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Watch Episode 5124

January 30, 2026

Looking at challenges in rural heathcare, energy and good in the latest MtoM podcast.

The weather is the center of our lives in agriculture.

During the winter we are less reliant on highs, lows and precipitation, but that doesn't mean we aren't paying attention.

The world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, says six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow this morning. The past 10 years, the fella has been correct three years, so take it for what it is worth.

This weekend was cold and snowy again on the east coast of the U.S. Our weekly forecast this morning had a few days with highs beginning with a 3 and a 4.

This week looks warmer. Let's just start with that for a forecast before we look at the next six weeks.

I keep seeing story after story of how small the snowpack is in the Rockies, so there's some weather impact building there.

Or we can just watch this story about how it is so cold iguanas are falling from trees in Florida.

Soup's on for 56% of you according to our latest poll. That was your pick for the best winter meal to eat after coming in from the cold. And now this week I upgraded the poll's name and billing. I'm sure friend of the newsletter Julie will be giving me a hard time about this name change.

Welcome to new members of the newsletter family, Garry D., Max S. and Steven L. Now share this edition with a friend who may find this content worth their time.

Watch Episode 5124

January 30, 2026

Jeff French and Ross Baldwin have appeared together often on our program so now they are asking each other questions.

That's great to see and listen to and makes for a more natural discussion.

We did have topics to cover like more on ethanol, trade with China and the endless topic of cattle herd and market top.

All I can really say is if you haven't checked out Market Plus before, please do so. I would even say it has less market terms and more market macro coverage. We can really get into topics and not worry about the clock ticking down to end our segment time like do on TV.

That's one good thing the internet has given us -- time and space to talk.



We always want your questions for Market Plus. Emailers get priority. Send your commodity question to markettomarket@iowapbs.org.

Again with the E15 talk

Ten years ago I was on the camera platform when Donald Trump vowed support for ethanol when he was at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit.

Last week, President Trump came back to Iowa and a big part of his speech was his support for E15.

So now what?

Congress has sent the issue to a panel, but not to the House Floor.

David Miller looked at what's next for the renewable fuel.

Episode Recap

Friday's program featured two things we usually leave for the end of the discussion if we or even cover them at all. I'm talking about livestock and metals.

Friday was the semiannual release of the U.S. cattle inventory. The smaller herd size story is not a surprise to regular viewers of the program, but the general public is getting the picture each time they go to the meat counter. I've probably asked Ross Baldwin a dozen times about inventory, so I'm sure he was hit with that several times at the AgMarket.net conference he hosted this weekend.

We always report on gold, but it was silver that stole the headlines on Friday. We usually don’t talk about it in Market Analysis, but did this week for a very good reason. Jeff and Ross connected the price of silver to the feeder cattle market to put a sharp point on the topic.

Gold and silver opened sharply lower today before bouncing back into positive territory. The two are down from record-highs, but still positive on the year.

The first word of ice cream is ice and Colleen Krantz and Kenny Knutson were in the cold last week for their work on a future story for the program.

We did have a question for you about the treat and the timing on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

The dairy item wasn't their focus of the trip but rather part of a pit stop while on campus at the University of Nebraska last week.

Colleen's story has been talked about in several of our Market Analysis segments (including this week's). Look for her story in the Cornhusker State an upcoming episode.

"I'd give it a C-". Farmers grade 2025 and look ahead

In our end-of-season farmer conversations we check in with Ben Klick from his grain truck in windy Ohio and Jamie Kress from snowbound Washington, D.C., as we close the books on 2025 and peek ahead to the coming year.

Weather always varies from region to region, and both of our farmers dealt with adversity and extremes. Ben dealt with weather extremes that created an invisible line through Ohio with the wettest June and driest August, while Jamie's high-elevation Idaho operation experienced one of the driest winters on record despite welcome fall rains. 

We see how much optimism they have in the tank for 2026 on a number of issues. Follow this link to our conversations as part of the of MtoM podcast. Look for that first thing Tuesday.

Check out our previous conversations with Ben and Jamie. A huge thank you to each of them for them for the time to chat:

2025 Crop Weather Challenges: Ohio Flooding vs Idaho Drought Impact.

Getting To Know Idaho Farmer Jamie Kress

Ready to Plant in the ECB With Ben Klick

Mug

Monthly — $7.00

Annual — $84.00

Rain gauge

Monthly — $5.00

Annual — $60.00

Coming Up This Week

• Friday: employment report and unemployment rate
• Look for our commodity question prompt on Facebook and X Wednesday.

Thank you to those who watch this program on WSIU in Carbondale, Illinois, each Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Check out Illinois Backroads to see some of their journeys on the roads less travelled. You can always watch on demand at iowapbs.org. One last thing, if you are If you are reading this, send me an email with your name and physical address and I may just send you a special surprise from the program.

Thank you for subscribing, opening, and reading,