As the US marks Juneteenth, self-described “death and dirt” attorney Mavis Gragg recounts efforts to secure title and reclaim legal ownership of Black-owned land, in the burgeoning field of heirs property.By Lincoln Institute

Imagine that a farmer poured months into growing their crop. They spent the entire growing season running their numbers, conducting soil tests, scouting fields, and produced the best crop they’ve ever had. Out of nowhere, they have a heart attack and can’t harvest this season. Farming is one of the most physically demanding jobs in America. Unfortu…

One crop symptom can lead to another. And with all this rainfall, fungicide application will be critical for keeping your crop healthy through harvest. Join in on this circus of a spring with Landus Technical Agronomy and Precision Lead and your Virtual Agronomist, Dan Bjornklund; and Landus Regional Sales Manager and Agronomy Minute host, Scott Ah…

Landus Product and Services Leader, Jon Setterdahl and Strategic Dispatch Savannah Jenkins join GROW Grain Marketing Advisor Ashley Kaldenberg for this grain edition of the GROW Podcast. Highlights: AcreDirect Grain Solutions Get a marketing plan Risk management plan Information sharing Grain markets repeat in waves We’re in a transition year Deman…

An interview with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has led a pioneering zoning reform effort to increase housing supply, beginning with banning single-family-only zoning. As part of the “Mayor’s Desk” series of Q&A’s with municipal leaders, he also reflects on bike and bus lanes, regional governance, value capture for urban infill redevelopment, r…

Whether you follow politics or not, regardless of which side of the aisle you fall in—this GROW Podcast will cover everything you need to know about public policy and how it relates to our rural communities. The Iowa legislative session concluded a few weeks ago, and the GROW Podcast crew is seizing this moment to fill you in on state bills that we…

Highlights from the Lincoln Institute’s Journalists Forum: Innovations in Affordability reveal emerging solutions to the extraordinary challenge of the housing crisis—reforming statewide zoning to increase supply, outmaneuvering institutional investors, shifting the property tax to a land value tax, and changing the home financing system.…

"To Plant, Or Not to Plant " Ah, and that is the question. And that’s exactly why we put our two favorite agronomists in the same room (warehouse) to talk shop (agronomy) in this special early release of the GROW Podcast. Join Landus Technical Agronomy and Precision Lead, Dan Bjorklund and special guest, Landus Account Lead (and your 2024 Iowa Cert…

Think of the most intriguing questions in ag. Does it have to do with sustainability? Labor? Succession planning? The bad news is that these are just a few of the topics that farmers are asking themselves. The good news is that Landus is hosting farmers to its Des Moines Connector to answer these questions and so many more on April 3 & 4. Brooke Bl…

Spring break just ended and school is back in session. Join special guest, Charles Hurburgh, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Professor at Iowa State University as he and Ashley Kaldenberg discuss the best practices to keep stored grain healthy before you sell. Highlights: We’ve been on the upswing in the market. The saying is…

If you could know what every individual plant needed to succeed, you’d likely take that information and provide appropriate nutrients and protections to those plants. Now imagine that you have an avian business partner that takes to the sky for an hour every other week, and scans for deficiencies and areas of improvement at the plant level. Your li…

The cooperative model is based on doing for the farmer what they can’t do themselves. Although Landus has outgrown the mold of what traditional cooperative can do, we remain committed to representing farmer goals and values. One of the more underrepresented settings of farmers is none other than our state capital in Des Moines and Capitol Hill in D…

When the season starts, farmers formulate a “game plan.” A plan that they curate with the help of their agronomists on what outcomes are likely to occur throughout the growing and harvest seasons. Last year presented challenges that we knew would present hardships. However, in every game plan lies an area of uncertainty. According to Landus Technic…

An assessment of what was accomplished at the recent COP28 climate summit in Dubai, including more prominence for the critical issue of land use and cities, by four members of the Lincoln Institute staff who were thereBy Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The January WASDE Report by the USDA is one of the more significant WASDE monthly reports. It tells the final numbers of harvested crop across the US and basis will be based off the numbers in this report. Landus Strategic Account Manager, Ashley Kaldenberg hosts this week’s GROW Podcast with returning guest, Landus Grain Merchandiser, Reese Drenth…

The Agronomy Trio (minus one) is back again with their compiled results from the 2023 harvest. Which hybrids did the best? Did any of them manage stress better than expected? What should you expect from your seeds for next harvest? Get the latest on the agronomy markets, the stressors predicted for the 2024 crop, and more in this episode of the GRO…

Mayor Paige Cognetti is guiding the postindustrial reinvention of Scranton, a coal-mining crossroads in northeastern Pennsylvania that is President Biden’s hometown—and has gained notoriety as the setting for the TV comedy series “The Office.”By Lincoln Institute

Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady has nutrient supplements designed for him because off the shelf supplements don’t meet his specific needs — why should your crops be any different? Be the Tom Brady of farming with AcreEdge products. In this episode, John King hosts guests who are responsible for the launch of the brand new AcreE…

A major endeavor Landus will be emphasizing in 2024 is the direct shipment of all our products. Both our grain and agronomy departments currently offer their own versions of direct ship, but the premium service will only get better for next year. GROW Podcast host and Landus strategic account manager Ashley Kaldenberg, strategic dispatcher Savannah…

Jim Holway, who retired as director of the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy this summer, reflects on decades of trying to solve the puzzle of sustainable water resources in the West, and looks to what the future may hold.By Lincoln Institute

The factor that paid dividends this season was stock rigidity and health. With dryer conditions toward the end of this year’s growing season and higher winds to the west, crop health was the make-or-break factor for many farmers. The agronomy trio John King, Brad Sherwin, and Dan Bjorklund, return after exploring through farmer plots and report bac…

Crop numbers are strong so far in the 2023 harvest. Join the GROW Podcast from in the combine or on the road and get insights for geography harvest numbers and 2024 outlooks. Follow host, and Landus strategic account manager, Ashley Kaldenberg as she sits down with special guest, Landus senior grain merchandiser, Jim Engler, through the latest edit…

Most of you will be starting up your combines this week in preparation of the 2024 harvest. While you’re in your combine, we invite you to tune into this weeks GROW podcast with the Landus agronomy trio. Join John King, Brad Sherwin, and Dan Bjorklund as they look at how hybrids this season reacted with what products. One thing’s for certain: It pa…

Landus services a healthy chunk of the Iowa corn and soybean farmers. By collecting data and completing service with Iowa growers, Landus is proud to present a comprehensive report that captures a snapshot of what farmers are expecting to harvest in 2023. Landus grain merchandiser, Reese Drenth, walks listeners through the data and what to expect f…

The Iowa legislative session of 2023 started in early January and ended in May. Throughout that timeline, Susan Tronchetti, Landus external affairs lead, published Rural Matters; the reoccurring series that covers topics that are debated in the chambers of the capital and impact rural Iowa. Since the session’s end in May, Rural Matters has become a…

As the state fair kicks off its 169th year, students from all corners of the state congregate to the Iowa State Fairgrounds to eat deep-fried [insert food here], ride fair attractions, and enjoy the free shows and entertainment. Many people, even in the most agricultural affluent state in the country, may not know of the animal showings that run al…

Record-breaking heat, out-of-control wildfires, and eye-stinging smoke have made the impacts of climate change inescapable for millions of people this summer. Containing the destructive fires is mostly a matter of land use management, says Canadian science journalist Ed Struzik.By Lincoln Institute

In the latest agronomy installment of the GROW Podcast, Landus agronomy lead, John King talks shop with returning guest, StoneX’s director of fertilizer, Josh Linville (@JLinvilleFert). With this year’s harvest season inching closer, it can be difficult to start thinking about harvest 2024. But now is a great time to look at fertilizer prices and h…

The GROW Podcast travels to Ames to gain insights from Mike Gaul, Director of Career Services at Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). If you graduated from one of the top agricultural institutions in the country, ISU, you’ve likely run into Mike in Curtiss Hall. Whether it be for career advice, course selection, or…

Broadcasting from the Landus Research Plots in Farnhamville, the agronomy trio: John King, optimization and procurement lead; Brad Sherwin, technical agronomist data analyst; and Dan Bjorklund, technical agronomy and precision lead, find soybean cyst nematodes and tar spot in fields across the state. Find out how we use over 160 acres of research p…

A USDA quarterly report in the middle of Summer can dramatically influence markets. Today, the USDA released its Quarterly Acreage and Grain Stock Reports. Landus grain merchandiser, Reese Drenth joins GROW Podcast host, Ashley Kaldenberg for a special, audio-only version of the podcast to interpret what these reports do for the farmer. View the Re…

In our 2022 annual report, we highlighted our pledge to invest $84.1 million back into our locations to better serve our farmer-owners. In this episode of the GROW Podcast, join host, Ashley Kaldenberg with guests, Mark Miner, chief investment officer, and Jon Setterdahl, product and services leader, as they cover how that money is used to help str…

The job of the urban planner is getting tougher these days, as cities confront climate change and a shortage of affordable housing, amid increasingly divided constituencies. Veteran journalist Josh Stephens shares insights from his interviews for the book Planners Across America.By Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Nearly two years after announcing our GROW Solutions Center, Jamie Orr, GROW Agronomy Lead, and Janette Smith, GROW Grain Lead, join Ashley on the podcast this week to share the GROW Solution Center’s accomplishments thus far and discuss how they are putting farmers’ needs at the forefront of Landus. With a growing virtual team made up of agronomis…

