News, Insights & Interviews Archive

National security, farm policy, and modernization are key priorities for the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Speaking at the morning keynote address of the 2026 Land Investment Expo, USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden spoke on some of the most important topics happening at the federal level.  Foreign Ownership of U.S. Farmland With security as a priority, Vaden emphasized the USDA’s commitment to enforce and monitor the Agriculture Foreign Inves

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcast For many farm owners today, the question isn’t whether change is coming; it’s how to respond to it without jeopardizing everything they have built. Commodity markets remain volatile, input costs stay stubbornly high, and consolidation continues to squeeze margins. Virginia farmer, author, and outspoken agricultural thinker Joel Salatin offers a significantly different perspective for thinking about growth, resilience, and transition. Joel S

For much of the last decade, the national conversation about the U.S. economy has revolved around inflation, interest rates, and inequality. But according to veteran economist Ed “Dr. Ed” Yardeni, one of the most powerful forces shaping the current and future economy is far less discussed: America’s aging population. Yardeni -- noted national analyst on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business, the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere -- is the President of Yardeni Research and

By any measure, the United States is standing on the edge of an unprecedented economic shift. Trillions of dollars are moving from one generation to the next, reshaping investment decisions, markets, and, potentially, the future of rural America. Ronald Diamond, Diamond Wealth Founder and Chairman, told American Farmland Owner from his office in Northbrook, Illinois, that he believes an historic wealth transfer is underway from the Baby Boomer generation, and it will impact a

Reducing immigrants in the United States will hurt U.S. agriculture short-term and the country overall longer-term geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan believes.

Steve Eisman, the renowned investor known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, was a featured speaker at the 18th Annual Land Expo.

By: Brooke Bouma Kohlsdorf Edited by: Dave Price The Pacific Northwest is known for its natural beauty. The mountains, forests, and coastline may come to mind when you picture this area of the country. This region is also famous for what it grows. (Apples, anyone?) According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the Northwest is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country with 40 million acres of farmland and $7 billion in sales in 2021.   RELATED

By: David Geiger Edited by: Dave Price A new presidential term started off this week with an emphasis on President Trump’s America First policy. A part of that is a push to bring innovation and manufacturing back to America.  RELATED: Domestic production can be a bipartisan effort. Earlier this month, Reuters reported the Biden Administration blocked a U.S. Steel merger with Nippon Steel. The new Trump Administration also vowed to kill the effort.   While a new administratio

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS One country attacked another (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), which limited some agricultural supplies (Ukraine is one of the world’s top producers of sunflower oil, barley, maize, and wheat). Numerous countries, including the United States, are still dealing with inflationary pressures from the global pandemic. Extreme weather always seems to be causing chaos to people, livestock, and food production.   The combinations of those challenges make the

By: Brooke Bouma Kohlsdorf  Edited by: Dave Price  Kyle Bass is the kind of person who has strong opinions and doesn’t mind sharing them. You never have to wonder how he really feels about an issue. “President Biden is the first President in United States history to actively & intentionally compromise the national security of our country.”                                                  Bass posted on X/Twitter January 7, 2025. That criticism was leveled at Biden for failing

By: David Geiger Edited by: Dave Price Whether it's wind, solar, or biofuel, farmers have been harvesting power on their land for decades. As technology improves efficiency, landowners see more potential in it. "I've moved to be much more bullish on solar here over the past year than I have been previously," says Dave Muth with People's Company Capital Markets.  He points to wind energy. It has good gains and profitability for landowners in today's climate. Winds brings nearl

Spotify | Apple Podcasts Mike Naig gets a view from two important angles: his family’s century farm and his position as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. And he knows that one can impact the other. And there is a lot to consider. “I think folks kind of feel like, ‘we're plateauing a little bit here, and there's got to be something that changes that dynamic here in ‘25.’ So, definitely under pressure,” Naig told American Farmland Owner from his office at the Iowa State Capitol

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS How many newspapers do you get delivered to your home? How many magazines? If you are a typical household, your answer to those questions is likely “none” or “not many.” A Pew Research study from September found that just 4% of Americans reported that they consume news information via print. RELATED: Read the Pew Research Study here  that shows how dominant digital is for the medium by which Americans get their news. Marc Brinkmeyer doesn’t need to

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCAST Dave Chatterton studies the past and present and tries to predict what will happen in the future. “Strive to be at the forefront of figuring out what's going to happen next,” Chatterton told American Farmland Owner from his office in Champaign, Illinois. Chatterton is Commodities Division Director for Strategic Farm Marketing and Strategic Farm Futures. For the past quarter century, he has analyzed trends in commodity trading and price risk manageme

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS “Where Capital Meets Conservation.” “Global Outlook. Contrarian Perspective.” Those statements serve as guideposts that headline the websites of two entities that J. Kyle Bass founded: Conservation Equity Management (ecosystem-focused investment firm) and Hayman Capital Management (asset management firm). A conversation with Bass elicits insights that seem to blend the firms’ philosophies into the way he approaches some of the world’s most significan

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS What do a media and entertainment icon, an Oklahoma billionaire, a future president, two people who helped lead their country’s monetary policy, and a star football player who almost died after getting hit on the football field have in common? They all agreed with Steve Bruere’s sales pitch. Media and entertainment icon: Martha Stewart Oklahoma billionaire: T. Boone Pickens Future president: Donald J. Trump Monetary policy leaders: Esther George and

SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS Is debt a four-letter word? OK, yes, it is in a literal sense. But do you consider debt a bad  word, a bad thing? Richard Vague thinks that some of us may have a misguided view of debt. In his opinion, it is the type of debt that matters most. “Most folks, when they think about debt, think about government debt. And really, that's the lesser part of the equation,” Vague told American Farmland Owner from his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The fed

Contributor: Jesus Martinez-Aviles Editor: Dave Price   “Buy or Bury.” That’s how Brad Griffin sees the competitive dynamics of land investment. Griffin is marketing director for AcreValue, an Ithaca, New York-based company that provides information including land sales, ownership information, and crop history.   Act quickly and buy that property you seek. Or delay and get buried by a competitor.   If only one or two percent of available farmland transfers ownership each yea

Contributor: Jesus Martinez Editor: Dave Price “ROI.” That may not be the first thought of motivation each morning as landowners work to preserve the century farm that their great grandparents toiled to build. But it might be the reason that the farm will survive for future generations.   “The general issue with -- at least the customers that we have and folks that we talk to -- is that data is disconnected. There's a high volume of data; it's not necessarily usable. We help

This episode is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. “Everyone has their own theory on farming,” Jackson Drost explained to American Farmland Owner. The fact that he was standing atop a snow-covered mountain in Aspen, Colorado, while his wife, Amanda, joined the conversation from her office in Pella, Iowa, demonstrated the family’s theory on farming.   A key tenant of that theory is diversification, which is evident in nearly every aspect of their lives. “It’s a way