The Rural Dispatch

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! It's been WET around here. The rain has been relentless, and this week we’re talking about what it looks like when too much rain hits our little circle of rural America — flooded basements, trucks stuck in the mud, cancelled shipments and harvest getting pushed back. And because this is The Rural Dispatch, the conversation take...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Sometimes the biggest changes start with simply deciding it’s time to do something different. This week, Smoke and Aly are joined by repeat guest Paul Radloff, owner of PAR Repair Inc. and the new owner of Wagner Trailer Sales , along with Chad Evers of PAR Repair. Paul talks about moving on from Agar Transportation and making the j...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! The cattle industry is facing plenty of uncertainty — from recent packing plant closures and volatile markets to the challenges of keeping the next generation on the farm. In this episode Aly and Smoke sit down with Will Epperly for a wide-ranging conversation about the current state of the cattle business and what it takes to keep...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! What can the Greiners teach us about building a successful business, raising a family, prioritizing wellness, and navigating everything in between? Matt and Ashley Greiner join us for a wide-ranging conversation about the lessons they’ve learned while building businesses, working alongside family, raising a family of their own, and...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Cool trucks, cooler job, and one hell of a work ethic. Dive into how Joe Eldridge turned his passion for trucks, truck shows and connecting with people into a career shaped just for him.  Joe sits down with co-hosts Aly Behrens and Mark Toms to share his journey in the trucking industry, his role at Southern Transport, and how his p...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This is one fun episode you won't want to miss! Aly, Smoke and Mark sit down with Emily Bonham, better known throughout the trucking industry as Chrome Girl , to talk all things chrome, trucking and life.  Emily shares the story behind how the name Chrome Girl became her personal brand, the journey that led her into the truckin...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week Aly & Smoke catch you up on what's been happening around Behrens & Co.  We kick off this episode with a trip down memory lane, sharing some insights to how Smoke got here, including the Show Pony (could pass as a show truck) and White Lightning (definitely not a show truck).  From there, we shift into what&apo...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Some people restore trucks. Others build them from scratch. Danny Prevost does something entirely different. This week Aly and Mark sit down with Danny Prevost, owner of Frosty Frog Custom , whose one-of-a-kind creations have earned attention across the trucking industry. From fully functional refrigerators built to look like semi t...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Lifetime Lugnut Covers has been a family business since 1990, built on an idea and the sheer will to find a lasting solution. In this episode, Chelcee Schleuger shares the story behind the company, how her husband JR carried on the family business after purchasing it from his dad, and the legacy he left behind following his battle w...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week on The Rural Dispatch, Smoke and Aly talk all things beef, trucking, and life lately.  Tune in to hear what's been keeping us busy, the rumors we've been hearing, and plenty of our opinions along the way.  Since May is Beef Month, we get into our favorite cuts of beef, a conversation around the beef supply chain,...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Family farms are the backbone of rural America, but the reality isn't always what it seems from the outside. In this episode, Brian Reisinger unpacks what's really happening across American agriculture and why it matters far beyond the farm.  Brian grew up on his family's farm in Wisconsin before stepping into a caree...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this milestone 50th episode of The Rural Dispatch, Smoke and Aly sit down for a real time conversation about what's happening across cattle country right now. From baby calves to fat cattle, they let you know what they're seeing and how they're navigating things. The trucking side brings its own challenges, and Smo...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode, JR Joy shares about the setbacks, lessons, and resilience it takes to keep going when you get knocked down. We talk about overcoming adversity, finding purpose after a life-changing accident, polishing your craft, and why giving back to those navigating difficult times has become such an important part of his life. ...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week Aly sits down with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig for a conversation that breaks down what's really happening in Iowa agriculture. We talk about his personal ties to agriculture and the programs his office oversees - from Choose Iowa, to conservation efforts, and Farm Bill priorities, and what he sees as the...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! If you've ever wondered what bull haulers talk about when the truck is parked... this one's for you.  In this episode of The Rural Dispatch, Rob Budzik, Jacob Magner, and Cauy Brotherson swap stories, share lessons from the road, and tell all about how they got their start hauling livestock.  Keep track of your income, exp...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode of The Rural Dispatch, Aly sits down with Adam Steen, a candidate for Governor of Iowa, for a real conversation about leadership, work–life balance, failure, faith, and the lessons that come from both winning and losing. Adam shares how his background in business and his role overseeing state operations shaped the wa...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! ⚠️ Explicit content warning: This episode is not suitable for most children. This week Mark Toms joins Smoke & Aly for a no holds barred trip down memory lane. From their trucking escapades, the worst of the worst truck drivers, and strip club shenanigans, to their present-day status as Disney dads, nothing is off limits.  Buckl...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode, Aly sits down with Luke Quandt, owner of Quandts Coatings to talk about what it really looks like to bet on yourself. Luke grew up on a farm and started engraving in his spare time out of his house. After years of working on hog barns, he made the leap to go all in on his side hustle, and six years later hasn't...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode, Aly and Smoke sit down with Austin and Mady Blair, owners of ABC Beef, to talk about what it really looks like to diversify a family farming operation while raising three young kids. We dig into how they’ve used what they already knew to build multiple income streams, including their direct-to-consumer beef business...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode of The Rural Dispatch, Smoke and Aly sit down to recap 2025 in the livestock trucking business — the good, the bad, and the ugly. From the moments that made the long days worth it to the wrecks that tested us, this conversation dives into what our year behind the scenes really looked like. We talk about good people v...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week we're talking about the one thing every cattle producer knows they could do better or should do better or would do better if they had the time... but most put off: record keeping. I'm joined by Oaklee Trapp, rancher, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Smarter Cattle , to break down why better data leads to better de...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week Smoke and Aly sit down with Adam Prokash, a first-generation livestock producer whose path into agriculture looks nothing like the traditional one. Adam walks us through how he bought his first farm and learned to raise veal calves without the benefit of growing up in the industry, and how those early years shaped every de...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! In this episode, Aly sits down with Natallia Opalko, founder of Trucking Safety and author of Safety is the New Profit , to break down the systems and simple fixes that help small fleets improve safety, efficiency, and profitability. Natallia shares the most common compliance and safety hurdles she sees, the tools that make complian...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! This week Aly and Smoke dive into a lesson on why winter preparation is important, a conversation about debt strategy and our mindset when financing equipment and managing growth without getting stretched too thin. We also chat about taking calculated risks in business and cattle feeding. Tune in for practical, honest insights for k...

Send us a text or leave a voicemail - we’d love to hear from you! Hosts Aly and Smoke catch up on Smoke's time back behind the wheel - navigating sale barns, a few frustrations about how trucking has changed, and taking kids along for the ride. They also dig into the business side, from climbing insurance premiums and warranty headaches, to Trump's recent comments on beef prices and what...