January 23, 2025 • 34 mins
With over 750,000 followers online, Ag with Emma is one of the most influential voices in American agriculture. In this episode, Sarah and Jodi sit down with Emma to chat about her journey from growing up in rural Idaho to building a dynamic career exploring agriculture and sharing her experiences online. From working in western North Dakota to gaining global experience in Australia, Emma shares how she’s navigated the ever-evolving world of agriculture and harnessed the power of social media to connect with audiences worldwide. Tune in for insights on her career, her adventures, and the future of ag in the digital age.
Connect with Ag with Emma here: https://linktr.ee/agwithemma
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Episode Transcript
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Sarah (00:03):
Welcome back to Ag Geek Speak.
We have a very exciting episodetoday.
We are going to be visitingwith Ag with Emma.
Emma, we are very excited tohave you today.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you for having me.
Emma has actually been using GKTechnology's, ADMS software,
(00:24):
for doing some precisionagriculture things, and so we're
going to be talking about thatcoming up here.
But to get things started, wethought we'd just visit a little
bit with Emma.
She is a social mediainfluencer for agriculture,
which is super fascinating to me, and we're going to talk a
little bit about how she gotinto that and how she got into
her whole career.
She's had just kind of a verydynamic and interesting career
(00:47):
so far.
So, Emma, where are you from?
Emma (00:50):
Well, I'm from Southern Idaho.
I grew up over there.
I've been all over the place.
I was born in New Hampshire butI've just like state jumped.
I've lived a lot of differentplaces but I grew up in Southern
Idaho.
So like eight, ten-ish years Iwas over there.
So we're just gonna count thatas where I'm from.
During high school andeverything I was involved in FFA
.
My dad managed a farm insouthern Idaho, or helped manage
(01:14):
it anyway.
So we didn't get to really gobe on the farm with him, since
it was more of a corporate vibe.
You know you can't really goride along kind of thing, can't
have like your dad teach you howto drive tractors.
So I was just involved in localcommunity stuff like FFA,
helping neighbors with chores.
You know we'd feed animals forneighbors when they were gone
(01:34):
and stuff like that.
But after high school I startedcollege.
I went to College of SouthernIdaho it's a community college
and I got my degree in generalagriculture.
It was emphasis in cropproduction, agronomy, plant
science kind of deal.
And then after that I was goingto go get my bachelor's.
But then I decided against that.
I went for a semester, decidedit wasn't for me for right now,
(01:57):
and then I went to work on afarm back in southern Idaho and
after, like during all of thistime, I started Ag with Emma.
And I started ag with Emmabecause I was also during my
time at CSI, I was working inseed production, which is a huge
thing in Idaho because of theirclimate and everything, and we
were doing sugar snap peas.
So after I had talked with myfamily and friends about that,
(02:20):
no one really knew what I wasdoing at work.
So I started making videosabout it and I didn't think it
would ever turn into what it isnow, because, as of right now,
I'm probably sitting at aroundlike 750,000 followers over the
internet and I'm like I startedum with like 50 subscribers.
It took me like six months toget 50 subscribers.
I was like I just chugged awayat it and I wasn't even trying
(02:42):
to like blow up and be famous.
I was just meeting new peopleand I was having a lot of fun.
I was learning a lot.
During the time that I started,my parents moved to Iowa, so I
was driving from Idaho to Iowaand I was seeing all these new
things that I hadn't seen before.
You know, like huge grain binsites and you know corn without
irrigation.
I didn't know like irrigationwasn't a thing everywhere like.
(03:02):
It just wasn't a concept that Iwas familiar with, because when
I was younger you know you don'tpay attention to that stuff
Like I didn't at least.
So your farm kids would knowthat I wasn't that kid.
So after I started driving outthere, I started connecting with
other people that were alsosharing on the internet.
I was added to some group chatswith people that were like oh
yeah, what she does is reallycool, you should get to know her
(03:28):
.
And then I'd go and meet upwith people on my drives, or
people would just let me stay attheir houses, let me like go
look at their farm the next day,kind of thing, and leave.
So when I went to college I wasdoing the podcast and then I
dropped out because I got one ofmy friends I met off.
Tiktok was a custom harvesteror he ran with a crew, and I was
like that looks really coolbecause I get the big drone
shots, a little combines linedup, and I'm like I've never seen
(03:50):
that before.
So I did a podcast episode withhim.
And then, after we're done withthe podcast, I'm like okay,
like how do I go do this?
And they're like well, you cansend us a resume and I was like
brother, no way, I just talkedmyself into this like I don't
even know how to drive a tractor.
Sarah (04:00):
So after a second, you went harvesting on a harvest
crew and you had never drivenlike a tractor or a combine
before I had driven like a 3010,you know like a little Like a
small one yeah.
Emma (04:12):
Nothing huge and nothing.
No huge grain cart on the back.
Like the first time I took the8R and the like 1200 bushel cart
down the road I almost startedcrying.
So I was like this is insane,insane.
Like I had my guy with me tolike, okay, it's gonna be okay.
But he's like make sure youturn your flashers on, take it
really.
So I probably drove like fivemiles an hour down the road, not
(04:33):
like bombing at 31, you know,just whipping it around.
But it was great.
Like I don't know why I was sointimidated.
But the first time I everdumped on a truck just bushels
over the side, just piles andpiles, and I had to go over
there and scoop it all up.
But, um, it was a learningexperience, to say the least.
Yeah, yes, I hadn't been in acombine cab ever, like really
(04:57):
before that I knew combine, likeI knew how they worked to some
degree, but I'd never just satin a car.
Like the first time I rodealong with my boss.
He was trying to teach me howto run a combine.
It was just all so foreign andnew to me.
Like I just learned how todrive a tractor.
Real good I mean proficiently,I guess would be the word maybe.
Jodi (05:15):
I like real good, better real good, real good ish um, and
then I, like, got in thecombine.
Emma (05:22):
he started letting me take over the combine after dinner
some nights and then after I wasdone with harvest crew, that
was from May to November of 2022.
And then I went to Australiaand went and drove combine and
grain cart down there.
Sarah (05:37):
So you've been to Australia to go and do custom
harvesting down there it wasjust for a family that I knew.
Emma (05:42):
I went and helped them out for a couple of weeks so I did
canola harvest down there theyear they had all the flooding.
So they were like you haveliterally chosen the worst year
to come and run harvest.
Sarah (05:53):
Did you say canola?
Yeah, canola.
In Australia we passed a lot ofcanola fields yeah.
Emma (05:59):
I was going to say you were just down there at like
prime time to see all that stuff.
