Ep. 259: Who Really Owns American Agriculture?!

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.

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