#134 Dining with the Dean: Agriculture, Journalism, and the Food Connection

How do we bridge the gap between agriculture and the food on our plates? In this lively episode, Michael Klein and Deborah Willenborg sit down with Jerry Hagstrom, a seasoned ag journalist, at a bustling Georgetown restaurant. They delve into the evolution of agricultural journalism, the challenges of covering Congress, and Jerry's unique insights on food's role in agriculture. Discover how personal experiences shape journalism and the surprising connections between farmers and chefs. Tune in for an engaging meal of stories! www.hagstromreport.com  www.naaj.net/naaj-hillgren-scholarship  With special guest: Jerry Hagstom, The Hagstrom Report & National Journal   Hosted by: Michael Klein and Deborah Willenborg

Join hosts Michael Klein and Morgan Crafton as they recount their trip to the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. They share interviews with Pei Wu of Mochi Foods who is using all California Rice, the passionate team from Riceland Foods, Steve Hilsdon of Della Rice who is all about unique partnerships, and Michael talks trends and strategy with industry expert Kevin Gross of Kinetic12. All that, plus interesting Coke flavors, flying pretzels, and more. With special guests: Pei Wu, CEO & Founder, Mochi Foods Kevin Gross, Senior Partner, Kinetic12 Hayley Pittman Smith, National Sales Director, Riceland Foods Lynsey Russell, Director of Food Service Sales, Riceland Foods Stephen Hilsdon, Owner, Della Rice Hosted by: Michael Klein and Morgan Crafton

The rough rice futures contract is a little understood device intended to provide price discovery and risk management. From humble beginnings in New Orleans, the rough rice contract grew into a vitally important tool that has helped the U.S. rice industry compete in the global market. Michael Klein went back to the very beginning to talk with Jerry Morris who was at the table when the contract was just a concept and still trades today. Brian King explains how the contract is used, Fred Seamon talks the basics of futures, and Randy McNeil shares how the rice merchants fit in. With special guests: Jerry Morris Randy McNeil, President, Poinsett Rice & Grain Brian King, Owner, K & T Agri Fred Seamon, Executive Director, Agricultural Markets, CME Group Hosted by: Michael Klein

USA Rice's Cameron Jacobs joins Michael Klein to talk about last year's U.S. jasmine rice promotion campaign. They discuss the reasoning behind the outreach, target development, creative creation, tactics, methodology, and results. Plus Cameron shares some breaking news and offers a peek at future promotions. And given the timing, they take a look back at the 2026 NCAA March Madness campaign, that for Michael was much less successful than the jasmine campaign. With special guest: Cameron Jacobs, VP Domestic Promotion & March Madness Pool Commissioner, USA Rice   Hosted by: Michael Klein

Michael went to Anaheim, California for one of the largest and most influential food shows in the country. He stalked the aisles finding new products and old friends, caught up with several USA Rice members who were there to rep U.S.-grown rice, and walked more than 45,000 steps for the pod. Listen in to learn about new rice uses, new companies, rice innovation, and more. www.batchfoods.co www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com www.dainty.ca www.dellarice.com www.nextgenfoods.com www.exceedientfoods.com www.lundberg.com www.chefbobo.com www.oliviascroutons.com www.raisedglutenfree.com  With special guests: Bryce Lundberg, VP of Agriculture, Lundberg Family Farms Brita Lundberg, Communications Manager, Lundberg Family Farms Meryl Kennedy, CEO, 4Sisters Rice Steve Choi, Director of R&D, Chef Bobo Brand Michael Bosworth, CEO, Next Generation Foods Rick Rhody, CEO, Expedient Foods and Farmers' Rice Cooperative Charley Mathews, Jr., Chair, Farmers' Rice Cooperative Aidan Anvaripour, Founder, Batch Foods Chiedu Okeke, Director of Procurement, Kevin's Natural Foods Eric Martindale, Founder, Elite Commerce Group Jeff Clarke, VP of Sales, Specialty Rice, Inc. James Maitland, CEO, Dainty Foods and Dainty Foods US Hosted by: Michael Klein

Steve Linscombe has assembled rice breeding experts to talk about U.S. grain quality and what they are doing to improve it. From fissuring and milling yields to farm gate value and consumer preferences, join us for this important discussion. With special guests: Dr. Maria Montiel, Rice Breeder, HorizonAg, Dr. Tim Walker, CEO, HorizonAg, and Dr. Adam Famoso, Professor, LSU AgCenter Hosted by: Steve Linscombe and Michael Klein

Michael Klein reports from a packed USA Rice Farm Policy Fly-In in D.C., where growers discussed rising input costs, trade pressures, emergency assistance, world rice stocks, planting intentions, and more. USA Rice members Paul T. Combs and Fred Zaunbrecher talked planting strategy and rice's reception on Capitol Hill. USDA senior leaders shared their thoughts on the ag economy, and then recently retired USDA ag economist Nathan Childs was honored and sat down to share his uncensored thoughts on applied economics, agriculture, the PIK years, market instability and how to counteract it, and learning from history. With special guests: Nathan Childs, USDA-ERS (Retired) Paul T. Combs, Sunrise Land Company Fred Zaunbrecher, Chair, USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors Richard Fordyce, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, USDA Stephen Vaden, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, USDA Hosted by: Michael Klein

Join Steve Linscombe and the members of 2025 Rice Leadership Development Alumni Program's trip to South America as they share the insights they gained on this valuable trip. Louisiana's Christian Richard and Eric Unkel, Arkansas' Brad Doyle, and Missouri's David Martin, along with Tim Walker and Peter Bachmann talk about the focus on quality, technology, and collaboration among farmers in this important rice producing region. The trip, sponsored by American Commodity Company, John Deere, RiceTec, and Supreme Rice, offered valuable lessons for the entire U.S. rice industry.   With special guests: Peter Bachmann, President & CEO, USA Rice Brad Doyle David Martin Christian Richard Eric Unkel Tim Walker   Hosted by: Steve Linscombe and Michael Klein

The 2025 USA Rice Outlook Conference was a record-setting success. One widely-attended session on the FMC Stage was "Brewing and Beyond." Michael Klein was joined by food scientist Dr. Scott Lafontaine, Exceedient Foods' Derek Alarcon, and from J.T. Meleck Distillers Emily Meyers. From rice varieties and gel temps to flavor profiles and being a whiskey taster, the panel unpacked a lot of innovation. Learn more at: www.exceedientfoods.com  www.food-science.uark.edu  www.jtmeleck.com  @jtmeleck2.0   With special guests: Dr. Scott Lafontaine, University of Arkansas Center for Beverage Innovation and Derek Alarcon, Exceedient Foods, Farmers' Rice Cooperative, and Emily Meyers, J.T. Meleck Distillers   Hosted by: Michael Klein

Crafting a global marketing strategy for U.S.-grown rice is a heavy lift. Hosts Michael Klein and first-time co-host Cameron Jacobs dive into international marketing with Corey Hayes and Liz Deets, co-founders of Get Back Here Dog, the full service agency working with USA Rice. They discuss creating a global digital playbook everyone can draw from no matter the market and how authenticity, strategy and a love of rice fuel their creative approach. With special guests: Liz Deets, Co-founder, Get Back Here Dog and Corey Hayes, Co-founder, Get Back Here Dog Hosted by: Michael Klein and Cameron Jacobs