Jodi (06:03):
Yeah, I've got a video where I'm like oh look, they're
rolling near, they've got canola.
Sarah (06:10):
In the canola bud Get her whipped.
So how?
How is harvest?
Emma (06:19):
different in Australia than it is in the United States.
I mean, there's a lot morespiders Like you're fueling up
the combine on the come like thefuel deck, and it's nasty
there's spiders fallingeverywhere it's disgusting.
I haven't ever like you.
Sarah (06:31):
You do realize that's one of the reasons why I love being
from North Dakota, because itdoes get to be like minus the
spiders are the riffraff thatare kept out by the most it's a
wow yeah, did you ever have likeany snake issues?
Emma (06:46):
um, I didn't have any up close incidents, but everyone
was always telling me aboutbrown snakes and it terrified me
.
Jodi (06:51):
I was so terrified I think they can sense my fear.
Emma (06:54):
They're like more poisonous than rattlesnakes, but
they don't rattle.
They don't announce themselves.
Jodi (06:58):
I've been told that they bark a barking so it's so funny
because, like when we were downthere so I went down with a
friend, uh, back in December togo look for birds and like we
saw one Eastern brown snake andthen they're like.
Oh, we're just going to stepaway, it's fine.
You know, if you just mind hisown business, it'll be fine.
(07:18):
And then we're like, oh yeah,we'll just avoid, avoid that.
And then the next two days weproceeded to see like two by
ourselves, just like walkingaround and we're like we could
do with less of theseexperiences.
The snakes are not again.
Sarah (07:31):
North Dakota 30 below.
Emma (07:32):
I love it yeah, it kills everything that's not supposed
to be here so aren't you gladyou, you are now getting to
embrace this yes, the coldreally does not bother me that
much, like it does a little bit,you know, like it kind of hurts
when you cough today, but it'sjust, I think it is my like
power steering in my pickup hasnot been good.
Jodi (07:53):
It's been like negative 20 , and here I am mentioning the
weather, when I'm not supposedto either, but like it's cold
enough where I feel like it'saffecting my power steering oh,
it definitely that kind of coldyep yeah.
Emma (08:03):
You got to just let her warm up a little bit, let her
lubricate.
Sarah (08:07):
Every now and again you got to like just turn the wheel,
so it gets to be.
Jodi (08:11):
These are the days that I question a little bit about
where I'm living.
Emma (08:14):
But you know what?
But tomorrow it'll be 20 above,yeah, yeah.
Sarah (08:18):
And if I, have to pick between snakes and spiders and
putting on an extra layer andjust letting the car warm up.
Emma (08:25):
I don't know what I'm picking.
Plus there's no hurricanes orearthquakes.
Just blizzards, yeah, but butwe don't get those a lot anymore
.
I mean, you guys probably dobecause you're on like the flat
side.
Yeah, you're living in thebanana belt of North Dakota.
Sarah (08:43):
You are the banana belt of North Dakota.
Emma (08:45):
It only gets down to 15 below there.
It was negative 20 this morning.
Jodi (08:47):
Thank you, give me five more degrees.
So speaking of, you're in NorthDakota now, but between
Australia and now, what have youbeen up to when?
Emma (08:58):
I got back from Australia it was December of 2022 and then
I did like the farm show stintof like traveling around.
I did like a couple big tripsof visiting people because my
parents my parents move aroundso much.
I'm pretty sure this is part ofmy success story, because if
they hadn't moved I wouldn'thave started moving, which is
fine.
I give them a lot of grief forit, but they were in Iowa.
(09:19):
Then they moved to California,but my mom was still in Iowa
when I got back from Australiaand then my dad was working in
California because he had tostart planting.
So my dad actually picked me upfrom the LAX airport and we
drove to Iowa for Christmas.
Like we took two days and I hadjust gotten off the freaking 17
hour plane ride.
You know how I didn't sleep thewhole time on the plane ride
back.
I was so jet lagged I slept fortwo.
(09:42):
I'm not even joking.
So we drove and then I was justgoing from Iowa to California,
to Idaho.
I was just driving all over theplace and stopping on farms and
then I made some YouTubes aboutthat.
I had a friend that needed somehelp with farm show stuff, so I
helped her for a couple ofweeks, and then in between that,
I went to Iowa, worked on adairy for a couple of weeks that
(10:04):
my brother worked at, cause Iwas like, well, I don't know
what else to do with my life andI can just stay with my mom for
a couple of weeks until Ifigure something out.
And then my boss in NorthDakota, the farmer that I've
been working for, uh, weharvested for him in 2022.
So 2023 year olds around, hecalls me.
He's like hey, I have a job foryou and I really like your
videos and how you work, so youshould come work for me.
So in May of 2023, I moved uphere and then I've been up here
(10:27):
ever since.
So, and then I just startedworking with Kyle in September
of 2024.
And that's Kyle Oki with AgileAgronomy, yep so he's the new
boss man, but it works reallygood because I always try to
work with people that are okaywith being videoed and like
helping with videos and okaywith like, oh, I need to make
this video today, we're gonnamake it happen.
(10:48):
Sometimes it takes a littlelonger to make those videos and
stuff like that, but I think itjust it pays off in the long run
.
So it's cool to have bossesthat are like, yeah, go make a
video.
Like, yeah, go tour this place.
Like, yeah, that video was socool.
So I've always I've always hadthe best luck with bosses.
I get that question a lot.
They're like, how'd you getinto what I, what you do?
And I'm like I just find peoplethat like being on camera man
(11:09):
like this easiest part about itjust gotta find someone that
likes seeing their face on theinternet and then just go from
there.
So that's, that's amazing.
That's just how I've comeacross all of these things.
I gotta've got to find theright people.
Sarah (11:25):
Absolutely it is.
It is an industry ofrelationships, though, isn't it?
Jodi (11:30):
Yeah, sure You've done.
You've done and seen so manythings in the last.
Emma (11:37):
Yeah, like three years.
Yeah, I'm only 23.
Sarah (11:40):
Oh my gosh.
Jodi (11:42):
When I tell people that they're like so it's like what
haven't you seen that You'relike I really.
That's on the bucket list.
Emma (11:50):
I really want to go see sugar cane harvest like so bad
and I want to hit everycontinent and operate a piece of
equipment on every continent.
That's a big goal.
Sarah (11:58):
Do you do you know how to drive truck?
Do you like driving?
Emma (12:01):
Yeah, I just learned how to do that.
So, I don't drive confidently,but I can move it down the road.
I can move it from the bin siteto the elevator.
Maybe not fast and maybe notsafely, but I can move the truck
.
