The Business of Agriculture Podcast

Americans consume nearly twice as much honey as they did 30 years ago, yet U.S. beekeepers are facing one of the most challenging periods in the industry's history. Why is demand growing while domestic producers continue to struggle?
Commercial beekeeper and American Beekeeping Federation Vice President Richard Coy joins Damian Mason to examine the economics behind the U.S. honey industry. They discuss declining domestic honey production, rising production costs, imported honey, honey adulteration, colony losses, pollination economics, and the policy changes many producers believe are needed to strengthen American beekeeping.
The Business of Agriculture with Damian Mason is brought to you by:
Heads Up Plant Protectants
Tidal Grow Agriscience
Nano-Yield 
Good Agriculture
Also, make sure to check out my new show Uprooted, DamianMason.com, XtremeAg's The Cutting The Curve Podcast and The Granary. 
 
 
This content is protected. ©Damian Mason, all rights reserved.

California produces approximately 80 percent of the world's almonds, making it the global leader in almond production. The industry supports more than 110,000 jobs and contributes roughly $6 billion in annual exports, but profitability has become increasingly difficult.
Oversupply, weak prices, international trade disputes, rising production expenses, water concerns, and California's regulatory environment have created significant challenges for almond growers. Yet moving production elsewhere is far from simple because almonds require a rare Mediterranean climate that exists in only a few regions worldwide.
Damian Mason sits down with Clarice Turner, President and CEO of the Almond Board of California, Alexi Rodriguez, CEO of the Almond Alliance, and Matt Woolf, specialty crop analyst with Terrain, to discuss what is happening in the almond business today and where the industry is headed.
Topics include:
California almond production
Almond prices and profitability
Global almond markets
Agricultural exports and trade
California regulations
Specialty crop economics
Water and production challenges
The future of California agriculture
If you are interested in agriculture, agribusiness, specialty crops, agricultural economics, or food production, this episode delivers expert insight into one of America's most valuable agricultural industries.
 
The Business of Agriculture with Damian Mason is brought to you by:
Heads Up Plant Protectants
Tidal Grow Agriscience
Nano-Yield 
Good Agriculture
Also, make sure to check out my new show Uprooted, DamianMason.com, XtremeAg's The Cutting The Curve Podcast and The Granary. 
 
 
This content is protected. ©Damian Mason, all rights reserved.

$2.6 billion. That's what U.S. cotton growers stand to lose this year according to USDA, the fifth straight year of red ink for the industry. The Great American Cotton Plan, announced in May 2026, aims to change the economics of American cotton. In short, we've lost acres, we've lost infrastructure, and the producers have lost money. Plains Cotton Growers CEO, Kody Bessent joins cotton farmers Todd Kimbrell and Matt Miles. Along with Damian, they discuss: cotton's current financial condition, how they see the new initiative impacting farmers, consumer apparel issues, and the promise of renewed cotton demand's effect on rural communities. A major component of the new cotton promotion ties to the fiber's natural-ness. American consumers discard more than 70 pounds of apparel each year, nearly three fourths of which is made from petroleum based material. Will all this bode as a positive for one of America's original cash crops?
The Business of Agriculture with Damian Mason is brought to you by:
Heads Up Plant Protectants
Tidal Grow Agriscience
Nano-Yield 
Good Agriculture
Also, make sure to check out my new show Uprooted, DamianMason.com, XtremeAg's The Cutting The Curve Podcast and The Granary. 
 
 
This content is protected. ©Damian Mason, all rights reserved.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept for agriculture. It is already transforming how farms, agribusinesses, and agricultural professionals make decisions, manage risk, and compete in a rapidly changing global marketplace.
In this episode, Damian Mason welcomes Aidan Connolly, author of The Future of Agriculture and one of the industry's most respected voices on innovation. Together they examine how AI is reshaping agriculture—not through science fiction or sensational headlines, but through practical applications that are available today.
Their conversation explores why agriculture has historically lagged behind other industries in technology adoption and why the biggest obstacle is not age or cost, but organizational culture. They discuss how AI is leveling the playing field by giving producers and small agribusinesses access to capabilities that once required large staffs and specialized expertise.
Damian and Aidan also examine the global AI race. While China focuses on implementation, Europe emphasizes regulation, and the United States continues to drive innovation, agricultural businesses everywhere must decide how quickly they will adapt.
The discussion does not avoid the difficult questions. Data ownership, privacy, surveillance, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence are becoming business issues that every agricultural organization must address.
Whether you are a farmer, rancher, agronomist, lender, crop consultant, grain marketer, livestock producer, or agribusiness executive, this episode offers practical insights into preparing for the next era of agriculture.
 
The Business of Agriculture with Damian Mason is brought to you by:
Ag View Solutions
Tidal Grow Agriscience
Nano-Yield 
Life Scientific
Also, make sure to check out DamianMason.com, XtremeAg's The Cutting The Curve Podcast and The Granary. 
 
This content is protected. ©Damian Mason, all rights reserved.

Why do American farmers pay significantly more for seed and crop protection products than farmers in Brazil? A new study commissioned by the National Corn Growers Association finds that U.S. farmers face substantially higher crop input prices, with some products costing nearly twice as much as comparable inputs in Brazil. In this episode, Damian Mason speaks with NCGA Chief Economist Krista Swanson about the economic, regulatory, and market forces behind the price gap. They examine regulatory compliance costs, patent protections that can delay generic competition, market concentration among seed and crop protection companies, and the potential influence of U.S. farm payment programs on input pricing. Krista also explains what NCGA means when it calls for greater transparency from agricultural input suppliers and why pricing visibility matters for farmers, agribusiness professionals, and policymakers. This conversation provides a detailed look at crop input costs, agricultural competition, seed pricing, crop protection markets, and the economic pressures affecting the competitiveness of American agriculture.
 
The Business of Agriculture with Damian Mason is brought to you by:
Ag View Solutions
Tidal Grow Agriscience
Nano-Yield 
Life Scientific
Also, make sure to check out DamianMason.com, XtremeAg's The Cutting The Curve Podcast and The Granary. 
 
This content is protected. ©Damian Mason, all rights reserved.