The Best Job in South Dakota

Send us Fan Mail Kelly Brandlee is on the run.  She runs outreach for the Women’s Ag Network as Communications Director.  With her husband, she runs Back Forty Beef and Back Forty Beef Adventure Farm.  And, she’s running for her county commission.  We “catch up” with Kelly in our conversation.  You can “catch up” with old and new acquaintances at Women’s Ag Network events.  We cover everything fro...

Send us Fan Mail We have a winner!  Fifth-generation cattle producer Sarah Myers operates Myers Grain and Livestock near Winner, SD, alongside her husband. On the farm, she relishes being the “official bovine food truck operator,” driving the combine and windrower, and riding horses with her boys.  As a Crop Specialist with RCIS, she’s piloting a drone to assess claims.  As the South Central Hub M...

Send us Fan Mail After a circuitous start, we strike gold with Meg McNeese.  As the West Hub Manager, she will put you at ease at one of her Women’s Ag Network events. You’ll relate to her South Dakota, salt of the earth, ranch roots authenticity.  As the Chief Operating Officer of Rose Group International, Meg guides businesses in navigating change.  Find out why folks in Belle Fourche may be add...

Send us Fan Mail Riding in the buddy seat, Nikiah Hamilton fell in love with ag.  Now she’s a full-time farmer and owner of 382 Farm House Co., making soothing skincare products from natural pasture ingredients.   As the Women’s Ag Network East Central Hub Manager,  Nikiah invites you to events to connect and share your own ag experiences in a supportive environment.  Happiness is driving the grai...

Send us Fan Mail Take a break to listen to Ashley Wiesen’s tales of competing in and coaching land judging.  It will reawaken your appreciation for the land we live on, farm, and ranch.  Ashley shares her passion with students as an ag educator and FFA advisor.  As the Eastern Hub Manager for the Women’s Ag Network, Ashley fosters a welcoming environment for sharing experiences and building suppor...

Send us Fan Mail Rebecca encountered a baby antelope as she buzzed around South Dakota.  Chris bagged a menagerie on a revolutionary exploration.  Back for Season Seven, our guests are an A Team of charming women excelling at the best jobs in the world of SD agriculture.  And, these individuals have something in common; they comprise the core team of the newly launched Women's Ag Network .  J...

Send us Fan Mail This season’s guests  Have the best jobs of all Some paths were arrow straight Some careened like a pinball. They’ve achieved so much But we certainly know More lies ahead Oh, the places they’ll go!

Send us Fan Mail Red alert!  Catie Uthe's communication skills will whet your appetite to check out her baby project, the Dakota Conservation Network.   Her infectious enthusiasm is perfectly put in practice as the Communications Coordinator for the SD Association of Conservation Districts.   While our conversation gets a bit colorful, there’s no need to cover your ears.  How many of you have...

Send us Fan Mail Cheyenne Tant’s dream of becoming a game warden in Texas gave way to a game career move to SD’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.  Capitalizing on her ag business education and Texas Dept. of Ag. internship, Cheyenne is a DANR policy advisor working the halls of SD’s Capitol.  While some scrutinize statues, Cheyenne scrutinizes statutes.  Also, sounds like she had b...

Send us Fan Mail It’s apparent that you’ll want Stacy Roberts designing your apparel.  Her career path wasn’t entirely by design.  It included high school drama, Tommy Bahama, a Singer from grandma, and a spinning wheel’s karma.  The path led to a joyful life founding Nadur Designs and sharing her Little City Farms pasture with her wooly supply chain. Guest appearances in this episode by George Wa...

Send us Fan Mail Not a shadow of a doubt that South Dakota FFA is generating leaders eclipsing limitations.  Caroline Hansen, Leadership Program Manager for the association, highlights that a first step is to “give our young people permission to lead.”  Kate Meyer, the current FFA State Secretary, reminds us that the “backing and encouragement” of ag teachers propels FFA members forward.  While th...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s captivating conversationalist and committed conservationist is Jessica Michalski.   Her teen years picking rock put her on her career path.  Now she’s rockin’ her current position, Acting State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Hear how NRCS and likeminded partners provide resources for responsible and profitable land management.  Are your...

Send us Fan Mail In Montana, Janelle Booth established an ag leadership program and headed government affairs at MSU.  Inevitably, SD cows mooed and wooed her back home.  Now Janelle is the CEO of South Dakota Ag and Rural Leadership preparing participants to lead their communities and the state, and make significant contributions to agriculture nationally and globally.  Keys to leadership include...