Jodi (12:14):
I think that's enough of a qualification to drive sugar
beet truck.
Sarah (12:18):
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Yeah, I was going to say wecan't hook you up with sugar
cane, but we can get you hookedup with sugar beet and I have uh
sugar beet harvest in idaho.
Emma (12:28):
Actually I've been like of course you would yeah so a
little bit like I've been partof it actively, I've droned it
and I've videoed it and stufflike that and I've worked for
farmers that planted beets.
So during planting I washelping them with getting
planters ready and everything.
Sarah (12:42):
But have you ever done sugar beet harvest on a wet
Fargo clay.
Emma (12:47):
I haven't.
I think this year I'll talk toKyle about letting me loose for
a week so I can come experienceit.
Sarah (12:55):
If it's wet and muddy, some of those guys like to
equate it to.
It can be challenging.
It can be challenging characterbuilding.
Emma (13:08):
character building we're all about the character there's
no characters here at thispodcast.
Sarah (13:13):
Yeah, no character.
Jodi (13:15):
Glad you could join us have you operated a piece of
equipment in south america yet?
Emma (13:21):
I haven't.
So that's like I think europeis on the docket for this year
and then south america is next.
But I've been hesitant aboutthe south america thing because
of safety and like just goingwith the right people and
finding the right people tovisit down there.
And I know there's a lot ofpeople that have messaged me and
like, hey, you can come visit,like we'll help you out whenever
you come down here.
I guess it's just pinpointingwhere I want to go.
Jodi (13:41):
I think I can help you with that.
We'll talk later.
Perfect, perfect, that's okay.
Emma (13:52):
I really like those pictures from South America
where they have the combinesrunning and then the planters
like right behind them and it'slike a fleet and they all have
those like weird little yellowtop thing.
I think it's so cool.
It is Like it's like Arkansas,but cooler.
I don't know.
South America and Arkansas arejust the same.
Jodi (14:12):
There's like a Venn diagram of like crops and like
temperatures.
Emma (14:15):
Yeah, it's just like over those.
You have Arkansas, the Southand South America right there.
They're holding hands.
They're basically yeah.
Jodi (14:23):
It sounds weird, but I think I get exactly what you're
saying.
Emma (14:26):
Yeah, exactly, and like Australia is Texas, and then the
East Coast is Europe, and thenAntarctica is obviously North
Dakota.
Jodi (14:32):
Yeah.
Emma (14:36):
Just without the polar bears.
No snakes.
Jodi (14:38):
Have you been to Antarctica yet?
No, are you in Antarctica yet?
Emma (14:41):
I think that'll probably be like one of the I don't know,
that's a couple of years fromnow.
You got to approach that in theright way.
I know I have some connectionsto like go do stuff down there.
You have connections to get toantarctica.
I think I've seen some messageson my platform of like hey, I
have connections and I'm like ohokay, agriculture on antarctica
(15:02):
?
I would be curious I think it'sjust like I don't know what
they do down there.
I don't know if it's likeresearch pretty much.
Yeah, exactly, I don't know whatthey're.
I need to look into it, andthat's why I haven't, like,
really touched it yet I'm likefocused on the europe thing.
I really want to go seeclarkson farms yes, I need to
like that is the goal.
That would be like I need topartner with fen and go see
(15:23):
clarkson you kind of remind meof um.
Jodi (15:27):
Oh, what's his face, his hired, not his hired hand, his
contractor.
What's his face, his hired, nothis hired hand, his contractor.
Emma (15:33):
What's his name?
The one that no one canunderstand.
Jodi (15:38):
Same Dennis or something.
No, the kid like and he alwayskind of looks at um Jeremy, like
he's got, he's losing his mind.
Emma (15:47):
I know his name.
Why can I?
I do too.
Jodi (15:49):
It's too coming out of my mouth I Garth, and I just
watched the uh, his Amazonspecial.
He's got like uh, he's touringlike Great Britain and talking
about the importance of farmingand agriculture, and that's why
I want to go see him.
Emma (15:59):
Yeah, because he's so, yeah, he's so involved in that
stuff and I think that wouldjust be a knocker of a video
yeah, I love it.
Jodi (16:05):
You guys are such great ag communicators, like I would
just love to see it.
I would watch, I would watchand he's so funny he is.
Emma (16:13):
I would have so much fun with it.
It's hilarious.
That's the goal for this year,and then I think South America
is probably like next year, theyear after that, so I'll have to
chat about the South you got ityeah, it's good to have life
goals until then enjoy NorthDakota.
Sarah (16:31):
Enjoy freezing your ear off.
It's like paradise.
If you squint really hard, thesnow looks like sand and it's
almost like a beach, but notreally.
Oh, that's awesome.
So you've been working withKyle since when did you start
working?
Emma (16:48):
I started in September.
So harvest got over and likemiddle of September I started
with Kyle ish, I think it waslike the last week September,
because he goes on his like bigvacation and then I started.
So when I started we were heneeded help with soil sampling.
I was calling Bridget and I waslike, hey, yo, I need to do
something new.
My brain needs like to beexercise.
(17:08):
I don't know.
I was just like I needsomething new and I think that's
part of why what I do works forme is because I'm always like
anymore, maybe I have problemsanyway.
Um, I talked to Kyle.
He's like yeah, we can get youout soil sampling and because I
think he mentioned that you didit with him for a little bit and
then he didn't have his otherintern anymore, because he was
(17:32):
in school.
So he's like yeah, I just needhelp.
So I started and it was reallynice to be in a pickup, because
I used to pull soil samples forsimplot in college for like a
couple weeks and that was awfulbecause it was a hand probe oh
my gosh yeah, terrible on a sideby side that I had to haul
around everywhere terrible sothe trailer like, not even in
the back of the car, so youwould trailer a side by side
(17:54):
With a hand probe.
Sarah (17:55):
How big were the fields that you were pulling?
Emma (17:58):
I don't even remember.
They were probably like halfquarter section you know like A
half section.
Yeah, like smallish Maybe.
Sarah (18:06):
Well, a half section is like Fairly.
Emma (18:10):
I mean, yeah, as you go west you're gonna find some,
there weren't like super, duper,huge, but they I cannot
remember it was so long ago andI don't know like the average
field in southern idaho was thatfor potato production?
For some plot there was a lotof hay fields, a lot of pivot
station stuff so you've soilsampled.
Yeah, I soil sampled with ahand probe.
So everyone that like comes atme my comments.
(18:30):
I'm like brother, I've beenthere, I've been in, I've been
in the trenches of soil sampling.
I get it because they're like oh, you're so spoiled, your
hydraulic pump soil probe.
