Beyond The Crops

Welcome back to Beyond the Crops, where we bridge the gap between farm life and real life! Join your hosts, Jena Ochsner and Mary Pat Sass, as they gear up for the busy planting season. With spring break wrapping up and tractors potentially rolling soon, it's the perfect time to talk about mindset, self-care, and thriving through the chaos. 📌 What We Cover in This Episode: ✅ Catching up on...

Welcome back to Beyond the Crops, where we bridge the gap between farm life and real life. Join your hosts, Jena Ochsner and Mary Pat Sass, for a fun collaboration with the CropCast team from BW Fusion live from Commodity Classic 2025 in Denver, Colorado! 📌 What We Cover in This Episode: ✅ We start with the importance of relating holistic human health to soil health, introducing the concept of &...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops , we're coming to you in survival mode....literally. Jena is recording in the dark on day 3 of a power outage from an intense midwest spring snowstorm. We cover what it looks like when the unexpected happens, what we would change to be more prepared in the future, and some miracles and trials on the farm. MP is catching us up on a risky Facebook Marketplace...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops, Mary Pat and Jena are live from the Commodity Classic, interviewing Kendall from Case IH, and talking about new technology and the evolution of precision technology, followed by Alex from Case IH to discuss Case IH’s Sense Apply technology. 📌 What We Cover in This Episode: ✅ Kendall's background and how she came to work at Case IH. ✅ How precision techn...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops, Mary Pat and Jena give a recap of the Commodity Classic! Listen along and hear them talk about their experience and takeaways from the event. 📌 What We Cover in This Episode: ✅What each of the girls learned and what they’d like to do different next year. ✅All the interesting companies they visited and new information they learned. ✅How it is a great show to...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops, Jena and Mary Pat dive back into the important topic of succession planning with succession expert Ashlee Westerhold. They discuss what to consider when planning for the future of the farm, whether passing it down to the next generation, skipping a generation, or connecting with interested individuals outside of the family. Join us as we learn more about practi...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops , we’re tackling something that every farmer, rancher, and family faces—uncertainty. With markets, policies, weather, and world events constantly shifting, it’s easy to feel like everything is out of control. But while we can’t change the outside forces, we can control our mindset, faith, family life, routines, and how we respond to challenges. Join us as we div...

We’re bringing our husbands back to the podcast for a no-holds-barred conversation about the highs, lows, and lessons of the 2024 farming season. From harvest takeaways to hard-earned wisdom, we’re diving into what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re changing for next year. We also reflect on the challenges and wins of raising livestock, share our personal and farm goals for 2025, and discuss the...

We're BACK after a much-needed break, and we're ready to tell you all about it and what's been going on behind the scenes!  On this episode of Beyond The Crops we're catching you up on ALL the things. recapping holiday stomach bugs, much needed vacations, and our exciting new business ventures, as well as what to expect this year on the podcast!  Keep track of your family'...

In the midst of the holiday hustle, it’s easy to get swept up in the busyness and lose sight of what Christmas is truly about. In this episode, we’re pausing to refocus on the heart of the season—our Savior, Jesus Christ. Join us as we share our personal testimonies, dive into the messiness of our faith journeys, and reflect on how God has worked in our lives. Whether your story feels polished or...

Today on Beyond The Crops we are getting all the nitty gritty details of Jena's recent dental surgery and an update on her health journey. We cover everything from what led her down this path, to parasite cleanses, to cost, recovery, and more.   Keep track of your family's farm journey through harvest and beyond. Get your own Grounded Journal today. We’d love to hear your feedback on thi...

Are you ready to transform your holiday season into a time of intention, connection, and joy? In this episode, we’re diving into meaningful gift-giving ideas that go beyond the material, focusing on thoughtful presents that foster connection, support small businesses, and bring joy to both the giver and the receiver.  From unique local finds to heartfelt handmade creations, we’ll explore how to cr...

