Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women In Agriculture

Mary and Leah welcome rancher and advocate Janie VanWinkle for a powerful conversation on agriculture, resilience, and connection. Janie shares her journey as a fourth-generation producer in western Colorado, building a ranching operation from the ground up alongside her family. She talks about growing a direct-to-consumer beef business and balancing multiple roles while staying rooted in her purp...

Mary and Leah talk through a week of weather extremes, from dust storms and heat to spring rain and the welcome sound of frogs returning. The conversation shifts to active wildfires in Nebraska, where dry lightning and high winds have sparked fast-moving grass fires across already drought-stressed land. They highlight the critical role of volunteer firefighters and organizations like Hot Meals USA...

Mary and Leah dive into rising grocery costs, unpredictable spring weather, and the realities of farm life during calving season. With prices climbing and uncertainty in the air, they shift the conversation to practical solutions families can control right now. This episode focuses on cooking from scratch as a powerful way to stretch your grocery budget, build food security, and reconnect with you...

Mary and Leah celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a candid conversation about holiday traditions, rural upbringing, and the realities of life across different regions of the country. From Nebraska wildfires to Montana snowstorms, they reflect on how agriculture connects communities despite distance and differing conditions. They are joined by Stacy Bronec, a writer and ranch wife in central Montana,...

Mary and Leah catch up on life, ranching, and the changing seasons as spring arrives in the Heartland. From the intensity of calving season to reflections on agriculture, community, and modern life, this episode blends practical insight with heartfelt conversation. What You’ll Hear in This Episode Calving season begins and what it takes to manage hundreds of births, including overnight responsibil...

In this heartfelt episode of Grit and Grace in the Heartland, Mary and Leah reflect on the emotional weight families carry during graduation season, especially the pressure placed on young people to make life defining decisions at an early age. They are then joined by Patti Barth, co-founder and CEO of America’s Lifeline Emergency Response Team (ALERT) . Patti shares how her rural roots and person...

Mary and Leah welcome special guest Kate from Rolling Seven Ranch Company in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Kate shares the story behind her family’s unique ranching business raising mini Highland cattle and how it grew from a small idea into a nationwide operation. From adorable calves to unexpected celebrity customers, Kate offers a behind the scenes look at a growing niche in agriculture. In this episod...

Leah and Mary welcome Nebraska rancher and writer Megan Messersmith, creator of This Cowgirl Story . The conversation begins with a funny and heartfelt look at warming chilled calves in bathtubs and the realities of winter calving on working ranches. Megan shares the story of building a ranching operation with her husband from the ground up in southwest Nebraska while raising four daughters. She t...

Mary and Leah welcome rancher and health coach Marla Stallbaumer for a heartfelt conversation about life in agriculture, family transitions, and the importance of caring for your own health while caring for the land and livestock. Marla shares her story of returning home after college to build a life in agriculture with her husband, Curtis. Together they run a multi generation farm and ranch opera...

Episode Guest: Elissa Martin In this episode, Mary and Leah sit down with Elissa Martin, a woman whose life beautifully reflects both grit and grace. Raised on a multi-generation Nebraska ranch and now raising her own family deeply connected to agriculture, Elissa shares the winding path that led her from ranch kid to entrepreneur, homeschool mom, and leader in the Mary Kay community. Elissa opens...

In this inspiring episode of Grit and Grace in the Heartland, Mary and Leah welcome Julie Schrader of Open Road Ranch in Wisconsin for a conversation about local food systems, REKO rings, farm dinners, and building meaningful connections between farmers and their communities. As spring approaches and graduation season looms, Mary and Leah reflect on how quickly the year is moving before diving int...

In this episode, Mary and Leah welcome Kaylee of Garcia Eat Meats LLC for a heartfelt and powerful conversation that stretches from winter storms to food freedom, from military service to sheep production, and from local leadership to the future of rural America. Weather, Rural Roads, and Resilience The episode opens with talk of much needed moisture across Nebraska and neighboring states. Winter...

In this powerful and candid conversation, Mary and Leah welcome rancher and agricultural communicator Jennifer Hill to share her family’s remarkable journey from western Colorado to the Sandhills of Nebraska. Jennifer opens up about legacy, loss, reinvention, and what it truly takes to sustain a ranching operation across generations in the face of bureaucracy, environmental challenges, and shiftin...