Sarah (18:40):
I'm like I've been there.
There is a fine line betweentough and stupid oh, really yeah
oh, that might be harsh to theaudience well, you've got to
work smarter, not harder.
Jodi (18:51):
There we go exactly and and the thing is too is like I
think one misconception aboutlike northern, the whole
northern prairies um, peopledon't think about the 6 to 24
inch depth for soil sampling andsame thing with, like testing
for nitrate.
So you might look at us and belike, oh, you guys are so fluffy
in your soil sampling trucks,but that's a huge way for us to
(19:13):
get that six to 24 inch data theknot in my shoulder would
suggest otherwise well, and weneed that data so we can get
that nitrogen data.
Sarah (19:22):
And the irony is when, when we actually need to be
pulling that, in droughtsituations.
Jodi (19:28):
Oftentimes that ground is extremely hard, so you can't
push anything farther thoughyeah, three inches when it's so
dry and this year was dry, yeahbecause you saw, I mean when you
started back in september, likeit was very dry, it was really
dry like after it rained it madea world of difference.
Emma (19:44):
So I know kyle probably struggled more than I did at
some point, I don't know,because kyle got on the group
and was like yeah, this isterrible, and I was like I don't
know what's wrong with yours.
It's been fine, I haven'tnoticed, but I'm sure it was
just his experience like becauseI hadn't had prior experience
so I didn't know what it waslike to have a nice soil core.
(20:06):
I was used to like 18 maxinches and he's like no, they
should be pulling 24.
Jodi (20:12):
So yeah, but that's nice, like getting starting with the
hard stuff so that you don'tknow any better.
Yeah, perfect.
So hopefully next year is notharder.
Emma (20:23):
See, yeah Miracles, it rained and then it was great
again, except corn stubble.
Like I hate sampling on cornstubble.
Sarah (20:31):
Yeah.
Emma (20:34):
I just kind of the no-till corn stubble that all the
stocks are like up in yourmirror and the pickup's just
sitting there like the wholetime and it's just you get out
of the pickup and you got tolike dig all the corn stocks out
everywhere and the exhaust andyou can, like you smell like a
campfire because all your cornstocks are shoved up in your,
your exhaust, because littleprobe thing is just sitting
there like blocking everythingnothing says safety like soil
(20:56):
sampling on no-till residue csossignals it's not on purpose
those are, those are accidental
Sarah (21:06):
so kyle on his soil sampling pickups actually has
that push bar in the front.
I know he likes to use it onsunflowers.
Emma (21:12):
He has it on his white one but not the black one.
Sarah (21:15):
Okay, did you get to use it on the white one at all?
I?
Emma (21:17):
did on the sunflowers.
Sarah (21:19):
Yes, how did?
Jodi (21:20):
it work.
Emma (21:20):
I think it worked fine.
I just I didn't really noticecause it just plowed through it
anyway but it worked to not likeget stuff stuck in like.
When I got out of the field Ididn't notice there was a lot
less stock issues okay, so itwent good awesome the first time
I used it.
I didn't.
I think Kyle was busy orsomething.
I couldn't get a hold of him,so I pushed it down.
(21:41):
And then I couldn't find anypins, so I used a freaking paper
clip.
And he's like I normally don'tdo that, it's like I don't even
pin the thing, I just push itdown.
I'm like brother, I didn't knowthe instructions here.
Sarah (21:56):
Yeah, I mean, I was just assuring that it was secure
that's all.
Emma (22:00):
Did you a favor that's so funny, just macgyver it literal
paperclip yeah, so emma macgyverand you have paperclips all
over because those agvis sampleslike we paperclip all of them
together for a field.
So there's paperclips all overbecause those Agvize samples
like we paperclip all of themtogether for a field.
So there's paperclips literallyeverywhere.
Like if you need something andyou can't do it with a paperclip
, you're probably in the wrongprofession.
Sarah (22:19):
So please tell me that you've got WD-40 in your cab.
Yes, I never used it, though.
Emma (22:25):
What.
Jodi (22:25):
I used it one day.
But then I switched to anon-slotted probe.
Emma (22:30):
That like a really bad.
That was the day.
It was snowing, it was whiteoutconditions.
I hit a rock.
My probe was disgusting.
There was mud water everywhere.
Like I, it was nasty.
Sarah (22:44):
I think I remember seeing some of those pictures because
I sent a video to the probe puss.
Emma (22:48):
You know it's like I don't think I've ever sworn more so
there is this uh internal groupsnap Sorry I mention it all the
time.
What is this?
Sarah (23:02):
And so there's some of us out there that enjoy soil
sampling probably more than weshould, and we turn it into.
We try to make it as pleasantas possible.
We learn from each other.
We have a couple members thatare a member down in South
Dakota.
We have some members out inDickinson, one by Dickinson,
north Dakota, one by Devil'sLake, north Dakota, and then I'm
(23:25):
over here by HillsboroughHalstead in the midst of the Red
River Valley, and Jodi is up atNorthwood, which is just on the
edge of the Red River Valley,kind of going out of the Red
River Valley of North Dakota.
And then we've also got a galwho's up by um basically in
Canada.
Emma (23:44):
Yeah, she lives with the moose.
Sarah (23:46):
Yeah, Northwest North Dakota.
She's very close to theCanadian border, so we've got a
lot of geography differences inthere and we just got Lane in
South Dakota.
Yeah, yeah, you said that andso we just like exchange snaps
all day long and we see whateverybody's doing and so, yeah,
when, when emma got toexperience soil sampling in the
snow, I was like, wow, that's alot of mud in that cab it was
(24:09):
impressive.
Emma (24:11):
I told Kyle I will never be doing that again.
I will be on the combines rearend if that means I never have
to sample the snow again, whichprobably isn't realistic.
Sarah (24:19):
But I told him next year, if I have to do this, I won't
be that was just a really badday so yeah, you gotta have it,
you gotta, you gotta have thosecharacter building days it makes
the good ones really good.
Emma (24:34):
It really does.
I really appreciated the summerafter that day because I hit
that rock on my passenger sideand I didn't see it because the
wind and the snow was blowingand I just thought it was dirt.
I ran over it and my wholepickup just like boom boom and I
was like I didn't see likeeverything, like it was bad.
And then my exhaust is sittingthere like and I'm like I was
(25:00):
hot boxing myself because theexhaust broke off and it's right
by the hole, like the soilsampling holes right here.
The exhaust separates rightthere.
So I was hot boxing myself.
I had to keep the window down,like cracked for the rest of the
day yeah, while it was snowing,yeah so, and then we had to
drive home.
