Shows / Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief
A fast, funny, no-nonsense daily podcast for farmers, ranchers, truckers, growers, equipment operators and everyone connected to agriculture.
Each episode delivers fresh farm news, commodity and futures updates, harvest and planting progress, trucking and freight developments, ag technology, dairy and livestock updates, seasonal weather impacts, and the stories shaping rural America.
We also mix in This Day in History, the Farmer’s Almanac Corner, unusual stories in You Don’t Hear That Every…
Episodes
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefForgotten Seeds, Seven-Headed Wheat & a Hidden Beehive Threat, Opening Pine Cones
A bag of forgotten seed nearly became farmyard waste. Instead, it grew into a remarkable old-grain revival—with wheat reaching about six feet tall and a long…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefPlastic from Milk? USDA Funds for Farm Projects, Planting Garlic and Preparing the Field for Spring | Daily Farm Brief
Could a cheesemaking byproduct become the next generation of packaging? Researchers at UC Davis are testing a process that turns whey permeate into…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefNearly 250,000 Fewer Cattle | Flytraps, NASA & Harvest | Daily Farm Brief
Nearly a quarter-million fewer cattle entered America’s big feedlots in September than a year earlier—the lowest September total in thirty years. What could…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefAI Listens for Crop Pests + Ohio’s Wild Pumpkin Roll | Daily Farm Brief
What if farmers could find crop pests by listening to them? Researchers are testing technology that detects insect vibrations—and uses artificial intelligence…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefButter From Carbon? $5 Billion for Meat Processing, Screwworm in Elk. Oregon Wasabi Daily Farm Brief
Butter made from carbon. A Texas elk carrying a livestock pest. And real wasabi selling for around $130 a pound. Join Rick Portanova for Farm Tales Unplugged —…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefUnderstanding the Grain Markets for Dummies | Grain Futures Made Simple | Daily Farm Brief
What makes grain prices rise and fall—and what exactly are futures? Grab your coffee and join Rick Portanova for a relaxed Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefApple-Picking Chaos, Weed-Hunting Sprayers & Soybean Protection | Daily Farm Brief
When did apple picking start involving traffic control, security checks, and stolen fruit hidden under a spare tire? Rick Portanova brings a fast, lively look…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefRunaway Pumpkin, Apple-Picking Robots & Cattle Markets | Daily Farm Brief — October 22
A giant pumpkin escapes a family farm, robots team up to find hidden apples, and cold weather gives the fall garden a sweeter finish. Join Rick Portanova for…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefBuffalo Houseguest, Purple Warning Corn & the Hot-Spray Beetle | Daily Farm Brief
A 2,500-pound buffalo moved into the house—and watching television was part of his routine. Add an underground harvest found by a dog, corn designed to signal…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefNew BioFuel Rules, USDA Progress Update, Fertilizer made from Air, Diesel Prognosis, Hurricane Destroys Cotton | Daily Farm Brief
Could part of a farm’s fertilizer be made from air, water, and electricity? That’s the idea behind the cold-plasma research featured in this edition of Farm…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFarm-Stay Grants, NASCOW Cow Racing & Pepper X | Daily Farm Brief
Could a farm stay open a new source of income? Today’s show starts with a grant opportunity, then takes us to a cattle race, a pepper breeder’s years of work…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefWeekend Farm Shockers: 800K Tons of Soybeans, Japan’s Corn Buy & Farm Tech | Daily Farm Brief
BONUS WEEKEND EDITION | Saturday, October 17, 2026 | Episode 26 An 800,000-metric-ton soybean purchase, fresh corn-buying news from Japan, and some remarkable…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefPLANTS THAT MINE METAL! China Buys Soybeans & Colorado Gator | Daily Farm Brief
What if farmers could grow plants that actually harvest metal from the ground? It sounds impossible, but scientists are exploring how certain plants can pull…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefRobot Bees, Tiny Crop Sensors & a Pig That Loads the Washer | Daily Farm Brief
Imagine planting tiny machines alongside your seeds—with a target price of just one penny each. Could they help farmers spot trouble before a crop starts…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefCows in Virtual Reality Produce More Milk? Plus Trees That Grow Chairs! | Daily Farm Brief
Put a virtual-reality headset on a dairy cow, grow a chair instead of building one, and play the sound of rain for a batch of seeds. Welcome to the wonderfully…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFarm Dinosaur, $105 Snail Eggs & Fungus Robots—Plus Columbus | Daily Farm Brief
A dinosaur on the farm. A tiny jar of snail eggs with a $105 price tag. Robots controlled by living fungus. And spiders that take to the sky without wings…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefYour Tractor—Can You Fix It? Underwater Farming & a $75,000 Doorstop | Daily Farm Brief
You paid for the tractor. Why can getting it fixed still become a battle? And how does a rock used to hold open a door turn into a $75,000 discovery? On the…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief$13.8B Farm Payments, 250-MPH Pumpkins & Glowing Flowers | Daily Farm Brief