The agronomy trio is back in the very first on-location GROW Podcast. John King (@JMKINGLANDUS), optimization and procurement lead; Dan Bjorklund (@DanielBjorklun9), technical agronomy and precision lead; and Brad Sherwin, technical agronomist, welcome GROW Podcast listeners to the Jefferson Seed Center. With an estimated 89% of Iowa’s corn in the …

Join GROW Podcast host, Ashley Kaldenberg, Landus grain merchandiser, and her guest Scott Stoller, grain merchandiser from Stoller Grain Solutions, as they cover using market fluctuations, grain marketing for the future, and how crop insurance can help you manage risk in your operation. Ashley and Scott tackle the questions surrounding the risk tak…

Thursday, May 4, 2023, will be a landmark date in Landus history, marking the launch of the joint venture between Landus and DEFENSEWERX called LANDWERX, an innovation hub built for farmers and nurtured by participation. In this special edition of the GROW Podcast, Landus president and CEO, Matt Carstens, and Landus chief of staff, Marry Bendickson…

The agronomy dream team trio join the GROW Podcast and dive into the fungus that’s taking place in corn seeds right now! John, Dan, and Brad chat about the chem markets and early application of fungicides to protect your hybrids. Links referenced in this podcast: High Yield Learning Group: https://www.landus.ag/agronomy/precision-ag-high-yield-lear…

The former President and First Lady of Costa Rica, taking a year in the United States after being in power from 2018 to 2022, reflect on their home country’s record of leading by example on climate, from rainforest conservation to electric buses.By Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The GROW Podcast hosts Andrew Wheeler from the Iowa Farm Bureau to talk about how farmers can bridge their connection to consumers. The best way to tell farmer stories is to do it yourself! Nobody is going to tell your story better than you. The reputation of farming and ag have been skewed in the public eye and it’s up to farmers to be transparent…

Landus grain experts Ashley Kaldenberg and Jim Engler put the annual Prospective Planting Reports reports under the microscope and highlight the takeaways that will impact the agriculture community ahead of the anticipated weather-driven markets of 2023. For more detail, have a look at the Landus Market Commentary post that came out prior to the re…

With Spring officially here, future prices on phosphates, fungicides, and fertilizers remain high — but predictable. John King (@JMKINGLANDUS) dissects what the natural gas prices in Europe can indicate for the rest of the world markets. Dan Bjorklund (@DanielBjorklun9) returns from his tour across the US and Landus partners. Taking his knowledge f…

As a relatively affordable city protected from some of the worst effects of climate change, Cincinnati is poised for growth. In the this episode of the Land Matters podcast, Mayor Aftab Pureval reflects on the challenges he is confronting—including fending off predatory real estate investors—and discusses how the city can grow thoughtfully and equi…

John King brings the technical breakdown in the ever-changing fertilizer and chemical markets. The fertilizer market has been on the downturn while the Ukraine-Russia conflict, paired with Europe's mild winter, has lessened Europe’s need to purchase product from other countries. Internationally, markets have been waiting for India to tender urea, w…

On this episode of the GROW Podcast, host Ashley Kaldenberg sits down with Derek Hommer, a risk management consultant from Nationwide, and Ahad Mujeeb, a EHS team member from Landus to talk about grain bin safety. February 19 – 25 is grain bin safety week, and given our farmers and team members are in contact with grain bins regularly, we felt it w…

Three scholars retiring from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy – Armando Carbonell, who led programs in urban planning and land conservation; Daphne Kenyon, an economist studying the property tax and municipal finance; and Martim Smolka, director of the Latin America program – share thoughts on what it takes for a nonprofit organization to have …

Tar spot is spreading into and being seen in more and more of Iowa. On this podcast, Meaghan Anderson a Field Agronomist with Iowa State University Extension, joins host, John King, and Landus Technical Agronomist, Dan Bjorklund to talk through this evolving disease. Meaghan explains the discovery of Tar Spot in Iowa and how we’ve seen the disease …

Join host, Ashley Kaldenberg, and Janette Smith as they take a look back at harvest. They’ll highlight some specific Landus areas that reached milestones and talk about the overall success with this year’s crops. This podcast truly highlights the knowledge we have within our grain team and the authentic approach we hope listeners hear. Ashley also …

On this special episode of the Landus GROW Podcast, hosts John King and Ashley Kaldenberg welcome special guest, Landus President and CEO, Matt Carstens. If you missed the Landus annual meeting, this is a perfect opportunity to hear the highlights with additional candor and commentary direct from Matt. This brief session includes a recap of the boa…

The mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, explains her appointment of Africa’s first chief heat officer, fighting climate change with land use planning and planting a million trees, and an overhaul of the property tax system to ensure fiscal sustainability.By Lincoln Institute of Land Policy