We literally pulled out of thelast field because we were like
(25:20):
we literally can't do anythingabout this and it was being
unsafe to stay there more.
So we were in the pit of theworst of the blizzard that was
happening that day.
And then the wind was like, oh,you thought you were getting
out of here.
Live shoddy, say otherwise.
So we drove home, we got backon the interstate we're I, I
(25:41):
don't know.
I was literally so scared.
And then my exhaust.
I couldn't hear myself thinkbecause it was just like and the
cab like a little rice burner.
Jodi (25:48):
It was terrible so that was a nightmare in itself.
I was gonna say this probablydid not help to like quell any
of your dreams about soilsampling, yeah um, do you want
to share any of your soilsampling dreams?
Because I?
I asked this because you arenot the only person that has
dreamt about either like fieldscouting or I can't even fathom
(26:09):
the nightmares I'm gonna haveabout scouting.
Sarah (26:11):
I don't even want to know you're an agronomist when you
have bad dreams about kochia andWD-40 in your soil sample probe
you guys laugh because you knowI'm right it's a part of the
territory yeah, it's justterrifying.
Emma (26:24):
Well, the day before I hit the day, like the week prior to
the snowstorm event, I had adream that I was like driving
around soil sampling and my tirefell off or something.
I honestly can't remember mydream, like the nightmares that.
It was nightmares.
I can't even remember what Iwas dreaming about anymore, but
they were scary and I alwaystold the group about it and
they're like Emma, I think youneed to go to therapy.
(26:44):
Jenna's like are you okay?
Sarah (26:47):
every now and again, emma likes to come onto our snapchat
group and share with us whather agronomy dreams are.
Emma (26:54):
They're very vibrant dreams they're not scouting
dreams yet, though.
It's just soil sampling, so Ican't imagine what the bugs are
going to do to me the wire worms, oh.
Sarah (27:06):
I don't think we.
Are you an entomologist typeperson?
Emma (27:08):
No, I just hate bugs, like the feeling of bugs.
Jodi (27:14):
No, thank you, you know, for like scouting.
I think you're in a really goodplace, yeah.
Emma (27:19):
I mean we do a lot of like wire worm stuff and I haven't
seen a lot of other.
Jodi (27:23):
Yeah, so I used to work with a guy from like missouri
and they would do corn tasselingto tasseling for um seed corn
and they would go up to thetassels and, like the tassels
will be full of aphids.
And of course you got todetassel it.
So your hands are like full ofaphid juice the whole time I
would cry.
Emma (27:43):
I would not I always hear about the detasseling kids and
I'm like y'all stronger than me.
Jodi (27:50):
Have you worked on like on a detasseling crew yet?
Emma (27:52):
No, I haven't and I don't think I will, because I'm like I
walking through cornfields meoff, like just getting so itchy
and like everything like I'veworked in cornfields before,
like I've done a lot of datastuff with people before, we had
a whole day that we had to gopick corn, like for data
collection, and I was so itchyfor like a week so I told Kyle,
(28:14):
when he has to go scoutcornfields, forget I exist.
It's a good learning experience.
I just prefer to not when thecorn leaves are scratching out.
It's fine.
We used to run throughcornfields all the time when we
were kids.
Sarah (28:31):
I don't like doing scouting at corn either.
Emma (28:35):
Short corn is fine.
Jodi (28:37):
I've been slicing the eye.
Yeah, it's not good.
You got to wear like goggles.
Emma (28:42):
You got to go in there looking like a chemist?
Yeah, pretty much, so it's notmy cup of tea.
Jodi (28:51):
I hear you.
I'm good there are softer cropsout there.
Emma (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I just I can't rememberspecifics about the dreams that
I had.
That's going to make me mad.
I think I might have saved upmy Snapchat memories honestly
because it was so cooked that Iwas like dude.
You need to record that.
Jodi (29:08):
Have you had similar dreams still about any of the
other jobs that you've done inagriculture?
Emma (29:14):
Oh yeah, I've had dreams about dying in tractors and
stuff like that.
Sarah (29:19):
Oh, no, no, that's terrible.
Emma (29:21):
I have nightmares about work or, like the typical, being
late for work.
Kind of you know, it's likewhen you're a kid and you dream
about Missing the school bus.
Or you have to get on theschool bus naked.
Sarah (29:34):
Sorry but.
Emma (29:38):
My brain is fried.
I don't know why, but well, itsounds like your.
Jodi (29:42):
Your dreams about soil sampling are at least like
doesn't involve you dying, right?
No?
Emma (29:46):
it's just like weird stuff that, oh, I think I had a dream
about like phantom probes, likeI kept probing and the like it
just came back empty everysingle time.
I was getting so mad and like Ihad a dream about being in g,
garrison or something, but Ididn't know, like my brain.
I woke up and I was like howdid my brain know that Garrison
was a place?
Because there's one field thatwe sample called Garrison and I
(30:08):
didn't know it was an actualtown in North Dakota, because I
don't pay enough attention to belike, oh yeah, that field's
named Garrison because it'sinarrison crazy so I woke up,
but I remember that I was havinga dream, and I like had to look
on google maps to find outwhere I was going, and it
pointed me right to garrison,like, where garrison is on an
actual map.
My head remembered that, and soit was like you're going to
(30:31):
garrison, but it was a littleoff, you know, I was like how
did I know that, though?
Because I've never looked forgarrison, like I knew it was a
field name, but why did it takeme exactly right there?
Jodi (30:41):
The brain's amazing.
You probably looked at a maplike 10 years ago and like had
some sort of like nugget when wehave all this stuff pulled up
and you're just looking at mapseverywhere.
Emma (30:55):
That's like the only thing I can think of that it would
have popped up Crazy.
Jodi (31:01):
I love it.
I love it, yeah, so.
Emma (31:06):
I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on more of my
nightmares.
Maybe I'll make it a TikTokseries.
Tiktok is back.
It was like a toxicex-boyfriend.
It's going to dump you onenight and be like Shadi.
I miss you.
The next one the bestexplanation.
I didn't even notice, I wassleeping the whole time it was
(31:28):
banned.
Like wake up and I get onealert and I'm like oh, that
pisses me off.
And then you log on like threehours later because you have a
crippling tiktok addiction andyou keep checking the app,
anyway you know.
But and then all of a suddenlunchtime it's back up.
Here you go.
Didn't even lose any money offit, man, it wasn't even gone
long enough to miss it.
(31:48):
They hyped that up for a monthfor nothing they need.
Sarah (31:52):
I think it was a marketing stint, no marketing.
Emma (31:56):
People would never do that .