Nearly $13.8 billion in farm payments, a Minnesota family firing pumpkins at 250 miles an hour, a heifer with a price tag that sounds like a house purchase…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm Brief$300 Farm Whiskey, Fruit-Picking Robots & Draconid Meteors | Daily Farm Brief
A Nevada ranch puts an unusual farm grain into a $300 whiskey blend, buckwheat finds a new market in the milk aisle, and a harvesting robot sends fruit through…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefHarvest Falls Behind, the Pawpaw Queen, Spider Silk & Persimmons Predict Winter | Daily Farm Brief
Corn and soybean harvest progress is running behind normal in parts of the country, while farmers continue watching field conditions and the weather heading…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefInvasive Texas Crop Pest, 1,600 Tons of Grapes at Risk & Solar Broccoli | Daily Farm Brief
A tiny invasive pest about the size of a printed hyphen is putting Texas growers on alert. Texas A&M AgriLife has released new guidance on the short-spined…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefHog Barn Becomes Mushroom Farm, Pumpkin Theft & 3D Corn Robots | Daily Farm Brief
Can an old hog barn grow a new farm business? On Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief for Monday, October 5, 2026, Rick Portanova explores how an Iowa…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFertilizer Prices Rise, Dairy Co-op Concerns & Strawberry Plant Armor | Daily Farm Brief
Fertilizer costs are climbing, dairy farmers face questions about cooperative consolidation, and new “Plant Armor” technology more than tripled strawberry…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefEgg Prices Crash, U.S. Sugar Growers Struggle & Farm Drones Go Autonomous | Daily Farm Brief
Egg prices are plunging as U.S. production rebounds, American sugar growers face drought, pests and rising imports, and the newest agricultural drones can…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefChina Farm Tariffs, Soybeans, Beef Labor & Harvest Progress | Daily Farm Brief – Sept. 29, 2026
China is cutting tariffs on a broad range of U.S. agricultural products — but American soybeans are being left out. On today’s Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFresh Farm News, Ag Tech & the Week Ahead | Daily Farm Brief – Sept. 28, 2026
Start your Monday with the latest from American agriculture on Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief. Rick Portanova breaks down the fresh farm stories worth…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefAI Crop Pest Detection, Virtual Fencing & Christmas Tree Prices | Daily Farm Brief
Artificial intelligence is learning to listen for crop pests, cattle are being managed by fences you can’t see, and America’s Christmas-tree growers are…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefCarbon-Credit Farms, El Niño, Deep-Root Soybeans, Talking Tomatoes & USDA Soil Money | Sept. 24
On the Thursday, September 24 edition of Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief, Rick Portanova looks at New Zealand farmland being converted to forests for…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefRailroad Mega-Merger, ARC/PLC Enrollment, California Wine Crisis & Autonomous Tractors | Daily Farm Brief
Farm Nation and Truck City start Wednesday with a fast, funny look at the agriculture stories that matter. On today’s Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefHarvest Ahead of Pace, Diesel at Record Highs & a UV Vineyard Robot | Daily Farm Brief
Corn and soybean harvest are running ahead of the five-year average, winter wheat planting is lagging, and cattle futures surged after a surprisingly tight…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFarm News, Markets, Ethanol, Diesel & the Week Ahead | Daily Farm Brief
It’s Monday, and we’re kicking off the week with the stories that matter to America’s farmers, ranchers, truckers, and everyone who keeps food moving. In this…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefCorn Rally, Farm Bill, Ag Tech & Farm-Trucking History | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 18
Corn and grain markets show some life, the 2026 Farm Bill remains in focus, North Dakota farmers face labor challenges, and Husker Harvest Days highlights the…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefCorn Production, Diesel Rules, Soybean Futures & Popcorn Farming | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 17
South Dakota weather takes a bite out of corn production, USDA changes the rules to help keep diesel moving, and soybean futures are back on our market radar…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefCorn, Soybeans, Wheat, Diesel & AI Weed-Killing Robots | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 16
Farmers meet artificial intelligence — and this time it has lasers. Today we check corn, soybean and wheat markets, talk about fuel prices and the…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefFarm-to-Buyer Technology, Local Farm Sourcing & a Hidden Crypto Farm | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 15
Technology is changing what we mean by “farm.” Today we look at World TradeX connecting farmers directly with buyers around the world, Farm Scout and local…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefChina Soybean Buying, Grain Futures & Rising Transportation Costs | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 14
China makes a major move in soybeans, agricultural futures are moving, and transportation costs are climbing — all issues that can quickly affect the farmer’s…
Farm Tales Unplugged - Daily Farm BriefScrewworm, USDA Farm Expenses & Giant Birds | Daily Farm Brief Sept. 13
Screwworm turns up in horses, USDA numbers put farm expenses in focus, and one farmer decides ordinary livestock just isn’t enough — so he raises giant birds…