In this heartfelt and laughter filled episode, Leah turns the tables and puts Mary in the hot seat. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about storytelling, homesteading, Maine roots, motherhood, migraines, and the leap into podcasting later in life. This episode is part origin story, part friendship story, and part reminder that every person has something meaningful to share. What We Talk Abou...

In this heartfelt episode, Mary and Leah welcome Nicole, creator of Sandhills Prairie Girl, joining from the breathtaking Nebraska Sandhills. What begins as lighthearted weather talk turns into a deeply meaningful conversation about marriage, ranch life, faith, creativity, and finding beauty in wide open spaces. Nicole shares how a non agriculture girl from Cozad, Nebraska, fell in love with a ran...

Mary and Leah welcome Tracy from Harvest Her in Nebraska for a heartfelt conversation about community, identity, and the unique challenges facing women in agriculture. The episode opens with a very real ranch moment as Leah shares about getting knocked down by her daughter’s 4-H market heifer. From bumps and bruises to deeper reflections, the conversation quickly turns to something many women quie...

In this episode, Mary and Leah sit down with Carol Connare, Editor-in-Chief of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, for a wide-ranging and thoughtful conversation about weather patterns, gardening, agriculture, livestock management by the signs, print publishing in a digital world, and why timeless wisdom still matters. From bitter cold in Minnesota to snowstorms in New Hampshire, the discussion weaves perso...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Leah shares the full origin story of Clear Creek Ranch Mom, a journey born not from strategy or branding, but from crisis, heartbreak, resilience, and an unshakable desire to help. What began as a quiet, dormant Facebook page in 2018 was forever changed by the historic March 2019 bomb cyclone and flooding in Nebraska. Leah walks listeners through that...

Guest: Richelle, Prairie Crocus Creative Episode Summary In this deeply moving and honest episode of Grit and Grace in the Heartland, Mary and Leah welcome their very first guest, Richelle, a Montana ranch woman, writer, photographer, speaker, and advocate for women in agriculture. Rochelle shares her personal journey growing up on a multi-generation ranch near the Canadian border, building a catt...

In this episode of Grit and Grace in the Heartland, Mary and Leah talk about 4-H , what it is, where it came from, and why it still matters more than ever. From livestock projects and county fairs to creativity, leadership, and service, Leah shares how 4-H shapes kids for life, not just for competition. This conversation is about growing people, building community, and giving kids the tools they n...

In this episode, Mary and Leah open with the familiar rhythms of Midwestern life, weather, winter wellness, and the importance of vitamin D, before moving into a deeply honest, timely conversation about immigration, agriculture, and the values shaping our food system. Sparked by recent events in Minnesota and the emotional weight they carry, the discussion explores why so many Americans are feelin...

In this wide-ranging and deeply reflective episode, Mary and Leah kick off 2026 by talking weather, resilience, and the skills that truly prepare us for life, especially in agriculture. From drought conditions in Nebraska and icy chores in Minnesota to coaching high school speech, the conversation unfolds into a powerful exploration of public speaking, reading, family connection, and the unintende...

Carrying On: New Year Reflections, Community, and Courage As 2025 comes to a close, Mary and Leah settle into a heartfelt, wide-ranging New Year’s Eve conversation about what it really means to carry on. From quiet family traditions and dive-bar burgers to the realities of agriculture, social media algorithms, and the courage it takes to speak hard truths, this episode is a reminder that most of l...

In this episode, Mary and Leah dive into the realities of the U.S. healthcare system and why it is deeply personal—especially for women, families, and those in agriculture. From navigating insurance as self-employed ranchers to the loss of rural healthcare access, they share lived experiences, hard truths, and honest frustration with a system that often feels broken. This conversation covers affor...

Episode Summary In the very first episode of Grit and Grace in the Heartland, hosts Mary and Leah kick off an exciting new podcast focused on women in agriculture - just in time for 2026, the International Year of the Woman Farmer. They reflect on the whirlwind of recent years, explore why this moment matters so much for agriculture and rural America, and talk candidly about identity, language, co...