What Ag PhD does

Ag PhD, operating through its legal entity IFA Productions, Inc., is a privately held agricultural media and education company founded in 1998 by brothers Brian and Darren Hefty in Baltic, South Dakota. The company produces a multi-platform content portfolio for row crop farmers: a weekly television show broadcast on more than 40 regional stations across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois; a daily radio program distributed live on Rural Radio SiriusXM Channel 147 and RFD-TV each weekday at 2 PM Central with a 7 PM Central replay; a catalog of free streaming episodes on the AcresTV platform; a bi-monthly print and digital magazine (Ag PhD Insider) priced at $30 annually or $60 for five years; and ten free mobile applications on iOS and Android covering nutrient deficiencies, fertilizer removal, harvest loss, planting population, drainage tile, GDU calculation, modes of action, a field guide, spray tips, and corn and soybean disease identification. The company also distributes companion web-based calculators and chemical reference charts covering herbicide, fungicide, and insecticide modes of action.

Ag PhD monetizes the content through a combination of consumer subscriptions to Ag PhD Insider, modest event revenue from golf cart rentals at its free flagship Field Day in Baltic, SD (described as agriculture's largest one-day event), and broadcast/digital sponsorships and advertising from agricultural input manufacturers (BASF, Corteva, Bayer Crop Science, AGI, Amazone, Case IH, Corteva, AGI, and others). It hosts three signature in-person events: the annual Field Day (free admission including meals and parking), Winter Workshops in Baltic, SD and Hillsboro, ND with paid livestream access for subscribers, and the Scouting & Scholarships event that distributes 100+ college scholarships annually.

The Hefty brothers simultaneously operate Hefty Seed Company (a related but separately run entity), which is the 7th largest agricultural chemical retailer and 8th largest seed retailer in the United States; this sister company is the principal agricultural-input business and is distinct from the Ag PhD media franchise. Ag PhD itself remains a small family-owned operation (headcount band of 1–10) with one disclosed funding round of $257,725 in January 2014 and no external private equity or strategic ownership.

Name

Ag PhD

Legal name

IFA Productions, Inc.

Website

https://agphd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ag PhD is a privately held U.S. agricultural media and education company founded in 1998 in Baltic, South Dakota by Brian and Darren Hefty, producing weekly TV, daily radio, streaming, magazine, and mobile-app content for row crop farmers across the Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Media

NAICS

Oilseed and Grain Farming (1111)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Yield Optimization & Crop Performance Consulting (AFACABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Soil Health & Regenerative Agronomy Consulting (AFACABAA), Field Mapping, GIS & Digital Agronomy (Zoning, Prescription Maps, Yield Maps, Spatial Analytics) (AFAGALAG), Agriculture, Environmental & Earth Sciences (EDAGABAL), Crop, Soil & Agronomy Technician Training (EDAOAOAF)

Keywords

• Agricultural media
• Agronomy education
• Farm broadcasting
• Crop management apps
• Farmer content

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltic

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Magazine: Ag PhD Insider magazine is published bi-monthly (6 times per year) with subscription options: One Year at $30.00 or Five Year at $60.00. The magazine includes articles on yield champions, agronomic best practices, equipment technologies, and farming innovation.
2. Event Revenue: Golf cart rentals at Field Day events (2-passenger: $190 pre-registration/$220 day-of; 4-passenger: $220 pre-registration/$250 day-of). Field Day admission and parking are free.
3. Broadcast and Digital Content: Content distributed through AcresTV streaming platform, SiriusXM Radio Channel 147, RFD-TV, regional TV stations, and podcast platforms. Revenue generated through sponsorships and advertising from agricultural industry partners.
4. Hefty Seed Company Operations: Brian and Darren Hefty also manage Hefty Seed Company, which is described as the 7th largest ag chem retailer and 8th largest seed retailer in the U.S., providing agricultural inputs to farmers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Ag PhD is an agricultural media and education company that produces and distributes agronomic content for farmers across television (Ag PhD TV on 40+ regional stations), radio (Ag PhD Daily on SiriusXM Channel 147 and RFD-TV), streaming (AcresTV), podcast platforms, and a bi-monthly print magazine (Ag PhD Insider). It also offers a suite of mobile applications and free online calculators/reference tools covering fertilizer, drainage, planting population, harvest loss, nutrient deficiencies, and herbicide/fungicide/insecticide modes of action, supplemented by three signature annual events: Field Day, Winter Workshops, and Scouting & Scholarships.

