Taking Stalk with Illinois Farm Bureau

Dave Lidy, Jason Propst and Ashley Sayers joined the FS South Central Total Livestock Services team around the same time 30 years ago. Although they each have an individual journey into their careers, the three livestock specialists share a common commitment to agriculture and the farmers they've been serving for decades. In this episode of Taking Stalk, Lidy, Propst and Sayers join host Rita Fraz...

Long days, unpredictable weather and the demands of farm life -- especially during harvest -- can make farm life harder. But food can help. That's a lesson that farm wife and food writer Deanne Frieders learned quickly after she married a farmer following a corporate career in Chicago. The woman behind "This Farm Girl Cooks" joins host Rita Frazer in this episode of Taking Stalk to talk about food...

Every Wednesday, Beck's Hybrids Agronomist Matt Montgomery posts a photo of a rural church on his Facebook page. It's a practice he's kept up since 2018 after feeling like something was missing in the agriculture industry. In this episode of Taking Stalk, Montogomery outlines his long journey of faith and tells host Rita Frazer he believes the soul of agriculture is found in the churches — and the...

John White Jr. didn't join Farm Bureau with leadership aspirations. But fate had other plans. In this episode of Taking Stalk, the former Illinois Farm Bureau president joins host Rita Frazer to reflect on his 96 years of life — and 78 years with Farm Bureau. 

Regan Joehl wanted to be a farmer. Christie Joehl wanted to be an ag teacher. Together, the Joehls have made both their dreams come true — but not in a way either of them ever imagined. In this episode of Taking Stalk, the couple outlines the past 10 years of their unique family and farm journey that led to a thriving agritourism business in Greene County.

Tara Barrett-Duzan didn't plan on being a farmer. But when tragedy struck the former television reporter's family twice, everything changed. In this episode of Taking Stalk, Barrett-Duzan shares her emotional journey back to the family farm with host Rita Frazer. Together, they explore farming's steep learning curve, the loneliness that accompanies it, and how a leap of faith revealed confidence B...

Lauren Reedy and Corrie Scott want to see their small town thrive. But until last year, Benson, Illinois, didn't even have a grocery store — until they started one themselves. In this episode of Taking Stalk, the fifth-generation farmers tell host Rita Frazer how they transitioned from a focus on production agriculture to feeding their community, a model they hope has the potential to change how r...

Working in agriculture often means spending long hours in the sun — and a heightened risk for skin cancer. Stephanie Porter, an outreach agronomist with the Illinois Soybean Association, experienced this firsthand nearly seven years ago. A sore spot that wouldn't heal led to a melanoma diagnosis teetering on the edge of Stage 4 cancer. In this conversation with host Rita Frazer, Porter shares her...

There's no shortage of people who will say farming is difficult. But Charlton and Michaela Greathouse want to tell a different story, one that's inspired by their passion for regenerative agriculture and farm-to-table food. Based in Albion, Illinois, the fifth-generation farmers are living what they love — growing a farm, a market and a family legacy. In this episode of Taking Stalk, the Greathous...

Freelance movie producer Sam Goldberg grew up in New York City, but it's rural America that captured his interest as a filmmaker. Beginning in 2019 with his feature film  Silo,  Goldberg seeks to bridge the urban-rural divide through the power of narrative storytelling.  In this episode of Taking Stalk, Goldberg tells host Rita Frazer about a forthcoming release of a six-part limited series titled...

You’ve heard his voice on the airwaves. Now it’s time to hear his story.   In this episode of Taking Stalk, RFD Radio Network Senior Anchor DeLoss Jahnke sits down with host Rita Frazer for a conversation tracing his journey from Kansas farm kid to president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Together, Frazer and Jahnke also reflect on the importance of mentorship, the evolution of...

Jeff and Lisa Broom turned their succession challenge into a new opportunity. With no one in their family interested in taking over the Macoupin County orchard, the Brooms found a path forward with new owner, Marcus Rutherford. In this episode, host Rita Frazer shares the transition story of two unrelated families that are working to keep a farm alive — and the memories tied to it — through partne...

