Episodes
415
Latest episode
May 2026
Language
EN
XtremeAg’s Cutting the Curve Podcast, one of the best farming podcasts in America, hosted by Damian Mason. In each episode, top American farmers share their proven strategies for boosting crop yields and improving farm ROI. Learn from farming experts who provide tips on regenerative agriculture, new farm equipment, fertilizer recommendations, agronomy and farm efficiency. Whether you want to improve your crop yield for corn or soybeans, explore sustainable farming practices, or optimize your nutrient management, the Cutting the Curve Podcast delivers insights you can apply to your farming operation today. Stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of agriculture. https://www.xtremeag.farm/podcasts
Damian Mason and Art Graves of Vive Crop Protection discuss how farmers can manage fungicide, fertilizer, fuel, and financial pressure without sacrificing crop performance. The episode covers fungicide timing, planting-time decisions, V5 applications, disease risk from residue and soil pathogen load, and ways to reduce input costs while protecting yield potential.
This episode explains how Section 180 of the tax code may allow farmers and landowners to deduct a portion of soil fertility value from taxable income after buying or inheriting farm ground. Gunnar Bodvarsson and Austin Koch of Earth Optics join Damian Mason to outline the information required, including soil data, purchase details, and agronomic analysis, and explain how a report can be used by a CPA to support the deduction.
Agronomist Jared Cook of Calibrated Agronomy discusses why profitable crop production starts with healthy plants rather than reactive crop treatments. He explains that strong soil biology, balanced fertility, and proper water management allow crops to resist stress and disease naturally, reducing the need for costly inputs. Cook emphasizes that farmers should move beyond symptom-based agronomy and instead use a complete agronomic toolbox focused on plant health from the soil up. He shares an example from an Idaho dairy farm that spent heavily trying to correct crop problems with inputs before discovering that improving plant health fundamentals provided a far more cost-effective solution.
Soybean nematodes remain a major and often underdiagnosed source of yield loss, especially in fields with heavy Root-Knot Nematode pressure. In this episode, Matt Miles discusses the scale of the problem in Arkansas, the limits and costs of traditional nematicides, and why he is now applying Averland FC in-furrow on all at-risk soybean acres after using it on corn and soybeans the past two years. Speaking with Damian Mason and Vive Crop Protection’s George Huckabee, Miles explains that even with mitigation, severe infestations can still cost 5 to 7 bushels per acre, while unmanaged pressure can cut yields dramatically.
This episode of Cutting the Curve examines how farmers are approaching 2026 planting decisions amid shifting acreage trends highlighted in the USDA Prospective Plantings report. Damian Mason, Iowa farmer Adam Ullrich, and consultant Jarod Creed discuss five key decision areas: labor availability, machinery investment, grain marketing strategy, overall farm management, and financial discipline. Rather than making drastic operational changes, the conversation emphasizes improving profitability through better planning, smarter marketing decisions, effective use of FSA programs, and disciplined financial management in a tight-margin environment.
In this episode, Damian Mason talks with Jared Cook of Calibrated Agronomy about “knowledge extinction” in agriculture: the idea that farmers are receiving less meaningful agronomic guidance as input decisions become more price-driven. They discuss how retail consolidation, sales-focused advisory models, and resistance to continued learning can reduce the quality of agronomic decision-making. The conversation emphasizes that modern farming is increasingly knowledge-intensive, and that farmers may need to separate product purchasing from professional agronomic advice while holding advisers to a higher standard of education, accountability, and problem-solving.
In this episode of XtremeAg’s Cutting the Curve podcast, Damian Mason talks with Jared Cook of Calibrated Agronomy about why water quality matters far beyond simple H2O. The discussion explains how irrigation water, spray water, and even rainwater can carry mineral and biological “baggage” that affects soil balance, nutrient availability, herbicide performance, and crop management decisions. Jared outlines how calcium, bicarbonates, nitrate, sulfur, and other constituents in water can act like hidden fertilizer inputs or create antagonism that ties up nutrients and reduces product efficacy. The episode emphasizes testing each water source, understanding application volume and frequency, and using water amendments or adjuvants when needed to improve agronomic outcomes.
At Commodity Classic, Damian Mason speaks with Kansas farmer and Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission chairman Brant Peterson and Texas Panhandle producer Jason Birkenfeld about the future of grain sorghum. The discussion focuses on sorghum’s drought tolerance, lower water requirements compared to corn, and expanding opportunities in livestock feed, forage silage, ethanol, exports, and food-grade markets. As irrigation challenges grow across the Plains, farmers are increasingly evaluating sorghum as a water-efficient crop that can support beef, dairy, and poultry production. The episode highlights how stronger domestic demand, improved feed processing, agronomic research, and global trade relationships could shape the future growth of grain sorghum acreage.
Are farmers actually reducing crop stress… or just reacting to it after the damage is already done? That’s the question Damian Mason throws out during this live panel at the Nachurs booth at Commodity Classic with Matt Miles, Johnny Verell, Temple Rhodes, and Tommy Roach. The conversation covers everything farmers deal with every season—too much rain, not enough rain, weak roots, high nighttime temps, and nutrient timing. The panel digs into why stress mitigation is real, but it rarely comes from a single product. It comes from better plant nutrition, stronger root systems, spoon-feeding nutrients when the plant actually needs them, and staying proactive instead of trying to fix problems after the crop starts slipping.
At Commodity Classic, a panel featuring Kelly Garrett, Chad Henderson, and Kevin Matthews digs into one of the most overlooked problems in crop production—nutrient imbalance. The conversation goes beyond the usual N-P-K talk and gets into the real challenge farmers face: how micronutrients, timing, and plant demand all work together to determine whether fertilizer actually turns into yield. From SAP analysis and sulfur shortages to the hidden cost of applying fertility all up front, the panel shares what they’ve learned the hard way about feeding the plant, not just the soil—and why fixing imbalance can mean more bushels without spending more money.
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