E212: A Lifetime of Lessons on Ag Markets with Todd Hultman

DTN’s Lead Markets Analyst Todd Hultman is coming to the end of a long career in the agricultural markets. His voice will be dearly missed here on the podcast, around the newsroom, and across the country by the farmers and ag industry leaders who’ve depended on his even-handed insights for the better part of four decades. But before he rides off into the sunset, we sat down with Todd for one last episode to hear about the career he’s had, what he’s learned, and what he sees for the future of ag markets and the sector more broadly.  

Today we’ll talk about his early days as a broker and the people who helped shape his common sense view of the market. We’ll hear about his journey to DTN, and how world and market events– from commodity crashes to Chernobyl to a global pandemic – changed the way he thinks about finance, economics, and people in general. He’ll dig into the most surreal and unexpected moments of his career, the times when his crystal ball proved right, and talks about the funniest trade he made as a young broker with a mini soybean meal contract. Then we’ll talk about his outlook for the future– why watching prices is often more important than watching the news, and his advice for young analysts and for farmers aiming to navigate the hectic trading world.

Then, we’ll touch on Todd’s retirement, his favorite TED talk, and why AI isn’t a good substitute for good analysis.