I don't think so.
It seems illogical, I know.
Sarah (32:01):
But oh goodness, okay, so you are.
You're you're kind of in theagronomy world right now and
you're planning on being in theagronomy world through through
the next year.
Before we go, I am going to askhow you know you?
You're doing soil sampling, yougot to do crop scouting.
(32:22):
What do you think is going tobe your most favorite part of
agronomy by the time you'reworking for Kyle for a year?
Emma (32:30):
I think when I get to tie it all in together on fields
that I've like created maps for,to making roundabout on
scouting and seeing where alllike the issues came from, and
then like finally knocking it inthe butt, I mean like that was
the issue, or being able to seelike that's what that affects,
or that's why that's a red zone,or these are the issues that
were only in the red zones, andhere's what the protein looks
(32:52):
like on it.
I love connecting the dot it.
Just that's why I'm here, ohman you're gonna love that.
Sarah (33:00):
The next year it's gonna be great.
Well, part of the soil samplingand the map making is that Emma
has been using our software,and so on the next episode we
will be talking to her a littlebit more about that and her
experiences with precisionagriculture so far.
It's gonna be a greatconversation.
This was a very funconversation to have with you,
(33:20):
just getting a chance to meetyou a little bit more and learn
a little bit more about you.
So with that, we're going tobid everybody adieu for this
episode and at GK Technology wehave a map and an app for that.
Welcome back to Ag Geek Speak.
We have a very exciting episodetoday.
We are going to be visitingwith Ag with Emma.
Emma, we are very excited tohave you today.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you for having me.
Emma has actually been using GKTechnology's, ADMS software,
(00:24):
for doing some precisionagriculture things, and so we're
going to be talking about thatcoming up here.
But to get things started, wethought we'd just visit a little
bit with Emma.
She is a social mediainfluencer for agriculture,
which is super fascinating to me, and we're going to talk a
little bit about how she gotinto that and how she got into
her whole career.
She's had just kind of a verydynamic and interesting career
(00:47):
so far.
So, Emma, where are you from?
Emma (00:50):
Well, I'm from Southern Idaho.
I grew up over there.
I've been all over the place.
I was born in New Hampshire butI've just like state jumped.
I've lived a lot of differentplaces but I grew up in Southern
Idaho.
So like eight, ten-ish years Iwas over there.
So we're just gonna count thatas where I'm from.
During high school andeverything I was involved in FFA
.
My dad managed a farm insouthern Idaho, or helped manage
(01:14):
it anyway.
So we didn't get to really gobe on the farm with him, since
it was more of a corporate vibe.
You know you can't really goride along kind of thing, can't
have like your dad teach you howto drive tractors.
So I was just involved in localcommunity stuff like FFA,
helping neighbors with chores.
You know we'd feed animals forneighbors when they were gone
(01:34):
and stuff like that.
But after high school I startedcollege.
I went to College of SouthernIdaho it's a community college
and I got my degree in generalagriculture.
It was emphasis in cropproduction, agronomy, plant
science kind of deal.
And then after that I was goingto go get my bachelor's.
But then I decided against that.
I went for a semester, decidedit wasn't for me for right now,
(01:57):
and then I went to work on afarm back in southern Idaho and
after, like during all of thistime, I started Ag with Emma.
And I started ag with Emmabecause I was also during my
time at CSI, I was working inseed production, which is a huge
thing in Idaho because of theirclimate and everything, and we
were doing sugar snap peas.
So after I had talked with myfamily and friends about that,
(02:20):
no one really knew what I wasdoing at work.
So I started making videosabout it and I didn't think it
would ever turn into what it isnow, because, as of right now,
I'm probably sitting at aroundlike 750,000 followers over the
internet and I'm like I startedum with like 50 subscribers.
It took me like six months toget 50 subscribers.
I was like I just chugged awayat it and I wasn't even trying
(02:42):
to like blow up and be famous.
I was just meeting new peopleand I was having a lot of fun.
I was learning a lot.
During the time that I started,my parents moved to Iowa, so I
was driving from Idaho to Iowaand I was seeing all these new
things that I hadn't seen before.
You know, like huge grain binsites and you know corn without
irrigation.
I didn't know like irrigationwasn't a thing everywhere like.
(03:02):
It just wasn't a concept that Iwas familiar with, because when
I was younger you know you don'tpay attention to that stuff
Like I didn't at least.
So your farm kids would knowthat I wasn't that kid.
So after I started driving outthere, I started connecting with
other people that were alsosharing on the internet.
I was added to some group chatswith people that were like oh
yeah, what she does is reallycool, you should get to know her
(03:28):
.
And then I'd go and meet upwith people on my drives, or
people would just let me stay attheir houses, let me like go
look at their farm the next day,kind of thing, and leave.
So when I went to college I wasdoing the podcast and then I
dropped out because I got one ofmy friends I met off.
Tiktok was a custom harvesteror he ran with a crew, and I was
like that looks really coolbecause I get the big drone
shots, a little combines linedup, and I'm like I've never seen
(03:50):
that before.
So I did a podcast episode withhim.
And then, after we're done withthe podcast, I'm like okay,
like how do I go do this?
And they're like well, you cansend us a resume and I was like
brother, no way, I just talkedmyself into this like I don't
even know how to drive a tractor.
Sarah (04:00):
So after a second, you went harvesting on a harvest
crew and you had never drivenlike a tractor or a combine
before I had driven like a 3010,you know like a little Like a
small one yeah.
Emma (04:12):
Nothing huge and nothing.
No huge grain cart on the back.
Like the first time I took the8R and the like 1200 bushel cart
down the road I almost startedcrying.
So I was like this is insane,insane.
Like I had my guy with me tolike, okay, it's gonna be okay.
But he's like make sure youturn your flashers on, take it
really.
So I probably drove like fivemiles an hour down the road, not
(04:33):
like bombing at 31, you know,just whipping it around.
But it was great.
Like I don't know why I was sointimidated.
But the first time I everdumped on a truck just bushels
over the side, just piles andpiles, and I had to go over
there and scoop it all up.
But, um, it was a learningexperience, to say the least.
Yeah, yes, I hadn't been in acombine cab ever, like really
(04:57):
before that I knew combine, likeI knew how they worked to some
degree, but I'd never just satin a car.
Like the first time I rodealong with my boss.
He was trying to teach me howto run a combine.
It was just all so foreign andnew to me.
Like I just learned how todrive a tractor.
Real good I mean proficiently,I guess would be the word maybe.
Jodi (05:15):
I like real good, better real good, real good ish um, and
then I, like, got in thecombine.
