Andy Vance

I am proud to be a member of “the media.” Well, let me rephrase that: I am proud to be a professional journalist working for one of the most well-read and highly-respected agribusiness journals in the world. That said, sometimes I get really frustrated with other reporters. Case in point this week is a story [...]

Here’s my weekly roundup of my writing over the past seven days. First off, my latest column at Feedstuffs: What Message Are We Sending? We see it quite often in social media circles… the posting of such phrases as “Farmers Rock”. While certainly meant as a compliment, perhaps we need to step back and at [...]

Stories come from the most interesting places… In my column at Feedstuffs this week, I discuss my concerns over the sustainability of the marketplace at current commodity prices. And how the whole conversation started at a Blackjack table in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I couldn’t find a clip on YouTube (bonus points to the reader who finds the scene), from one of my favorite television shows The West Wing, but in season seven, White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry offers some sage advice: “If you don’t accept the premise of the question, don’t answer it.” I’ve used [...]

Domestic ethanol demand and a growing global population with an increasingly Westernized diet drove unprecedented farm commodity prices in 2010, a trend economists think is unlikely to shift this marketing year. With $6 corn and $13 soybeans, farmers across the Corn Belt question the sustainability of 2010’s record prices. “Anytime we have high prices, there [...]