Ag Women Connect "Ag Talk, Your Story Matters!"

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa Wood interviews Tanya Smith of Lubbock, Texas, marketing director at Capital Farm Credit, about her ranch upbringing in northeastern New Mexico, involvement in 4-H/FFA and livestock judging, college path through South Plains College and Texas Tech, and 27+ years with Farm Credit through mergers into Capital Farm Credit. Tonya explains Capital Farm Credit as a Te...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa interviews Sierra Franks who grew up on a Texas Panhandle cow-calf and Hereford show-steer operation spanning Texas and Oklahoma, and credits her grandfather and family history for shaping her values and cattle program. Sierra explains how showing steers led her into photography, beginning with a 2014 Show Champions USA internship that expanded into major events...

Send us Fan Mail What does a girl from the suburbs of Chicago know about agriculture? For Donna Hughes, the answer became an entire career. In this episode of AgTalk: Your Story Matters, Venessa Wood sits down with longtime friend and agriculture advocate Donna Hughes of StoneX to discuss her remarkable journey from an industrial Chicago neighborhood to becoming a trusted advisor for farmers and r...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa welcomes Krysta Paffrath, CEO & Founder of the Rural Podcast Network and Yoga Teacher to AgTalk: Your Story Matters for a candid catch-up about moving through hard seasons, growth, and entrepreneurship.  Krysta shares about her journey completing her 500-hour yoga teacher training, which began in January 2025, graduating after a demanding year and a half tha...

Send us Fan Mail A routine doctor's appointment changed the course of Kate Barfield's life forever. At just 25 years old, Kate was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. What followed was a challenging journey through surgery, chemotherapy, fertility preservation decisions, and recovery. But through that experience, Kate discovered a greater purpose. Toda...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa Wood interviews Kentucky-based speaker and entrepreneur Kiah Burchett, a seventh-generation California rancher who calls herself a “Kentuckifornian.” Kiah shares her rural cattle ranch upbringing, their commercial herd and Corriente roping cattle, and how attending the Agriculture Future of America conference broadened her view of careers in agriculture. She rec...

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s episode, Venessa Wood interviews Kristen York of Remuda Insurance Group from Weatherford, Texas, about her path in agriculture and the equine industry. Kristin shares growing up in California with a farming background, pursuing horses and softball, playing at Colorado State, and choosing the equine science path. After college she moved to Wyoming, spent 25 years ran...

Send us Fan Mail This week on the podcast, Venessa interviews Mollie Ficocello, Co-Founder of 3 Farm Daughters, a North Dakota, Red River Valley farm family pasta brand founded by three sisters who returned to the farm after careers in marketing/finance, law, and beauty. They created a clean-label, high-fiber pasta after noticing their high-fiber wheat was going only into commodity markets, and th...

Send us Fan Mail Venessa Wood is joined by guest Ashley Cash, who discusses her work to reshape K–12 education based on her children’s learning differences (dyslexia, ADHD, processing delays, dysgraphia) and her experience with private schooling and outside testing that revealed an eye-tracking disorder; she plans Texas legislation for universal eye-tracking screening and therapy. Cash argues the...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa Wood talks with Clay McKesson on Ag Talk. Clay, vice president of the faith-based Western Legacy Project, describes how it formed quickly and its youth timed-event rodeo camp May 18–21 at Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Arena, with vetted counselors, nightly faith discussions, and events including breakaway, barrels, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, pole...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Vanessa Wood talks with Jessica and AJ Richards about their story, marriage, and their business, From the Farm. High school sweethearts married at 19, the couple now raises three daughters. AJ shares how a new generation of farmers is doing things differently through direct-to-consumer sales, social media, and regenerative practices. After COVID exposed weaknesses in th...

