Check out Y-Tex and all their awesome products here!

https://www.y-tex.com/

👉 Listen now, hit subscribe, and leave Logan and Bobby Lee a 5-star review to keep the dirt talk rolling every week!

Follow us on social media:

Talk Dirt to Me Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/talkdirtpodcast/

Bobby Lee: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=hurricane%20creek%20farms

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/hurricanecreekfarm/

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/HurricaneCreekFarms

Logan: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LHFarmsTN

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lo.hanks/

Well, this one got dark in a hurry.

We kick things off with an update from the field and the absolute header fiasco that somehow ended with Logan running a 40-foot John Deere draper in the middle of soybean harvest. We break down what happened to the MacDon, the scramble to keep harvest moving, thoughts on the Deere versus MacDon, and just how much progress we've managed to make despite all the chaos.

From there, we get into the Trump and Xi meeting, China buying American grain, and whether anything meaningful actually came out of it for U.S. farmers.

Then things take a hard left.

Tennessee just attempted to execute its first woman in more than 200 years... and she didn't die. Naturally, this leads to a lengthy discussion about lethal injection, what actually constitutes a "humane" execution, and why Bobby Lee, AKA Dr. Death, apparently wasn't consulted despite years of experience putting animals down.

That conversation somehow inspires one of our darkest Top 3s yet: If you HAD to be executed, what are your Top 3 ways to go? From the guillotine to going out like a gladiator, things get ridiculous fast.

We also welcome two new partners to the Talk Dirt To Me family, Y-Tex and FerAppease!

Broken headers, harvest progress, China, failed executions, gladiators, and questionable medical expertise. Just another week on Talk Dirt To Me.

Go check out Helena! Where inovation never stops!

https://helenaagri.com/

Go check out Agzaga! It is the ultimate online farm store. American owned and operated. Go check out their site and get what you need. Be sure to use the code TalkDirt20 to get $20 off your order of $50 or more! Visit them at: https://agzaga.com

Get your FerAppease here!

https://feraah.com/pages/ferappease-mbas

Check out Y-Tex and all their awesome products here!

https://www.y-tex.com/

👉 Listen now, hit subscribe, and leave Logan and Bobby Lee a 5-star review to keep the dirt talk rolling every week!

Follow us on social media:

Talk Dirt to Me Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/talkdirtpodcast/

Bobby Lee: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=hurricane%20creek%20farms

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/hurricanecreekfarm/

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/HurricaneCreekFarms

Logan: Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LHFarmsTN

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lo.hanks/