Keep America Growing

Latest Episodes:

Episode 34: Training for the Toughest Days at NCIS Loss Adjustment Schools Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Dr. James Houx, NCIS director of Agricultural Research and Technology, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive training that prepares crop insurance adjusters for some of the toughest days in agriculture.

Episode 33: Voices from the Field: Crop Tour Highlights Risk and Resilience Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

In the latest episode of Keep America Growing, NCIS President Tom Zacharias takes listeners along on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour to hear directly from farmers, crop insurance professionals and others walking the fields and assessing this year's corn and soybean crops.

Episode 32: From the Field: A discussion with Chip Flory during the Pro Farmer Crop Tour Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

In the latest episode of Keep America Growing, NCIS President Tom Zacharias joins the Tour and sits down with longtime Pro Farmer leader Chip Flory to discuss what scouts are seeing in America’s fields — and why seeing the crop firsthand still matters.

Episode 31: Inside the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

A discussion with former FCIC Chairman Robert Johansson to discuss the FCIC's role in strengthening crop insurance, fostering innovation, and ensuring the program meets the evolving needs of U.S. agriculture

Episode 30: America at 250: Agriculture, Risk, and the Nation's Founding Farmers Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Join us as we celebrate America's 250th anniversary by reflecting on the nation's agricultural roots and how crop insurance has evolved alongside them to become a cornerstone of the farm safety net.

Episode 29: Policy, Pressure, and the Path Forward: A Conversation with Bart Fischer May 07, 2026

Show notes

How is farm policy keeping up with rising pressure in agriculture? Texas A&M’s Bart Fischer joins Keep America Growing to explain what’s working, what’s not, and why crop insurance still leads the way.

Episode 28: Margins, Risk, and Reality: A Conversation with Dr. Gary Schnitkey Apr 02, 2026

Show notes

Tight margins. Rising costs. More risk. In this episode, Dr. Gary Schnitkey from the University of Illinois breaks down what’s happening in the farm economy and why crop insurance matters more than ever.

Episode 27: With Sales Closing on the Horizon, a Conversation with a Crop Insurance Agent Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

The March 16 sales closing deadline is approaching, and crop insurance agent Luke Sandrock discusses what farmers are facing as they finalize their 2026 coverage.

Episode 26: Reading the Midterms: A Conversation with David Wasserman Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

The senior editor and elections analyst at The Cook Political Report sits down for a wide-ranging discussion on what history tells us about midterms and which races could have an outsized impact on agriculture.

Episode 25: New Year Reflection: Lessons from an Historic Disaster Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Keep America Growing, host Tom Zacharias looks back at the 2012 Midwest drought, one of the most significant stress tests in modern agricultural history. The conversation explores how crop insurance performed under unprecedented pressure, why the public-private partnership matters, and what the lessons from 2012 still mean for farm policy today.

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