ATR Bayer Quitting RoundUp? NO MORE Soda in SNAP Benefits. with raw milk dairyman JR Burdick

About this episode

Vance's weekly Ag Tribes Report brings back JR Burdick, a raw-milk dairy farmer from Linn County, Missouri, known for his X commentary on sound money and personal sovereignty. The headlines cover Bayer's public threat to exit Roundup/glyphosate production within "months, not years" due to over 67,000 pending lawsuits and $10 billion already paid out — both hosts agree glyphosate itself is likely safe based on the evidence but was badly overused, and Vance draws a distinction between agricultural glyphosate and consumer products like Scotts' Roundup-branded glyphosate/dicamba mixes that muddy public perception. The second headline covers Treasury Secretary Bessent's strategy of using tariffs to isolate China economically by pressuring 70+ nations, with JR expressing real concern about whether allies will actually follow through and whether a bad drought year compounding a trade war could create a genuine farm crisis; Vance references a Bukowski-inspired "go all the way" philosophy on tariff commitment. The third headline — the American Beverage Association's outraged response to Arkansas's SNAP soda ban — becomes a strong point of near-total agreement, with JR framing it as a "government too big" issue on both sides (egg price controls and soda restrictions) while Vance takes a more targeted view that welfare dollars shouldn't subsidize soda purchases. A UK cheese-tariff story leads into a rich discussion of lost American dairy/cheese-making heritage and Vance's own experience of a Canadian farm family gifting him heritage cheeses during a Legacy Interview. JR's Peter Thiel paradox pick — that agricultural consolidation has peaked and will reverse toward smaller, differentiated farms — earns a rare 9/10 score from Vance despite initial skepticism. JR's worthy adversary is Joel Salatin, respected but criticized for overselling small-farm economics without full transparency about his own market advantages. The episode closes with JR's story about his mother's dying words ("Rejoice in the Lord always") and Vance's continued reflections on recording his own parents' Legacy Interview.

“Bayer Chief Executive says it's the end of the road for Roundup... Bayer may halt glyphosate production due to costly lawsuits claiming the herbicide causes cancer... they've already been cost more than $10 billion in payouts while the company's held 16 billion back.”

“This is not, it's, it's not freedom... I think that this is something that if we allow accusations to knock something like Roundup outta the market, we're it's a dangerous place to be in.”

“A government that's big enough to control the price of your eggs by bringing them down and then control what you can drink by saying you can't have money to drink. It is a government that's too big and out of control.”

Key moments

• Bayer's threat to exit Roundup/glyphosate production within months amid 67,000 pending lawsuits and $10B+ already paid out.
• Vance's distinction between agricultural glyphosate safety evidence and consumer-brand confusion after Scotts mixed dicamba into Roundup-branded home products.
• JR's worry that a compounding drought year on top of an ongoing trade war could create a genuine two-sided farm crisis with no relief valve.
• Sharp agreement between host and guest that government controlling both egg prices and SNAP soda purchases reflects the same overreach.
• JR's gold-vs-wages calculation showing workers must work 55% more hours today than in 1938 to earn the same ounce of gold, framed as currency debasement stealing from wage earners.
• JR's Peter Thiel paradox — agricultural consolidation has peaked and is reversing toward smaller, differentiated farms as people reject enforced conformity.
• JR's story of his mother's dying words, a Bible verse ("Rejoice in the Lord always") she repeated to generations of students and grandchildren.

Notable quotes

“We're tired of being pushed into a box.”

“That's just stealing from really the wage earner.”

“A government that's too big and out of control.”

“That was her theme. And she lived it.”

Predictions made in this episode

• Bayer will substantially reduce or halt US glyphosate/Roundup production within months (not years) due to mounting lawsuit payouts, unless legal or legislative relief arrives first.
• Agricultural consolidation has peaked and will reverse over roughly the next one to two years, with a resurgence of smaller, differentiated, direct-to-consumer farms as producers reject enforced conformity to large agribusiness models.