ATR: IL Farm Bureau gets boot CAFOs survive in CA & stupid milk pricing organic dairyman Josh Tranel

About this episode

Josh Tranel, an organic dairy farmer and former FSA chairperson for Wisconsin, joins Vance for a run through three ag-policy stories plus the show's signature Bitcoin land price report. The lead story: the American Farm Bureau Federation's expulsion of the Illinois Farm Bureau from the national organization, triggered when Illinois's insurance affiliate, Country Financial, stopped requiring non-farm members to hold Farm Bureau memberships — a decision projected to shrink Illinois Farm Bureau membership from 400,000 to roughly 78,000. Tranel and Vance discuss the Illinois side's account of attempting a mediated settlement before the expulsion, framing it as another instance (echoing the AFBF-vs-Massie conflict covered the same month in ep407) of national Farm Bureau leadership overriding state-level interests. Second story: Sonoma County, California voters unexpectedly rejected Measure J, a ballot initiative that would have phased out CAFOs at a strict 250-animal-unit threshold — a threshold so low it would have effectively eliminated most agriculture in the county — despite most of the county board itself opposing the measure, illustrating a rare instance of grassroots agricultural interests successfully defeating restrictive land-use activism at the ballot box. Tranel connects this directly to the episode's opening thread on glyphosate, noting he wrote Vance a detailed rebuttal on glyphosate concerns that prompted the invitation to appear. The Bitcoin segment lands with unusual force this week: Vance notes Bitcoin's price has risen from roughly $20,000 to $87,000 in the roughly two years since he first advocated a 1-2% portfolio allocation on the show, using Wisconsin farmland pricing (one Bitcoin buying approximately 5.3 acres in Grant County) as his recurring land-price-in-Bitcoin-terms framing device.

“From Holly Spangler at the Prairie Farmer, the American Farm Bureau kicks the Illinois Farm Bureau out of the Farm Bureau family... this decision did was it re, it could reduce membership from 400,000 to 78,000 next year.”

“Sonoma County shocks the California Ag system by voting to stop the CAFO ban... this measure targeted... bringing that down to like 250 animal units. So it was gonna take out almost all of agriculture in that county... most of the members on the county board didn't want it.”

“This was a monster week for Bitcoin... one Bitcoin would buy you approximately 5.3 acres of farmland in Grant County [Wisconsin]... two years ago, almost to the day I had one of my first full on Bitcoin podcasts... he said you should allocate one to 2% of your portfolio into Bitcoin... now it's at 87,000.”

Key moments

• The American Farm Bureau's expulsion of the Illinois Farm Bureau, cutting projected membership from 400,000 to 78,000.
• Sonoma County voters unexpectedly rejecting the CAFO-elimination Measure J despite the county board's own opposition.
• Vance's Bitcoin price appreciation callback — $20,000 to $87,000 in roughly two years.