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What does the future of the U.S. pork industry really look like?

In this episode of the Patio Pondering Podcast, swine nutritionists Jim Smith and Dr. Trey Kellner from AMVC discuss the biggest challenges facing modern pork production—and surprisingly, very little of the conversation centers on actual pig diets.

Instead, this conversation explores the larger forces shaping the future of the swine industry, including:

• Swine nutrition and feed strategy
• Pork industry labor shortages
• Capital requirements for modern sow farms and finishing barns
• Agricultural leadership development
• Training the next generation of swine nutritionists
• Communication inside pork production systems
• Feed mill operations and execution
• Graduate education and soft skills in agriculture
• Mental health and pressure in agriculture
• The future of pork production in the United States

Dr. Kellner shares insight from working across multiple pork production systems, feed mills, ingredient programs, and business units while balancing formulation strategy, manufacturing logistics, labor challenges, economics, and team leadership.

Jim and Trey also discuss:

• Why capital access may become one of the defining issues in pork production
• How labor shortages are reshaping swine operations
• Why execution matters more than perfect feed formulations
• The growing importance of leadership and communication skills for animal science graduates
• How modern swine nutritionists must balance economics, logistics, people management, and production realities—not just amino acid levels

The conversation also takes a deeper turn into mentorship, pressure, work-life balance, and the emotional weight often carried by leaders in agriculture.

Whether you work in swine nutrition, pork production, feed manufacturing, animal agriculture, agribusiness, or agricultural leadership, this episode offers a thoughtful look at where the pork industry may be headed over the next 10 to 30 years.

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There’s a lot of noise in agriculture right now.

From ag media to Washington, depending on who you listen to, we’re either heading into a financial crisis… or standing on the edge of a golden age.

But what if the real story isn’t either of those?

In this episode, I sit down with Shay Foulk of Ag View Solutions — a farmer and consultant who works directly inside the numbers of real farm operations through Profit Manager and peer groups.

He’s not reacting to headlines. He’s seeing what’s actually happening.

We start with a simple but uncomfortable question:

Are we in a true crisis… or are we seeing a growing gap between strong operators and those that are struggling?

From there, the conversation moves into the places most farms don’t openly talk about:

• Why some operations are pulling ahead while others are falling behind
• The reality of cost of production — and how many actually know it
• The disconnect between tax accounting and real decision-making
• How household spending quietly shapes farm profitability
• Why “people would rather be happy than informed” when it comes to their numbers
• The role of peer groups, accountability, and getting off the “island”

We also get into the harder conversations around transition planning, family dynamics, and what happens when farms operate as families first and businesses second.

Shay brings a perspective shaped by farming, consulting, and military experience — blending discipline, preparation, and decision-making into how he approaches both business and life.

And by the end, we land somewhere different than where we started.

Maybe the golden age of agriculture isn’t something happening out there…

Maybe it’s something that gets built — or missed — on your own farm.

🔗 Connect with Shay Foulk & Ag View Solutions

Ag View Solutions:
https://www.agviewsolutions.com/

Farm Profit Manager:
https://farmprofitmanager.app/

Ag View Pitch Podcast:
https://www.agviewsolutions.com/podcasts

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When I started the Patio Pondering Podcast, there were a handful of conversations I hoped I might get to have someday. This is one of them.

In this episode, I sit down with Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, to talk about something a little different than production, nutrition, or markets.

We talk about how agriculture thinks about itself.

Shaun has spent the last 15+ years building RealAgriculture into one of the most recognized voices in ag media—starting with a camcorder and an instinct that the industry was ready for something different.

Our conversation covers:

• What questions agriculture should be asking—but isn’t
• How RealAgriculture grew in what many saw as a “mature” media space
• The role of timing, technology, and simply getting started
• Why velocity and consistency matter more than perfection
• The challenge of balancing attention, depth, and relevance in today’s media environment
• How audience behavior—not intention—drives what gets covered

We also spend time on Shaun’s role in the Friday Roundtable on AgriTalk AM with Chip Flory, and how his Canadian perspective shapes the way he interprets U.S. agriculture.

That leads into a broader discussion on:

• The changing role of media in agriculture
• Why perspective matters as much as information
• The importance of hearing multiple viewpoints—even the ones we disagree with
• And where agriculture may be headed in the next 10 years

Shaun also shares his personal journey—from production agriculture to media—and what it took to leave the farm and build something entirely different.

We wrap up with the Five Signature Questions, covering everything from Henry Wallace’s legacy to why agriculture may be one of the most capital-intensive, misunderstood industries in the world.

Closing Thought

This is not a conversation about how to farm better.

It’s a conversation about how we understand agriculture—and how that understanding shapes the decisions being made across the industry every day.

If you’re interested in how the story of agriculture gets told—and why that matters—this is one you’ll want to listen to.