AgCulture Podcast

It’s tax season — which means farmers, ag business owners, and ag-tech founders are all asking the same question: Did I miss something?
In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul sits down with Louie Pitman and Sid Speir from RK Partners to unpack one of the most overlooked financial tools in agriculture — the R&D Tax Credit. RK Partners helps companies across agriculture and ag-tech optimize this government incentive, which can return roughly $0.10 for every $1 spent on qualifying research and development activity.
And that activity may be happening on your farm already.
R&D in agriculture can include animal health and nutrition programs, feed trials, crop science, genetics, automation, process improvements, robotics, AI systems, and even sustainability initiatives. RK works with farms and ag-tech businesses across the U.S. — including dairy, poultry, swine, crop operations, and agricultural technology providers — helping them identify, document, and defend qualifying claims.
If you’re experimenting, improving, testing, or building — this conversation may apply to you more than you think.
You can learn more about RK Partners at: https://www.rkpartners.com

MEET THE GUESTS
Louie Pitman
Louie is a Partner at RK Partners, working closely with agricultural businesses across the United States to help them maximize federal and state tax credits. With over seven years of experience in tax credits and incentives, he supports family-owned farms, large livestock operations, ag-focused manufacturers, and agtech startups in identifying opportunities within the R&D credit framework.Connect with Louie on LinkedIn

Sid Speir
Sid is the Vice President at RK Partners, where he leads the firm’s Agriculture division. He works closely with some of the largest livestock and crop operations across the United States, helping them navigate and maximize the federal R&D Tax Credit. With nearly a decade of experience in the R&D tax space, Sid specializes in identifying, documenting, and defending qualifying claims for agricultural businesses.Connect with Sid on LinkedIn

ABOUT THE PODCAST
Discover the world of agriculture with the "Ag Culture Podcast".This podcast is a gateway for those passionate about agriculture to explore its global perspectives and innovative practices.
Join Paul as he shares his experiences in the agricultural industry, his travels and encounters with important figures around the world.
Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Subscribe at http://www.agculturepodcast.com and keep an eye out for future episodes, bringing insights and stories from the vibrant world of agriculture.

00:00 – Why R&D tax credits matter for agriculture

02:05 – What R&D tax credits actually are

05:30 – The 4-part qualification test
09:00 – Practical dairy farm examples
12:05 – The George v. Commissioner case
14:30 – Paul’s on-farm experience
16:00 – Documentation made simple
21:20 – Genetics & breeding as R&D
24:00 – AgTech & AI applications
27:00 – Payroll tax offset for startups
28:45 – How the credit reduces taxes
30:40 – The Big Beautiful Bill explained
32:30 – Audit risk & defensible claims
37:00 – What agriculture underestimates

In Part 2 of this conversation, Paul Windemuller and Todd Thurman pivot from global market forces to the tools and leadership frameworks needed to navigate what comes next. Todd explains how strategic foresight, artificial intelligence, and automation can help livestock systems manage uncertainty—if they are applied with discipline and clarity.
The discussion moves beyond hype to focus on where technology is actually delivering value today, how AI can support better decisions rather than replace people, and why the future of livestock production will be shaped by those who can think long-term in an increasingly complex environment.
MEET THE GUEST
Todd Thurman is an international swine management consultant and the Founder & CEO of Swine Insights International. With over 25 years of global pork industry experience, Todd works with producers and organizations worldwide to translate complex market, biological, and technological challenges into actionable strategy.
As a Strategic Foresight Practitioner and Demographic Analyst, Todd helps industry leaders anticipate change rather than react to it, bringing long-term thinking to a sector often dominated by short-term cycles.
ABOUT THE PODCAST

Discover the world of agriculture with the "Ag Culture Podcast".This podcast will be a gateway for those passionate about agriculture to explore its global perspectives and innovative practices.
Join Paul as he shares his experiences in the agricultural industry, his travels and encounters with important figures around the world.
Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Subscribe at http://www.agculturepodcast.com and keep an eye out for future episodes, bringing insights and stories from the vibrant world of agriculture.

