Episodes
97
Latest episode
Nov 2026
Language
EN-US
Steve Alexander reports on the agriculture industry with stories of how what we eat goes from farm to plate and profiles of the people and companies who make it all happen.
We begin this week’s show in West Lafayette, Indiana, with the October Ag Barometer from Purdue University and the CME Group. Ag economics professor Michael Langemeier, the director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about the surprising results of the latest survey, how and why the survey of 400 U.S. farmers […]
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8936937/8936937_2026-11-03-220837.64kmono.mp3 The show begins with a farmer calling in from his combine in northwest Illinois, discussing some of the basics of how combining corn works, and what it’s like to drive that huge computer on wheels. The second segment is with Joe Fontana, founder and owner of the Chicago-area chicken chain “Fry the Coop.” He […]
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8618013/8618013_2026-08-25-195413.64kmono.mp3 The “Made with Avocado Oil” label has been showing up more and more in supermarket aisles. You find it on products like chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings. They are sold at premium prices because of the perception that, for example, avocado oil chips are healthier than chips made the old-fashioned way with other types […]
Three families of women farmers are being honored by Illinois Agri-Women as Legacy Farm Family winners for 2026. At a ceremony in Bloomington-Normal on August 21st, the Schultz/Miller family, which farms in northwest Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and central Iowa will be honored as the first place winner. In the audio clip below, two generations of […]
Our gardening guru Jim Fizzell has plenty to say in this extended version of “Mr. Fizz Friday” about things to do during August to repair damage to your lawn, or start over. https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8550265/8550265_2026-07-30-204905.64kmono.mp3
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8521656/8521656_2026-07-17-184456.64kmono.mp3 Gardening guru Jim Fizzell, aka “Mr. Fizz,” has the birds and bees and the flower and the trees on his mind. It’s pollination time in our gardens. Specifically, as University of Illinois Extension describes it, the male reproductive part of a flower, stamens, consisting of a stalk-like filament topped with an anther that produces pollen. On the […]
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8496002/8496002_2026-07-07-201202.64kmono.mp3 When Dana Cree decided to open an ice cream shop, she went on Kickstarter and immediately had to make a decision: what to name it. In the audio clip above, she tells WGN’s Steve Alexander, “The first question was ‘Tell us a little about yourself,’ and I wrote, ‘My name is Dana Cree and […]
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8484188/8484188_2026-06-30-164128.64kmono.mp3 Whether you eat it for breakfast or another meal, cereal is arguably the most popular item in the grocery store. The cereal aisle is big for a reason: Industry and government figures show Americans purchase roughly 2.5 billion boxes of cereal every year, which translates to roughly 10 to 14 pounds of cereal per person. 94% of […]
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8478625/8478625_2026-06-26-170425.64kmono.mp3 In the audio clip above, Jim Fizzell, our WGN gardening guru of more than 60 years, tells Steve Alexander that an important piece of equipment needed for successful gardening is a spiral notebook. And a pen or pencil.
https://serve.castfire.com/audio/8464694/8464694_2026-06-19-134134.64kmono.mp3 It’s vacation season for a lot of us, and in the audio clip above, Mr. Fizz, gardening guru Jim Fizzell, has tips for making sure that when you get back, your houseplants, garden plants, lawn, trees, cats, and dogs are in good shape.
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