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:

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/

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/

Harvest is rolling, so we kick things off with a look at harvest progress across the country and what we're seeing in our own fields. We also get into corn and soybean prices, rising production costs, and whether today's commodity prices are actually enough to leave farmers with money in their pockets.

From there, we talk about President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, what renewed trade with China could mean for American agriculture, and somehow wander our way into government, politics, and the general state of the world.

Then Top 3 sends the entire episode completely off the rails.

The question: What weapons are you choosing when the Terminators show up?

What follows is an increasingly ridiculous discussion about fighting robots, surviving an AI takeover, whether humanity actually stands a chance, and the slightly uncomfortable question underneath all the madness: Is an AI-driven future like this really as impossible as we'd like to think?

We started with harvest and soybean prices. We ended up fighting Terminators.

Just another episode of 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

👉 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/

We're back for round two LIVE from the Helena booth at the Farm Progress Show! This time, we're joined by Helena product managers Mark Christianson and Paul Sauer for a conversation that covers everything from new products to why farming can look completely different depending on where you call home.

We dig into Testament, one of Helena's new products, including what it is, what it does, and even how products like this get their names. Because, let's be honest, "Testament" sounds less like something you spray on a crop and more like a metal band.

From there, we get into the differences in farming practices across the country. What makes sense in Tennessee might look completely different in North or South Dakota. We talk tillage versus no-till, why certain practices are more prevalent in some regions than others, and how soil, climate, and growing conditions influence the decisions farmers make.

It's a great conversation with two guys who know the products and the industry, and another fun episode straight from the Farm Progress Show.

A huge thank you to Mark and Paul for joining us, and to Helena for hosting Talk Dirt To Me at their booth and continuing to support the show. We're proud to have them as a partner and appreciate the opportunity to bring these conversations to you live from FPS.

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

👉 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/

Trump's making moves on the cattle side again, but what does it actually mean for producers?

We kick this episode off breaking down the latest cattle conversation. Is this basically M-COOL under a different name? Is it something that could actually stick around, or was it an attempt to smooth things over after talk of importing more beef sent shockwaves through the cattle market? We give our take on what it could mean for American cattlemen.

Then we get into a conversation that might ruffle a few feathers: has the American consumer become entitled to cheap food? Everybody wants the farmer and rancher to produce the best, safest, most abundant food supply possible, but what happens when they expect it to stay cheap no matter what it costs to produce?

After that, we crack open the inbox for a big listener Q&A. We cover everything from cattle and herd bulls to when it makes more sense to custom hire versus buying your own equipment, and whether that bottle calf you raised should really grow up to become the bull running with your cows.

And, naturally, it wouldn't be Talk Dirt to Me without somebody getting pissed off.

One disgruntled listener took the time to let us know he had officially unclicked the Like button because we managed to trigger him once again.

Our response?

We're not building a soft audience. Go pound sand.

Cattle markets, cheap food, farm equipment, questionable bull decisions, listener emails, and hurt feelings.

Just another episode of 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

👉 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/

We're LIVE from the Farm Progress Show 2026 with Helena Agri-Enterprises!

In this episode, we're joined by Jody Lawrence and Austin Anderson for a deep dive into one of the biggest conversations in agriculture right now: what the hell is driving these markets?

With $13 soybeans and $5+ corn, we break down what's behind the recent run-up, whether today's markets are more volatile than they used to be, and what farmers should be watching as we look ahead toward 2027. Are these prices sustainable? What forces are moving the market? And what could change the picture going into next season?

But good prices only matter if you've got bushels to sell.

We also get into the agronomic side of the equation and talk about ways farmers can get more out of every acre. We dig into Grounded, a proprietary Helena adjuvant, why it could be a game changer for an operation, and how it can deliver value without breaking the bank.

This was a great episode for us not only because of the conversation, but because we got to record it LIVE from Farm Progress Show and showcase our partnership with Helena Agri-Enterprises.

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

👉 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/

A listener wrote in and asked us straight up why we have our noses stuck up Trump's ass. Fair question. So instead of dodging it, we devoted nearly an entire episode to answering it.

We put President Trump's record on agriculture under the microscope and ran the full ledger. Biofuels, the tax package, the death tax, DEF, direct aid, and the latest farm bill failure all went on the board. Then we looked at the other side. Agricultural exports to China, tariffs on fertilizer, chemistry, and iron, and hundreds of thousands of metric tons of foreign beef entering the country while American cattle numbers sit near historic lows.

Then we graded him category by category.

We also explain why we did not automatically put the trade war in the loss column. Trump told the country exactly what he intended to do about China, and we voted for him knowing it could create some short-term pain. The real question is whether that pain produces anything worthwhile for American agriculture in the long run.

But agriculture was never the only reason we voted for him. We are conservatives. We voted for the conservative platform on abortion, the Second Amendment, government regulation, energy, taxes, and the direction of the country as a whole. So we also run the counterfactual nobody seems interested in discussing. What would four years of Kamala Harris have actually looked like for farmers, ranchers, and rural America?

Then we finish with one of the wildest farm stories we have ever covered. A Georgia farm boy raised behind three mules went broke raising laying hens, turned his chicken feed into a thousand gallons of moonshine a week, and eventually became one of the highest-paid drug pilots in history, flying cocaine for a big name.

Sixty million dollars. Twenty-six prisons across four continents. Five escapes.

And through all of it, the only thing he ever truly wanted to do was farm.

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

👉 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/