Send us Fan Mail Do you believe in miracles? Liv Stavick, Executive Director of the SD Agri-business Association witnessed one. Following a path rooted in her love of family, agriculture, and policy led to Liv being in the right place at the right time. Seemingly, she’s seamlessly combined her mother’s talent for education and her father’s true grit in her advocacy for association members. When Li...

Send us Fan Mail What an engaging conversation with Tina Erickson. It makes porkfect sense. She’s the Director of Membership, Outreach & Engagement for the SD Pork Producers Council. Tina shares her joy for her job and a host of other admirable activities. Sometimes 145º is an obtuse angle but not for a pork loin; it’s the perfect cooking temperature. This episode is a wiener! You can bank on...

Send us Fan Mail Why is there a pine tree inside your house?   That’s one of many seasonal questions Horticulture Field Specialist Robin Buterbaugh fields with aplomb.  Nowadays, Robin shares expertise from her SDSU Extension base at McCrory Gardens on food forests, permaculture, and all enjoyable aspects of horticulture.  Quite a change from her days in the lab with biological cultures.   Ever se...

Send us Fan Mail Does your job vary with the seasons?  Does your sweet tooth detect the change of seasons?  Just two subjects that we may explore this fall and winter.  What do this season’s accomplished women guests, South Dakota, and a lodestone have in common?   All possess a magical magnetism.   Take a listen as this preview hints at a season sure to be wonderful…or at least Wunderle.  

Send us Fan Mail This season’s guests were more invigorating than a B-12 vitamin shot. Likewise, they were invigorated by teachers and mentors as they answered the call to careers in agriculture. Each episode reminds us that you can have it all — a great career and the joy of freeing yourself in the great outdoors.

Send us Fan Mail That first grazing school she attended with her father ignited a young, curious Karlie Kammerer with her passion for all things range.  She’s a 7th generation rancher with an affinity for learning and an exceptional, and award-winning, ability to communicate her enthusiasm for healthy range management.  Ironically, she took many Jet rides long before her first plane trip.  She’ll...

Send us Fan Mail What makes your soul sing? For rancher Mimi Hillenbrand, it seems to be a life filled with herding bison, regenerating grasslands on two continents, pursuing and sharing knowledge of the natural world, raising cattle and sheep, and understanding fish? Mimi won’t back down…well, unless cornered by her nemesis. Tune in for a refreshing conversation with Mimi and a refresher course o...

Send us Fan Mail Be Prepared!  Twenty-first century Girl Scouts are. Jennifer Hoesing, Chief Development Officer for Girl Scouts – Dakota Horizons, fills us in on traditional GS activities with new twists and modern skill-building opportunities that instill courage, confidence, and character in youthful girls.  Jennifer is the center of attention in today’s episode, but she’s used to that role.  A...

Send us Fan Mail We cover soil issues and cover crops with Valeree DeVine, USDA-NRCS’ Resource Unit Conservationist for the Upper James Region.  She explores solutions with farmers and ranchers, including the right combination of brassicas and grasses, as well as having cattle lend helping hooves.  As Mentor of the Year, Valeree helps young conservationists realize their potential for success.  He...

Send us Fan Mail Raised on a Missouri row crop and cow/calf farm, Dr. Lisa Elliott developed a passion for supporting ag producers. Now an ag economist and Co-founder & CEO of AgriVaR, she empowers farmers with cutting-edge tech for real-time risk management. Tune in as Dr. Elliott explains AgriVar’s ability to analyze production and marketing variables to quantify risk and guide decisions—fro...

Send us Fan Mail Embracing Lakota traditions, Acre, Inc. CEO Donita spearheads food security and sovereignty efforts for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s ag coop.  Her words are a feast for your soul that will rekindle your appreciation and relationship with Mother Earth.  At Donita’s Wóyute grocery and Wóyute2Go, her Big Mac Bowls are a feast for your belly.  Donita left us in “Aah.”

Send us Fan Mail Jennifer Schmidtbauer learned to drive a John Deere 620 straight through corn rows, but her career has taken successful reinvention turns.  Today, she deftly develops leadership skills for clients (and podcast hosts) through her own business, Crestcom South Dakota.  Jennifer’s appreciation of ag and conservation, which factored into her career path and volunteer work, trace back t...