Send us Fan Mail Ag Talk host, Venessa Wood, interviews Hannah Skoog of Stephenville, Texas, who connected with Ag Women Connect through a women’s tour of the 6666 Stallion Barn and now helps with t-shirts and merch. Hannah shares how she grew up in suburban DFW, returned to horses at Texas Tech after burnout from an academia-only focus, and was humbled while learning horsemanship, eventually buyi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, Venessa Wood hosts a special session with cattle rancher and policy advocate Shad Sullivan and Iowa farmer/media creator Jim Mundorf to discuss agricultural policy, property rights, and public lands. Sullivan recounts losing his ranch operation in a 1999 Colorado land grab and says it propelled him into advocacy against what he views as bureaucratic cor...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Venessa Wood sat down with retired BLM veteran Jenny Lesieutre about the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and today’s wild horse and burro crisis. Jenny outlines the act’s origins, key amendments (including FLPMA allowing helicopters, adoption authority, AML requirements, and the Burns Amendment), and says horse and burro numbers have far exceeded appropriate man...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk: Your Story Matters, Venessa Wood visits with guests Traci, Lane, and Randy to preview the West Texas Ranch Rodeo in April at the Amarillo National Center. Tracy shares her background in crop insurance and family life; Lane, a longtime cowboy and former PRCA competitor, explains producing the rodeo to support working cowboys; Randy describes partnering w...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Ag Talk: Your Story Matters , Venessa Wood sits down with Michelle Williams, an early supporter of Ag Women Connect. Michelle shares her roots near Austin, her move to West Texas in 1999, and building the Lubbock Steamer business with her husband while raising five children (and now eight grandchildren). After scaling back work to care for a granddaughter, she l...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk: Your Story Matters, Venessa Wood sits down with Jodi Hendrickson, founder of Fringe Scarves, to talk about her South Dakota ranch roots, rodeo background, and early love of fashion that eventually led her into the Western retail world. After moving to Texas and working in magazine publishing and styling, Jodi faced a long battle with Lyme disease that r...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Ag Talk: Your Story Matters, Venessa Wood sits down with Heidi Haynes for a real conversation about what happens after you finally buy that piece of country land—and the learning curve that comes with it. From battling mesquite and navigating fencing projects to understanding drainage, soil types, and equipment decisions, Heidi unpacks the gap between the dream...

Send us Fan Mail Venessa Wood hosts Ag Talk: Your Story Matters and interviews Carey Portell, of Missouri, an Ag Women Connect advisor with a small lamb operation. Carey talks about winter lambing challenges, using warming and tubing to save lambs, and how farming and horses have supported her recovery after a serious car crash. They discuss her work with the AgriSafe Network and its AgriStress Pr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, Venessa Wood interviews Lynn Figone, an entrepreneur and longstanding advocate for the agriculture community. Lynn shares her rich background, growing up in a dairy-centered town in Northern California, before transitioning to various roles within the ag industry. She elaborates on her journey, from being a Dairy Princess on a dare to facing and overcom...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, Venessa Wood sits down with Sally Allen of Triple Dynamics and her nephew, Logan. The discussion explores Triple Dynamics' mission to support and empower rural American businesses by helping them streamline operations, optimize branding, and navigate logistical challenges. Sally shares her rich background in agriculture, from growing up on a ranch...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, the spotlight is on Kristen Ham from South Dakota. Kristen, a ranch wife, mother, and founder of the western lifestyle brand Ranch Chick Corral, discusses her life and business inspired by her family's cow-calf ranch. She shares her background, meeting her husband in college, and their life operating the ranch while growing Ranch Chick Corral. The...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, Venessa Wood interviews Jen Lyness from Montgomery, Texas, to discuss the importance of supporting women in agriculture. Jen shares her diverse background growing up on a family farm, teaching, and transitioning to a career in marketing and financial services. Key themes include the necessity of connecting with others, continual learning, the use of AI...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of "Ag Talk: Your Story Matters," Venessa and her husband, Andrew Wood, celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary by sharing their journey together. They discuss the importance of supporting each other, particularly in the context of their agricultural background. Andrew recounts his career in landscaping and how the couple balanced their family and busine...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Ag Talk, Venessa interviews Kara Bishop from Plains Cotton Growers. Kara shares her background growing up in Dickens County, Texas, and discusses her journey into agricultural communications. She highlights the importance of effective communication in agriculture and emphasizes the need to promote understanding and demand for cotton. Kara explains the environmen...