The Truth About Corn: Why It Runs America (And Your Life) w/ Steve Kuiper
Barn Talk
Tork and Sawyer Whisler
4.6 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 October 2025
⏱️ 93 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to Barn Talk! In today’s episode, hosts Tork and Sawyer welcome fifth-generation Iowa farmer and Iowa Corn Growers Association First Vice President, Steve Kuiper, for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about the realities of modern corn farming in America.
Steve shares stories from his family’s multi-generational farm, the crucial role corn plays in everything from food and fuel to clothing, and the challenges of keeping the business strong in a time of rising costs and tighter margins. The trio discusses the impacts of ag policy, environmental stewardship, and the importance of speaking up and getting involved in organizations like Iowa Corn.
If you’re curious about the future of farming, how technology and tradition mix, or what it takes to grow a farm business in tough times, this episode will give you fresh insights and plenty to think about. Let’s get started!
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00:00 "Support Barn Talk & Farmer Grade"
10:25 Farming Progress Over Generations
14:05 "Iowa Corn Drives Farmer Advocacy"
21:31 Farm Life and Environmental Responsibility
24:36 "Technology Saving Farming Costs"
29:30 Cover Crops and Nutrient Runoff
36:15 "Growth Journey and Support"
38:24 "The Farming Bug's Impact"
45:54 Farming Finances: Quick Cash Options
48:18 Cold Storage Shed with Concrete
55:51 Resource Stewardship and Agricultural Innovation
01:01:25 Renewable Fuels Boost Farm Economy
01:08:55 "Business Leadership and Collaboration"
01:09:56 "Money Matters in Equipment Sales"
01:14:45 "Loss of Knowledge in Companies"
01:24:27 Country Life: Close to God
01:28:58 "Iowa Corn: Member Impact"
01:30:56 "Supporting Farmers and Iowa Corn"
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All of the food we eat and much of the clothing we wear comes from plants and animals that are |
| 0:04.3 | raised on farms. Farms are different in type, in size, and even in name. |
| 0:26.1 | Welcome to Barn Talk. What happens at the barn stays in the barn, but not today. |
| 0:28.3 | We're going to let it all out for you guys. |
| 0:30.0 | Stay is going to be another guest episode. |
| 0:31.6 | Got a great guest coming to the barn. |
| 0:33.3 | Have a great conversation with us. |
| 0:55.2 | I know we've been doing guests after guest after guest, but it's just been more fortunate enough that we've had enough people that want to make the trip to Southeast Iowa to talk to us. So we're not going to pass down on any of those opportunities. But there is a lot of stuff going on in the Ag World, and we'll probably get into that in a future episode, Q&A, hot topics. So we'll be looking out for that. But before we get in today's episode, if you guys get any value from the show, please, please, please share it out |
| 1:01.4 | with the people that you know. The more that you guys do that, the more that this show can grow, |
| 1:07.0 | we found the best way to grow a podcast is through word of mouth growing it organically and we appreciate |
| 1:13.2 | every single one of you that do do that there's a lot of ways you can get value if you laughed if you |
| 1:18.8 | learned something if you're related to us on something just share it's kind of the ticket to admission |
| 1:23.6 | to watch or listen to the show another thing you can do to help us out here at Barn Talk is just leave a review on Spotify |
| 1:30.0 | or Apple. |
| 1:30.8 | We love hearing your guys's feedback. |
| 1:33.2 | We love hearing your thoughts on the show, what we can do to improve, what you like, |
| 1:37.9 | what you don't like. |
| 1:39.6 | And just overall, it gives our show credibility. |
| 1:43.0 | The more credible we are, the more guests we can have |
| 1:45.9 | come on the episode come on the show and the more episodes we can make last thing you can do |
| 1:51.7 | to help us out here at barn talk and help out our family farm is you can support our direct |
| 1:57.6 | to consumer meat business farmer grade farmergrade, farmergrade.com. |
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