Join host Rita Frazer at the 14th annual Women in Agriculture Conference, where one woman's story of loss, legacy and saying “yes” to the unknown sets the tone for a series of powerful conversations about leadership, burnout and building a life in agriculture that actually works. Plus, meet women leading county Farm Bureaus across the state and learn how they work to empower Illinois Farm Bureau m...

He's a farmer. A leader. A family man. But who is  Philip Nelson, really?  In this episode of Taking Stalk, host Rita Frazer goes beyond the title to learn more about Illinois Farm Bureau's 17th president — discussing everything from Nelson's deep roots in agriculture to how he likes his steak cooked. Don't miss a chance to learn more about what drives Nelson in the day-to-day — and why he returne...

How does a non-farm kid end up competing on a national stage at a Farm Bureau discussion meet? That's the power of an ag teacher. Kade Hill, an Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader, and retired ag teacher Doug Anderson from Paxton-Buckley-Loda School District join host Rita Frazer to share how an ag class, teacher mentorship and competition of FFA helped turn Hill from a curious high school student i...

Of all the challenges facing farm families, succession planning may be the most universal. Illinois farmers Chase Brown and Chad Rupert know firsthand the difficulty of such conversations. Each come from multigenerational farm families and are fighting to make sure there is  a next generation. In this episode of Taking Stalk, Brown and Rupert join host Rita Frazer for a discussion on what it takes...

What does it take for farm to table to work? Celebrity Chef Stephanie Izard joins RFD Radio Network's Rita Frazer at the Everything Local Conference to dish on why farmers and chefs need to talk more — and how those conversations turn into better relationships for those on either end of the fork. 

As farmers head into the 2026 planting season, tight margins and rising input costs are forcing tough decisions in the field. During this episode of Taking Stalk, Rita Frazer is joined by agronomists Jason Webster of Precision Planting and Todd Steinacher of Acher, who share real-world data, research insights and practical advice to help farmers “farm smarter."  

Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II joins Rita Frazer to take a look back at the stories that shaped Illinois agriculture in 2025 — from state fair milestones and infrastructure upgrades to an uptick in wheat acres and expanded meat and poultry inspections.  Costello also digs into the pressures farmers are facing, the impact of tariffs and why strong trade relationships...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or is it? While the holidays bring a certain magic for many, they can be difficult for people experiencing stress, depression, anxiety and grief.  In this episode of Taking Stalk, RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer is joined by licensed counselor Rachel Brown for a timely conversation on how to manage stress, find balance and maintain emotional wellness as farm famil...

Adam Nielsen spent years advocating for agriculture as Illinois Farm Bureau's director of national legislation. After a shocking diagnosis forced him to retire early, Nielsen decided to draw from his well-honed skills to advocate for a new cause: Alzheimer's awareness. In this episode of Taking Stalk, Nielsen and his wife, Dayna, join RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer to share their family’s story of adjust...

On paper, the 80,000-90,000 registered attorneys in Illinois suggest a state well covered by legal professionals. But many of those attorneys are concentrated in the more metropolitan parts of the state, leaving rural communities outside of Chicago and surrounding counties with too few attorneys to meet the high demand for legal services in downstate Illinois.  In this episode of Taking Stalk, RFD...

2025 marks 10 years since the establishment of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS), a  collaborative, science-based effort to reduce nutrients in waterways. The goal is to reduce  phosphorus and nitrogen loads by 45% with interim targets set at a 15% reduction in nitrogen and a 25% reduction in total phosphorus by 2025. Is the strategy still the right approach? What have we learne...

Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan welcomes Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, to discuss ethanol's history, its promising future and what it all means for farmers and consumers. More resources:  Growth Energy: growthenergy.org

It happened so fast. "I went in there and was poking around on it, and all of a sudden it broke loose, and the grain just started. It just swirls around you, and you can't get away from it. No matter how hard you try, you can't get out of that volume of grain." John Boland hopes sharing his story -- which thankfully has a happy ending -- will save someone else. In this episode, Boland, a farmer fr...