Recent Episodes

15
Oct. 2, 2026

Fertilizer 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 yields in field trials. Rick Portanova breaks down what these developments mean for agriculture, plus practical fall frost advice from the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Join Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief for Friday, October 2, 2026: fast, engaging farm news for Farm Nation and Truck City.

Send us Fan Mail
Sponsored by World TradeX
14
Sept. 30, 2026

Egg 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 spray, refill and return to work almost entirely on their own. Rick Portanova covers the biggest farm stories of the day, plus practical fall advice from the Old Farmer’s Almanac, on the September 30 edition of Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief. Send us Fan Mail Sponsored by World TradeX
13
Sept. 29, 2026

China 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 Brief, Rick Portanova breaks down what the latest U.S.-China agriculture trade developments could mean for farmers and soybean growers. We also look at labor concerns affecting Kansas beef processing and the U.S. cattle supply chain, plus the latest USDA crop progress numbers for corn harvest, soybean harvest and winter wheat planting.
12
Sept. 28, 2026

Fresh 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 knowing, what’s happening across the fields as harvest season moves forward, and the latest technology changing the way farmers work. We’ll also hit the Old Farmer’s Almanac, an unusual story from the weird side of agriculture, and a little history and humor to get Farm Nation moving. Fast, lively and useful — farm news without the long
11
Sept. 25, 2026

AI 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 heading toward the 2026 holiday season with relatively stable wholesale prices. Rick Portanova also covers the Old Farmer’s Almanac word “cornscateous,” a 3,699-pound world-record pumpkin pie, and the Montana mountain goat that wandered into Bozeman and ended up at a church. Fast, funny agriculture news for **Farm Nation and Truck City** — del
Sept. 24, 2026

Carbon-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 carbon credits and what that means for sheep country and rural communities. We also look at a strengthening El Niño and what drought in Southeast Asia could mean for global rice and palm-oil supplies. Then things get interesting: scientists are developing deeper-rooted soybeans designed to handle drought and potentially store more carbon
9
Sept. 23, 2026

Railroad 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, Rick Portanova covers the newly opened USDA ARC and PLC enrollment period, what the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern railroad merger could mean for farmers, grain transportation and agricultural freight, and why California wine-grape growers are facing a major demand problem. Then we look toward the future of farming as John Deere
8
Sept. 22, 2026

Harvest 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 Cattle on Feed report. On today’s Farm Tales Unplugged — Daily Farm Brief, Rick Portanova breaks down the latest grain and livestock markets, updated USDA harvest and planting progress, and what falling crude oil prices could mean for farmers and truckers still paying record-high diesel prices. We also look at California wine grape growers
7
Sept. 21, 2026

Farm 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 episode of the Farm Tales Unplugged – Daily Farm Brief, we cover the latest agriculture news from the weekend, what’s happening with corn and ethanol, current commodity markets and futures, harvest progress, wheat planting, and the pressures still affecting diesel prices and transportation. We’ll also look at what’s happening in ag techn
6
Sept. 18, 2026

Corn 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 newest ag technology. We also look at no-till, cover crops, winter wheat, agricultural history, trucking, NASA, T. rex weather, the Farmer’s Almanac, today’s market watch, Farm Fact of the Day, and our Farmer and Trucker jokes. Send us Fan Mail Sponsored by World TradeX

Recent Blog Posts

Oct. 2, 2026

Military Tech for Farming: How Plant Armor Tripled Strawberry Yields

Plant armor is an innovative three-dimensional agricultural textile derived from military body armor research that physically blocks insect pests while tripling strawberry crop yields through enhanced microclimate regulation, natural light permeabil…
Sept. 30, 2026

Autonomous Farm Drones vs. Traditional Crop Dusters: The Future of Acreage Coverage

Autonomous agricultural drones are fundamentally reshaping field management by combining heavy-duty liquid payloads, high-speed canopy imaging, and automated ground stations. These advanced machines can cover upwards of a thousand acres daily while …
Sept. 29, 2026

How ForageCam and Real-Time AI Are Changing Silage Quality in 2026

Discover how real-time artificial intelligence and camera sensor systems like New Holland's ForageCam are revolutionizing forage harvesting. This guide explores how automated kernel processing analysis improves silage nutritional value, boosts lives…

About the Host

Rick Portanova Profile Photo
Rick Portanova

Rick is a broadcaster at heart, having built an internet radio network back in 1993. Back then they were called archived shows (mp3), the term podcast didn't exist but some people were already podcasting and he was one of them. Internet radio fizzled out fast when the Sirius satellites were launched and all the big networks inhaled all the programming. Here we are 30 years later. My how things have changed. Independent media put regular people on the same playing field and news and entertainment changed forever. His passion is being a boat captain and spending every minute with his little girl dog Mandy by his side.

His news delivery style is described as "Hit the fact, explain why anyone would care, make a joke and move on". He tears though things he believes will be worth a listener knowing and hoping he can get them to smile or chuckle. Much of the news is not "Happy news" and he realizes how hard things are for farmers and truckers, so he tries to keep it light and comical because no matter how bad things get we always need to find a way to laugh about it or we'd all go crazy.

If you want a passionate ally to dole out the news while mixing it up with funny short stories and odd side news, you will find his favorite program "Daily Farm Brief" a worthy 10 minutes of you weekday. He isn't very pc and he doesn't do boardrooms, he is difficult and overly direct. This makes his life 10x more difficult, but he is right at home behind the mic.

Sponsors

Reviews

So informative!

"This is a great daily listen. Love tuning in for recent news and fun facts!"

Maggie | Sept. 18, 2026