Urban Lehner

Editor Emeritus

Urban C. Lehner joined DTN as editor-in-chief in July 2003. He became vice president of the editorial operations of DTN and the Progressive Farmer in July 2010. He is a past president of the North American Agricultural Journalists and in August 2009 was named "Writer of the Year" by the American Agricultural Editors' Association.

 

Previously he spent 33 years at The Wall Street Journal, including 20 in Europe and Asia. Most recently he was vice president, business development. Other positions included publisher and executive editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal, managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe, Tokyo bureau chief, Detroit bureau chief and Washington economics reporter.

 

He co-authored a 1989 series on U.S.-Japan relations that won an Overseas Press Club citation for excellence. He authored and edited "Let's Talk Turkey About Japanese Turkeys and Other Tales from The Asian Wall Street Journal" (Charles Tuttle, Rutland, Vt., and Tokyo, 1996).

 

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., he has a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Georgetown University.

Recent Blogs by Author

More From This Author

  • The U.S.-China agreement on a 90-day suspension of mutually destructive triple-digit tariffs will allow at least some trade to continue. (DTN file photo by Chris Clayton)

    An Urban's Rural View

    The U.S.-China agreement to reduce tariffs will allow more trade but it won't help solve the most critical American economic problem with China: our reliance on that country for critical manufactured products.

  • China's economy is heavily dependent on exports. The huge tariffs the U.S. is imposing on Chinese products will cause serious economic pain. (Photo by cseeman; BY-NC-SA-2.0)

    An Urban's Rural View

    A trade deal between the U.S. and China could be difficult to reach. Which country has more tolerance for pain is a key question in this trade war.

  • This new book is upbeat about AI and technology generally. (Photo courtesy Simon and Schuster)

    An Urban's Rural View

    "Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future" is a thought-provoking antidote to the angst so many feel about the rise of artificial intelligence.

  • One of the many reasons for questioning these tariffs is they cover products that the U.S. isn't likely to grow, mine or make large quantities of, such as these bananas imported from Guatemala that are being sold in Omaha. (DTN photo by Elaine Shein)

    An Urban's Rural View

    Smartly targeted tariffs can encourage businesses to build factories in the U.S. The administration's tariffs are not smartly targeted.

  • USDA figures (forecasts for 2024 and 2025) show how some sectors of the ag economy can feel like they're in recession while others don't. The same sector-by-sector breakdown is true for the national economy. (USDA Economic Research Service/DTN graphic)

    An Urban's Rural View

    Economists say the risk of a recession is increasing, so it's a good time to consider what a recession is and why an economy can feel like it's in a recession even when it doesn't qualify under the usual definitions.

  • President Donald Trump wants the U.S. to play a lesser and different role in the world. But how much lesser and different are among many unanswered questions about this change. (CC-0-Public-Domain)

    An Urban's Rural View

    The U.S. was the main builder of the post-World War II world order. Judging from the first few weeks of the second Trump administration, the U.S. is now in the process of unbuilding that order.