The Ag Queen Podcast

Maas Energy Works is a company that works with dairies and some other confined animal feeding operations in designing and installing digesters that capture methane and afford operation owners another way of generating income by turning that methane into usable energy. Learn more about manure power in today’s interview with Chief Executive Officer, Daryl Maas.

Farmers for Free Trade is a 501(c)(4) non-profit dedicated to informing the public about the benefits of free trade and mobilizing farmers and ranchers to take action to support beneficial trade agreements that expand export opportunities for American farms and ranches. Learn today why we should all support free trade for agriculture in this interview with Farmers for Free Trade Executive Director...

Emma Lindberg is the National Farmers Union Senior Director of Education and Programming for Women. She talks with me today about an upcoming virtual and in-person conference to help women with decision making, leadership and agriculture industry development. She talkies about the value of networking and sharing experiences as a growing number of women are now running ag operations across the Unit...

Agriculture leaders from across major food and ag associations today announced the formation of the Agriculture Trade Education Council (ATEC), a 501 c (3) non-profit that will be a resource for education on the value of agricultural trade policies, practices, and structures. The ATEC is chaired by ag leaders with decades of experience educating farmers, policymakers and businesses about how the i...

Agrology develops predictive agriculture technologies to help growers maximize profits with minimal input costs and environmental impact. Founded in 2019, Agrology’s predictive agriculture platform combines proprietary, affordable sensor arrays with machine learning to provide actionable insights and trends via a mobile application. Agrology is a Public Benefit Corporation committed to focusing on...

EarthOptics is an agricultural technology company developing next-generation soil-sensing technologies that give growers revolutionary insights into the physical characteristics of their soil. EarthOptics beat out three finalists and more than 100 international agtech startup entries to win the AGCO Innovation Challenge Award during the 2021 World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. Tune in today as Lars...

Since the 1970’s, The National Center for Appropropriate Technology has been engaging with and educating farmers and helping them be successful with their operations. Through resource gathering and sharing, connecting them to experts, conducting workshops and more, Margo Hale, Southwest Regional Director, Livestock Specialist in the Southeast Regional Office says that they work hard to find the ap...

In today's show, we talk about emerging technology being used in agriculture as American farms increasingly rely on technology to manage the unpredictable aspects of crop and herd management. However, many farming tasks are still done manually, wasting valuable time and chipping away at profit levels. Enter exciting, new drone technology, which is helping to increase automation and take the guessw...

The American Society of Agriculture Consultants (ASAC) is a non-profit organization whose members represent a diverse range of disciplines in the agriculture industry. ASAC's membership is comprised primarily of experienced consultants boasting a wide array of expertise. Their business models range from sole proprietorships to leadership roles in larger, multi-consultant organizations covering a w...

Lee Ann Pearce is Manager of the Food and Agribusiness Industry Advisors team at Wells Fargo Bank and is my featured guest in today’s podcast. Our main focus will be sustainability in agriculture and how her team is working hard to be proactive in getting producers and ag industries to adopt sustainability practices because that is what consumers are wanting. Lee Ann joined Wells Fargo in 2016 aft...

AgriSafe was formed in 2003 by rural nurses who believed that together they could improve the health and safety of farmers and ranchers. Today, AgriSafe builds the competency of health and safety professionals to deliver exceptional occupational agricultural health care. Charlotte Halvorson is one of the founding members and she talks to Lorrie Boyer today about mental health in agriculture and th...

In today’s show, get a 101 on what is going on in the U.S. sugar industry with American Sugar Alliance Director of Economics and Policy Analysis, Dr. Rob Johannson. As a former USDA Chief Economist, Dr. Johannson starts off with an overview on what ASA is a clearinghouse for both cane and sugarbeet growers, as well as a voice for the industry. He offers an explanation of what is going on with the...

In today’s show is an exciting interview with Ted McKinney, the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. He will lead NASDA in amplifying the voice of state departments of agriculture in Washington, D.C., seeking policy solutions for our food system and expanding and deepening NASDA’s partnerships. Today we recap their annual meeting and talk abo...

Karol Flynn, Wells Farm Vice President of Food and Agribusiness, is full of stats and data around the economy of the agriculture industry. She’s well versed in AgTech and how that’s changing and shaping the food system. Flynn will talk about drivers in the food business industry, consumer trends when it comes to ordering and picking up food, new work models and hybrid schedules, how retail stores...

Dianna Bagnall Research Soil Scientist talks about what the Soil Health Institute and what they do across the United States is collecting and researching soil health and economics. They work with government, nonprofit, and private partners in providing information to assist in managing lands better and more sustainable. The Soil Health Institute also offers a mentoring program, workshops, and trai...

In today's show, Lorrie talks with the Executive Director of the National Bison Association, Dave Carter. He talks about how producers are coping with extreme drought conditions and COVID. He highlights interesting consumer trends that are good for the bison industry. A recent study shows consumers trust farmers and ranchers, which Carter says is encouraging for the ag industry and bison producers...

In this fun interview with Katheryn Bosley, AKA "The Cow Nerd," she tells Lorrie how she is doing her part to advocate for agriculture while educating people in a fun and non-traditional way on social media.

There is never a lack of innovation in agriculture. In today’s show, I interview Pauline Cantenur, Head of Business Development and Partnerships with Farm Wise. Farm Wise is a fairly new company that had developed robots, called “Titans,” that go out into vegetable fields and do the weeding for the farmer. Data is also collected to help the farmer know where there are certain pressures in the fiel...

In today’s show, I visit with Steve Wirsching, Vice President and Director of the U.S. Wheat Associates West Coast Office in Portland, Oregon about white wheat as a class of its own. Over 30 years ago, Hard White wheat was recognized as an official wheat class. Hard White is a premium wheat class that can effectively compete with Russian and Black wheat that have eroded U.S. traditional markets in...

The Peterson Farm Brothers take a unique and entertaining approach to advocating for agriculture with their farm to music parodies. Today, Greg Peterson talks with Lorrie Boyer about their farm and how they got started with creating fun and entertaining parodies. He talks about their speaking engagements and stage shows and some of where they are headed with incorporating more family into their so...

Can food production occur in concert with solar power generation? Recent advancements and interest in solar-generated power have some asking “will large solar panel projects decrease available land for crop production?” Some of these proposed solar farms can cover 80 acres and more and as power needs continue to grow, tens of thousands of currently cropped acres could be taken out of production. T...

In today’s show, learn more about the Livestock Marketing Association with the Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs and Legal, Chelsea Good. Good talks about what the LMA does and how they serve the cattle industry in many different areas. According to the LMA website, they have a long history of serving the industry from the early 1800s until now. They provide legal assistance, polic...

Today, Executive Director of the Beef Improvement Federation, Dr. Bob (Robert) Weaber talks with Lorrie Boyer about how the BIF got its start and what they do to assist cattle organizations with genetic evaluation research and guidelines. In this podcast, he talks about the relationship with extension and the information delivery changes the federation has made using new tools and technology. Acco...

The “Heart of the Fam” program was created by Jenny Vanderlin, Associate Director, Center for Profitability at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its mission is to assist women with farm management and education and help women to improve their decision-making process. The Goal, according to https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/heartofthefarm/about/ is to hold conferences (online and in-person) and pro...

In this interview with U.S. Wheat Associates, we get a recap of some of the work that has been going on in other countries including China, Mexico, and Brazil. 1. Brazil: growing opportunity, so USW/Santiago ramped up work there, holding trade service meetings to help buyers understand how to use the system to get the best value and technical help for millers plus translated materials in Portugues...