Emma (05:22):
he started letting me take over the combine after dinner
some nights and then after I wasdone with harvest crew, that
was from May to November of 2022.
And then I went to Australiaand went and drove combine and
grain cart down there.
Sarah (05:37):
So you've been to Australia to go and do custom
harvesting down there it wasjust for a family that I knew.
Emma (05:42):
I went and helped them out for a couple of weeks so I did
canola harvest down there theyear they had all the flooding.
So they were like you haveliterally chosen the worst year
to come and run harvest.
Sarah (05:53):
Did you say canola?
Yeah, canola.
In Australia we passed a lot ofcanola fields yeah.
Emma (05:59):
I was going to say you were just down there at like
prime time to see all that stuff.
Jodi (06:03):
Yeah, I've got a video where I'm like oh look, they're
rolling near, they've got canola.
Sarah (06:10):
In the canola bud Get her whipped.
So how?
How is harvest?
Emma (06:19):
different in Australia than it is in the United States.
I mean, there's a lot morespiders Like you're fueling up
the combine on the come like thefuel deck, and it's nasty
there's spiders fallingeverywhere it's disgusting.
I haven't ever like you.
Sarah (06:31):
You do realize that's one of the reasons why I love being
from North Dakota, because itdoes get to be like minus the
spiders are the riffraff thatare kept out by the most it's a
wow yeah, did you ever have likeany snake issues?
Emma (06:46):
um, I didn't have any up close incidents, but everyone
was always telling me aboutbrown snakes and it terrified me
.
Jodi (06:51):
I was so terrified I think they can sense my fear.
Emma (06:54):
They're like more poisonous than rattlesnakes, but
they don't rattle.
They don't announce themselves.
Jodi (06:58):
I've been told that they bark a barking so it's so funny
because, like when we were downthere so I went down with a
friend, uh, back in December togo look for birds and like we
saw one Eastern brown snake andthen they're like.
Oh, we're just going to stepaway, it's fine.
You know, if you just mind hisown business, it'll be fine.
(07:18):
And then we're like, oh yeah,we'll just avoid, avoid that.
And then the next two days weproceeded to see like two by
ourselves, just like walkingaround and we're like we could
do with less of theseexperiences.
The snakes are not again.
Sarah (07:31):
North Dakota 30 below.
Emma (07:32):
I love it yeah, it kills everything that's not supposed
to be here so aren't you gladyou, you are now getting to
embrace this yes, the coldreally does not bother me that
much, like it does a little bit,you know, like it kind of hurts
when you cough today, but it'sjust, I think it is my like
power steering in my pickup hasnot been good.
Jodi (07:53):
It's been like negative 20 , and here I am mentioning the
weather, when I'm not supposedto either, but like it's cold
enough where I feel like it'saffecting my power steering oh,
it definitely that kind of coldyep yeah.
Emma (08:03):
You got to just let her warm up a little bit, let her
lubricate.
Sarah (08:07):
Every now and again you got to like just turn the wheel,
so it gets to be.
Jodi (08:11):
These are the days that I question a little bit about
where I'm living.
Emma (08:14):
But you know what?
But tomorrow it'll be 20 above,yeah, yeah.
Sarah (08:18):
And if I, have to pick between snakes and spiders and
putting on an extra layer andjust letting the car warm up.
Emma (08:25):
I don't know what I'm picking.
Plus there's no hurricanes orearthquakes.
Just blizzards, yeah, but butwe don't get those a lot anymore
.
I mean, you guys probably dobecause you're on like the flat
side.
Yeah, you're living in thebanana belt of North Dakota.
Sarah (08:43):
You are the banana belt of North Dakota.
Emma (08:45):
It only gets down to 15 below there.
It was negative 20 this morning.
Jodi (08:47):
Thank you, give me five more degrees.
So speaking of, you're in NorthDakota now, but between
Australia and now, what have youbeen up to when?
Emma (08:58):
I got back from Australia it was December of 2022 and then
I did like the farm show stintof like traveling around.
I did like a couple big tripsof visiting people because my
parents my parents move aroundso much.
I'm pretty sure this is part ofmy success story, because if
they hadn't moved I wouldn'thave started moving, which is
fine.
I give them a lot of grief forit, but they were in Iowa.
(09:19):
Then they moved to California,but my mom was still in Iowa
when I got back from Australiaand then my dad was working in
California because he had tostart planting.
So my dad actually picked me upfrom the LAX airport and we
drove to Iowa for Christmas.
Like we took two days and I hadjust gotten off the freaking 17
hour plane ride.
You know how I didn't sleep thewhole time on the plane ride
back.
I was so jet lagged I slept fortwo.
(09:42):
I'm not even joking.
So we drove and then I was justgoing from Iowa to California,
to Idaho.
I was just driving all over theplace and stopping on farms and
then I made some YouTubes aboutthat.
I had a friend that needed somehelp with farm show stuff, so I
helped her for a couple ofweeks, and then in between that,
I went to Iowa, worked on adairy for a couple of weeks that
(10:04):
my brother worked at, cause Iwas like, well, I don't know
what else to do with my life andI can just stay with my mom for
a couple of weeks until Ifigure something out.
And then my boss in NorthDakota, the farmer that I've
been working for, uh, weharvested for him in 2022.
So 2023 year olds around, hecalls me.
He's like hey, I have a job foryou and I really like your
videos and how you work, so youshould come work for me.
So in May of 2023, I moved uphere and then I've been up here
(10:27):
ever since.
So, and then I just startedworking with Kyle in September
of 2024.
And that's Kyle Oki with AgileAgronomy, yep so he's the new
boss man, but it works reallygood because I always try to
work with people that are okaywith being videoed and like
helping with videos and okaywith like, oh, I need to make
this video today, we're gonnamake it happen.
(10:48):
Sometimes it takes a littlelonger to make those videos and
stuff like that, but I think itjust it pays off in the long run
.
So it's cool to have bossesthat are like, yeah, go make a
video.
Like, yeah, go tour this place.
Like, yeah, that video was socool.
So I've always I've always hadthe best luck with bosses.
I get that question a lot.
They're like, how'd you getinto what I, what you do?
And I'm like I just find peoplethat like being on camera man
(11:09):
like this easiest part about itjust gotta find someone that
likes seeing their face on theinternet and then just go from
there.
So that's, that's amazing.
That's just how I've comeacross all of these things.
I gotta've got to find theright people.
Sarah (11:25):
Absolutely it is.
It is an industry ofrelationships, though, isn't it?
Jodi (11:30):
Yeah, sure You've done.
You've done and seen so manythings in the last.