(00:00) Strategic foresight explained
(05:10) Why agriculture struggles with long-term thinking
(10:40) AI hype vs real application
(16:30) Automation in livestock systems
(22:15) Individual-animal decision-making
(28:40) Quality vs quantity in future systems
(34:50) Leadership, optimism, and closing thoughts

In Part 1 of this two-part episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul Windemuller sits down with international swine consultant Todd Thurman to unpack the global forces reshaping the pork industry. From China’s rapid transformation to consolidation, deconsolidation, and demographic decline, Todd explains why pork may be the clearest signal of where animal agriculture is heading next.Drawing on decades of experience across global pork systems, Todd challenges conventional narratives around growth, efficiency, and scale, and outlines why industry leaders must rethink long-held assumptions about demand, trade, and production systems in a rapidly changing world.

MEET THE GUEST
Todd Thurman is an international swine management consultant and the Founder & CEO of Swine Insights International. With over 25 years of global pork industry experience, Todd provides hard-hitting analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing animal agriculture.Having worked hands-on across 17 countries, Todd has partnered with some of the largest pork systems in the world, uncovering opportunities for improvement and helping organizations develop strategies to capture long-term value. In addition to his consulting work, Todd is a Strategic Foresight Practitioner and Demographic Analyst, whose research on geopolitical and demographic shifts in global food demand has served as a wake-up call for industry leadership.

ABOUT THE PODCAST
Discover the world of agriculture with the "Ag Culture Podcast". This podcast will be a gateway for those passionate about agriculture to explore its global perspectives and innovative practices. Join Paul as he shares his experiences in the agricultural industry, his travels and encounters with important figures around the world. Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe at http://www.agculturepodcast.com and keep an eye out for future episodes, bringing insights and stories from the vibrant world of agriculture.

(00:00) Introduction & global context
(04:30) Why pork is a leading indicator
(09:00) China’s transformation and ASF
(14:20) Consolidation and system fragility
(19:10) Demographics and demand destruction
(24:30) Efficiency ceilings in livestock
(29:45) Transition to technology and foresight

In this special episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul Windemuller shares his full presentation from the Milk Business Conference, where he challenges how the dairy industry thinks about data, technology, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on his experience as a dairy farmer and global agtech observer, Paul explains why more data has not automatically led to better decisions—and why that gap is becoming more critical as AI adoption accelerates.

The presentation was delivered at the Milk Business Conference, one of the dairy industry’s leading annual events, which brings together producers, processors, and agribusiness leaders to discuss management, profitability, and the future of milk production. Paul was featured as a speaker for his perspective on practical innovation and agtech adoption. You can also read the conference’s feature article about Paul and his work here.

MEET THE HOST
Paul Windemuller is a dairy farmer, agribusiness thought leader, and host of the AgCulture Podcast. With hands-on experience building and operating modern dairy systems, Paul brings a practical lens to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, simulation modeling, and data-driven decision tools. As a Nuffield Farming Scholar focused on AI in livestock agriculture, he works globally with farmers, cooperatives, and agtech companies to explore how innovation can strengthen farm profitability and resilience.

TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Introduction & conference context
(03:40) Data vs decisions
(07:20) Dashboard limitations
(11:30) Digital twins explained
(16:45) Simulation and risk
(21:30) ROI discipline
(26:10) AI limits
(31:40) Preparing for the future
(36:20) Closing thoughts

Join Paul as he shares his experiences in the agricultural industry, his travels and encounters with important figures around the world.
Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Subscribe at http://www.agculturepodcast.com and keep an eye out for future episodes, bringing insights and stories from the vibrant world of agriculture.

In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Dr. Jehan Ettema, co-founder of SimHerd and animal health economist, explains how digital twins are transforming dairy farm decision-making. He discusses simulation models, data quality, economics, genetics, and the role of AI in farm management. Learn practical insight into evaluating investments, managing risk, and improving farm performance. Listen now on all major platforms and explore smarter decisions for modern agriculture!

Meet the guest:
Dr. Jehan Ettema is an animal health economist and co-founder of SimHerd, a decision support platform developed in collaboration with Aarhus University and global dairy partners. His work focuses on simulation modeling, farm economics, genetics, and data-driven decision making for dairy systems worldwide. 

What you will learn:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:17) Digital twin explained
(05:57) Farm decision tools
(07:29) Central data systems
(10:01) Global adaptation
(14:03) Model limitations
(31:31) Closing thoughts

Discover the world of agriculture with the "Ag Culture Podcast". This podcast will be a gateway for those passionate about agriculture to explore its global perspectives and innovative practices.

Join Paul as he shares his experiences in the agricultural industry, his travels and encounters with important figures around the world.

Available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe at http://www.agculturepodcast.com and keep an eye out for future episodes, bringing insights and stories from the vibrant world of agriculture.