The Millennial Ag Podcast

Podcast Topic:

  • Education

The Millennial Ag Podcast is the brainchild of Katharine Lotspeich, a Utah dairy farmer, and Valene Lickley, a 5th generation beef rancher from southern Idaho. Both passionate agriculturists from very different backgrounds, we realized our diverse perspectives could play a role in helping to widen agriculture conversations.

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Last weekend was daylight savings for most of the United States. This week Katharine and Valene reflect on the impact the shorter days and colder temperatures have on mental health. It's actually called seasonal depression. We hope we can shed a light on the importance it is to check in with yourself, your family, your friends and your neighbors this season. We also are here to offer a listening ear, we are not experts (and please seek out a professional if needed), but want to be here for you and your family.

This week, we're joined by two bright FFA stars. Brock and Jaymie White of the Platte Valley FFA Chapter in Colorado join the podcast to highlight their experiences at the 2021 National FFA Convention which wrapped up last week. The siblings competed in the Parliamentary Procedure career development event, attended inspiring general sessions where they heard words of wisdom from the National FFA Officer team, toured local agriculture facilities and much more. The future is bright with these students coming into their own. Tune in to hear their favorite memories and highlights!

Kara Smith, co-owner and operator with her husband Jeff of Colorado Craft Beef, explains that sustainability is doing right by everyone today to make sure the future will be bright as well. She helps us dive into the three legged stool of sustainability, economic sustainability, and what it means for the beef industry as a whole on this week's episode. You definitely won't want to miss this episode with Kara!

With the news this week of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's passing, we thought it would be a great time to honor his leadership ideals. We discuss his 13 rules for leaders and what they mean to us.

This week, we were delighted to welcome Katie Pinke of Agweek to our studio. Katie shares with us her background in agriculture media, why she believes rural America's stories need to keep being told, and the importance of speaking up and out about mental health in the rural and ag communities. She ends with some advice (and accolades for Millennials that these two Millennial hosts were delighted to hear) for young people in ag. Her enthusiasm is evident in every word, and reminds us that the most important things in life aren't titles on business cards, but family.

With the news this week of Idaho's lieutenant governor using her acting status while the governor is away to force through her own political agenda, we thought it was timely to re-air the conversation we got to have with him about ag in Idaho, his support for it in all its facets, and what he thinks is on the horizon. This is a great conversation with a great guest. Tune in!

This week, it's just the girls! Val (bless her heart) loves listening to Katharine nerd out about milk quality so we decided to bring the same nerdy love to you this week! Katharine talks about the ins and outs of milk quality, and why the consuming public can be secure in knowing that America's dairy producers work hard to bring the safest, purest, most delicious dairy products to market every day!

Ever wonder what it is like to encounter wolves where you run sheep and cattle. This week Kim Kerns joins us to talk about the wolf packs they have experienced and the damage it has done to their flocks and herds in Oregon. She walks us through what she feels like is a well written but poorly executed wolf plan for Oregon. With more states talking about re-introduction and migration of the wolves from state to state, where do we go from here? What are the lasting impacts on ranchers? Let us know your thoughts!

This week, we reflect on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And then we ask ourselves and you, what's one kind thing we can put into the world each week?

Welcome to Episode 100! Sometimes life gets in the way, and you've got to plan around it. Cut to our show this week, where we throw it back to our very first episode. Listen to our intro to see how we feel about 100 episodes, and what we were thinking when we started this passion project of ours. Thank you for being our listeners, and for tuning in!