Harvest season is wrapping up, and we’re sitting down to share our reflections, wins, and lessons learned from the fields. And of course our favorite field meals of the season—think crockpot ribs, homemade rye bread Rubens, and Friday night steak traditions.  Plus, we reflect on our recent farm safety series and the importance of keeping these critical conversations going to protect what matters m...

Welcome back to Beyond the Crops. Today we want to take a moment to thank each and every one of our guests who came on during our farm safety series.   We've compiled the advice from each of our interviewees to share with you today. These are quick, hitting, and impactful pieces of advice from those who experienced farm accidents firsthand. Take this episode and listen to it, then share it wi...

Join us for a special live episode of Beyond the Crops, recorded at Husker Harvest Days with FP Next podcast hosts Kurt Ahrens and Sarah McNaughton. In this live conversation, we dive into strategies for preparing farms for economic shifts, exploring ways to diversify operations and stay resilient in today’s evolving agricultural landscape. Our first-ever live audience made this a memorable experi...

Today, we’re bringing you a special interview sparked from a listener connection made in our DMs. Katie Hammock, an ER nurse and dairy farmer’s wife, reached out after tuning into our farm safety series, offering her insights as a farm safety educator. Katie has a unique perspective on ag safety from her experiences in the ER and is passionate about sharing practical, often-overlooked safety tips...

Farm safety is more than just a checklist—it’s about protecting lives and fostering a culture of awareness in our communities. In this episode, Taylor Sjogren shares her personal story of her dad’s farm accident and why it’s so important to talk openly about safety. We talk about the dangers of complacency, the need for increased awareness, and how preparing our kids and keeping safety top of mind...

Thank you so much for tuning into our safety series so far. This week we're welcoming Kayla Cowell to Beyond The Crops as she shares the truly miraculous story of her father surviving a grain bin fall and how that was a huge factor in her pivoting her career path and choosing to come back to the family farm.  Remember we launch new episodes every Tuesday. We’d love to hear your feedback on th...

This week, we are bringing back our farm safety series. This is the first time that we're getting the perspective of a mom who had a child that was injured on their farm. Katie's son got his hand stuck in a feed auger. And the story is pretty incredible. She shares how sometimes like the knowledge that the farmers have of the equipment can be very helpful in a situation where somebody ha...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops, we are taking a break from our farm safety series to catch up on some recent events and share personal updates.  We discuss our experiences at the Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days, including a live podcast and panel discussions. We also dive into the Farm Wives Club event organized by Kylie Epperson, emphasizing the importance of community and support...

As part of National Farm Safety Week from September 15th to the 21st, we are continuing our farm safety series. This series bring on different farm families to share their real-life experiences to raise awareness about farm dangers, help other agricultural families prepare, and offer support after accidents. In this powerful and emotional episode, we sit down with Madi Kerr, a young woman from a m...

As part of National Farm Safety Week from September 15th to the 21st, we are continuing our farm safety series. This series bring on different farm families to share their real-life experiences to raise awareness about farm dangers, help other agricultural families prepare, and offer support after accidents. Calli Williams (Millennial Rancher on Instagram) shares about her husband's accident...

We  are continuing our crucial farm safety series with mother- daughter duo Emily Wilson and Amy Doherty as they share about how their dad/husband was seemingly the first person to survive a Mycotill exposure. Mycotill is a vaccine used in cattle to treat bovine respiratory disease. It works incredibly well in animals and unfortunately has severe risk in humans. In most cases, humans do not surviv...

We  are kicking off our crucial farm safety series by diving into a harrowing real-life experience shared by Auna Koenigs from Northern Iowa. Auna opens up about a terrifying accident on her family farm that nearly cost her father his leg—and his life. Auna recounts the day her father's leg got caught in a sweep auger, and highlights the farm safety lesson that her family had practiced for ye...

In this episode of Beyond the Crops, we dive into the importance of prioritizing fitness and how our approach to health and wellness has evolved over time. Join us as we share our personal fitness journeys, from college days to the realities of parenthood and beyond. We discuss the challenges we've faced, the lessons we've learned, and the reasons why making fitness a priority is more cr...