Product overview

Ag PhD is an agricultural media and education company operated by Brian and Darren Hefty, offering a multi-platform content portfolio spanning television (Ag PhD TV on 40 regional stations), radio (Ag PhD Daily on SiriusXM Channel 147 and RFD-TV), streaming (AcresTV), print (Ag PhD Insider Magazine, bi-monthly publication), and 10 mobile applications for iOS and Android. The company provides free online agricultural resource tools and calculators covering chemical component charts, herbicide/fungicide/insecticide modes of action, nutrient removal calculations, and crop management guides. Ag PhD also hosts three major annual events: Field Day (largest one-day agricultural event in the U.S. at their Baltic, SD farm), Winter Workshops, and Scouting & Scholarships. The company is affiliated with Hefty Seed Company (7th largest ag chem retailer, 8th largest seed retailer in the U.S.) and has been producing new television episodes weekly for over 28 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ag PhD TV Weekly agronomic television program hosted by Brian and Darren Hefty, airing new episodes weekly on 40 regional TV stations across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois. Provides agronomic information for farmers.
• Ag PhD Radio (Ag PhD Daily) Daily radio show broadcast live on Rural Radio SiriusXM Channel 147 and RFD-TV at 2 PM Central each weekday, with replays at 7 PM Central. Features live call-in questions, conversations with industry experts, and agronomic information for farmers.
• AcresTV Streaming Platform Free streaming platform for Ag PhD TV content, offering full episodes and individual segments from past years accessible worldwide.
• Ag PhD Insider Magazine Bi-monthly agricultural publication covering agronomic best practices, equipment technologies, yield champion profiles, and farming innovation. Subscription includes exclusive livestream access to clinics and workshops. One Year $30.00; Five Year $60.00.
• Ag PhD Mobile Apps Suite Suite of free mobile applications for iOS and Android including Nutrient Deficiencies by Crop, Fertilizer Removal by Crop, Harvest Loss Calculator, Planting Population Calculator, Drainage Tile Calculator, GDU Calculator, Modes of Action, Field Guide, Spray Tips Guide, Corn Diseases, and Soybean Diseases.
• Ag PhD Field Day Annual one-day agricultural field event held at the Hefty farm in Baltic, South Dakota. Features research plots, educational sessions, equipment demos, special guests, and entertainment. Free admission, parking, meals, and drinks with over 40 exhibitors.
• Ag PhD Winter Workshops Winter educational workshops held in Baltic, SD and Hillsboro, ND covering topics from Naturals and Soils to Soybeans and Corn, with regional emphasis. Free livestream option available to paid Ag PhD Insider subscribers.
• Ag PhD Scouting & Scholarships Event Annual event combining field scouting education with college scholarship distribution, awarding more than 100 scholarships to students pursuing agriculture-related studies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Scholarship distribution to support agricultural education
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Farm Progress ShowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAg PhD partners with Farm Progress Show for the Agronomy Zone, providing educational content and demonstrations. The Farm Progress Show 2026 will feature an expanded Agronomy Zone in partnership with Ag PhD and the Hefty Brothers. The event drew 161,000 attendees and 548 exhibitors in 2025.
• AcresTVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcresTV is the streaming platform for Ag PhD TV content. All Ag PhD show content is available to watch FREE on AcresTV, including full episodes and individual segments from past years.
• RFD-TVcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAg PhD Daily airs live on RFD-TV at 2 PM Central each weekday as part of the Rural America Live programming block.
• SiriusXM (Rural Radio Channel 147)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAg PhD Daily airs live on Rural Radio on SiriusXM Channel 147 at 2 PM Central each weekday with a replay at 7 PM Central.
• DM Crop Research Group, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDM Crop Research Group professionally manages the plots for Farm Progress Show, providing research-grade field demonstrations and side-by-side product comparisons in real growing conditions.
• BASFminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBASF is displayed as a logo partner on Ag PhD website, indicating a marketing or sponsorship relationship.
• CortevaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorteva is displayed as a logo partner on Ag PhD website, indicating a marketing or sponsorship relationship.
• Bayer Crop ScienceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBayer Crop Science is displayed as a logo partner on Ag PhD website, indicating a marketing or sponsorship relationship.
• Hefty Seed CompanycoreOthersBrian and Darren Hefty manage Hefty Seed Company, which is the 7th largest ag chem retailer and 8th largest seed retailer in the U.S. This is a related company operated by the same founders.
• Morton BuildingsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMorton Buildings hosts Ag PhD Winter Workshops at The Morton Center in Baltic, SD, and is a logo partner.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Successful Farming (Dotdash Meredith): Successful Farming (Agriculture.com) is one of the longest-running U.S. farmer publications with deep TV/video, print, and digital distribution. Like Ag PhD, it serves corn/soybean farmers with agronomic and machinery content — a clear direct competitor for both audience and advertising share.
• Pro Farmer: Pro Farmer is a subscription-based agricultural advisory service delivering market news, agronomic analysis, and crop tour content to U.S. row-crop farmers — directly comparable to Ag PhD's agronomic advisory mission, though with a stronger market-research tilt versus Ag PhD's practical-farmer tilt.
• No-Till Farmer: No-Till Farmer publishes a flagship magazine, video content, and an annual conference serving conservation-tillage row-crop farmers — overlapping almost entirely with Ag PhD's farmer audience (corn, soybeans, wheat) and agronomic editorial niche.
• Farm Journal Media: Farm Journal operates multiple ag-media brands (Farm Journal, AgWeb, Top Producer, Dairy Herd Management) plus events like Farm Journal Field Days — the same editorial-plus-event-plus-data hybrid model Ag PhD runs. Highly comparable across product offering, target audience (row-crop farmers), and revenue model.
• DTN / Progressive Farmer: DTN acquired the 140-year-old Progressive Farmer brand to form the largest U.S. ag-media and market-information operation. Like Ag PhD, it distributes agronomic content to row-crop farmers across TV, digital, and print, and sells subscription access — making it the closest direct competitor for farmer attention and sponsorship dollars.
• Agri-Pulse Communications: Agri-Pulse is an independent ag-media operation producing daily newsletters, podcasts, and video content distributed via partner networks to U.S. row-crop farmers and agribusiness — directly comparable to Ag PhD's multi-platform ag-news/content model.
• SharkFarmer (Rob Sharkey): Rob Sharkey's SharkFarmer podcast/media brand is a near-perfect analog: farmer-led, multi-platform (podcast, SiriusXM, social), agronomy and farm-lifestyle content reaching 2.8M weekly listeners. Closest single-personality direct competitor to the Hefty Brothers' brand.

Broad incumbents

• Corteva Agriscience: Corteva is a GTM/marketing partner of Ag PhD (logo placement) and produces farmer-facing agronomy content through Pioneer. Comparable as a credible agronomy publisher at scale — but as an incumbent inside a global seed/CPG business rather than a specialized media company.
• Bayer Crop Science (Climate FieldView): Bayer Crop Science is a logo/agronomy-content sponsor of Ag PhD and operates Climate FieldView, a digital farming platform delivering agronomic recommendations to row-crop farmers. Comparable on farmer-facing agronomic content, though embedded in a much larger input and digital-farming business.
• RFD-TV: Rural America's largest cable network carries Ag PhD Daily and is itself a producer/aggregator of farmer-targeted TV programming. RFD-TV is both a distribution partner and a broader-incumbent competitor for rural-TV advertising budgets across the same farmer demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/agphdmedia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNMZF39LBB-E1DIkxnD6cbA
• Facebookfacebook.com/agphdmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ag-phd
• Instagraminstagram.com/agphdmedia
• TikToktiktok.com/@agphdmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ag PhD