Emma (11:37):
Yeah, like three years.
Yeah, I'm only 23.
Sarah (11:40):
Oh my gosh.
Jodi (11:42):
When I tell people that they're like so it's like what
haven't you seen that You'relike I really.
That's on the bucket list.
Emma (11:50):
I really want to go see sugar cane harvest like so bad
and I want to hit everycontinent and operate a piece of
equipment on every continent.
That's a big goal.
Sarah (11:58):
Do you do you know how to drive truck?
Do you like driving?
Emma (12:01):
Yeah, I just learned how to do that.
So, I don't drive confidently,but I can move it down the road.
I can move it from the bin siteto the elevator.
Maybe not fast and maybe notsafely, but I can move the truck
.
Jodi (12:14):
I think that's enough of a qualification to drive sugar
beet truck.
Sarah (12:18):
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Yeah, I was going to say wecan't hook you up with sugar
cane, but we can get you hookedup with sugar beet and I have uh
sugar beet harvest in idaho.
Emma (12:28):
Actually I've been like of course you would yeah so a
little bit like I've been partof it actively, I've droned it
and I've videoed it and stufflike that and I've worked for
farmers that planted beets.
So during planting I washelping them with getting
planters ready and everything.
Sarah (12:42):
But have you ever done sugar beet harvest on a wet
Fargo clay.
Emma (12:47):
I haven't.
I think this year I'll talk toKyle about letting me loose for
a week so I can come experienceit.
Sarah (12:55):
If it's wet and muddy, some of those guys like to
equate it to.
It can be challenging.
It can be challenging characterbuilding.
Emma (13:08):
character building we're all about the character there's
no characters here at thispodcast.
Sarah (13:13):
Yeah, no character.
Jodi (13:15):
Glad you could join us have you operated a piece of
equipment in south america yet?
Emma (13:21):
I haven't.
So that's like I think europeis on the docket for this year
and then south america is next.
But I've been hesitant aboutthe south america thing because
of safety and like just goingwith the right people and
finding the right people tovisit down there.
And I know there's a lot ofpeople that have messaged me and
like, hey, you can come visit,like we'll help you out whenever
you come down here.
I guess it's just pinpointingwhere I want to go.
Jodi (13:41):
I think I can help you with that.
We'll talk later.
Perfect, perfect, that's okay.
Emma (13:52):
I really like those pictures from South America
where they have the combinesrunning and then the planters
like right behind them and it'slike a fleet and they all have
those like weird little yellowtop thing.
I think it's so cool.
It is Like it's like Arkansas,but cooler.
I don't know.
South America and Arkansas arejust the same.
Jodi (14:12):
There's like a Venn diagram of like crops and like
temperatures.
Emma (14:15):
Yeah, it's just like over those.
You have Arkansas, the Southand South America right there.
They're holding hands.
They're basically yeah.
Jodi (14:23):
It sounds weird, but I think I get exactly what you're
saying.
Emma (14:26):
Yeah, exactly, and like Australia is Texas, and then the
East Coast is Europe, and thenAntarctica is obviously North
Dakota.
Jodi (14:32):
Yeah.
Emma (14:36):
Just without the polar bears.
No snakes.
Jodi (14:38):
Have you been to Antarctica yet?
No, are you in Antarctica yet?
Emma (14:41):
I think that'll probably be like one of the I don't know,
that's a couple of years fromnow.
You got to approach that in theright way.
I know I have some connectionsto like go do stuff down there.
You have connections to get toantarctica.
I think I've seen some messageson my platform of like hey, I
have connections and I'm like ohokay, agriculture on antarctica
(15:02):
?
I would be curious I think it'sjust like I don't know what
they do down there.
I don't know if it's likeresearch pretty much.
Yeah, exactly, I don't know whatthey're.
I need to look into it, andthat's why I haven't, like,
really touched it yet I'm likefocused on the europe thing.
I really want to go seeclarkson farms yes, I need to
like that is the goal.
That would be like I need topartner with fen and go see
(15:23):
clarkson you kind of remind meof um.
Jodi (15:27):
Oh, what's his face, his hired, not his hired hand, his
contractor.
What's his face, his hired, nothis hired hand, his contractor.
Emma (15:33):
What's his name?
The one that no one canunderstand.
Jodi (15:38):
Same Dennis or something.
No, the kid like and he alwayskind of looks at um Jeremy, like
he's got, he's losing his mind.
Emma (15:47):
I know his name.
Why can I?
I do too.
Jodi (15:49):
It's too coming out of my mouth I Garth, and I just
watched the uh, his Amazonspecial.
He's got like uh, he's touringlike Great Britain and talking
about the importance of farmingand agriculture, and that's why
I want to go see him.
Emma (15:59):
Yeah, because he's so, yeah, he's so involved in that
stuff and I think that wouldjust be a knocker of a video
yeah, I love it.
Jodi (16:05):
You guys are such great ag communicators, like I would
just love to see it.
I would watch, I would watchand he's so funny he is.
Emma (16:13):
I would have so much fun with it.
It's hilarious.
That's the goal for this year,and then I think South America
is probably like next year, theyear after that, so I'll have to
chat about the South you got ityeah, it's good to have life
goals until then enjoy NorthDakota.
Sarah (16:31):
Enjoy freezing your ear off.
It's like paradise.
If you squint really hard, thesnow looks like sand and it's
almost like a beach, but notreally.
Oh, that's awesome.
So you've been working withKyle since when did you start
working?
Emma (16:48):
I started in September.
So harvest got over and likemiddle of September I started
with Kyle ish, I think it waslike the last week September,
because he goes on his like bigvacation and then I started.
So when I started we were heneeded help with soil sampling.
I was calling Bridget and I waslike, hey, yo, I need to do
something new.
My brain needs like to beexercise.
(17:08):
I don't know.
I was just like I needsomething new and I think that's
part of why what I do works forme is because I'm always like
anymore, maybe I have problemsanyway.
Um, I talked to Kyle.
He's like yeah, we can get youout soil sampling and because I
think he mentioned that you didit with him for a little bit and
then he didn't have his otherintern anymore, because he was
(17:32):
in school.
So he's like yeah, I just needhelp.
So I started and it was reallynice to be in a pickup, because
I used to pull soil samples forsimplot in college for like a
couple weeks and that was awfulbecause it was a hand probe oh
my gosh yeah, terrible on a sideby side that I had to haul
around everywhere terrible sothe trailer like, not even in
the back of the car, so youwould trailer a side by side
(17:54):
With a hand probe.
Sarah (17:55):
How big were the fields that you were pulling?
Emma (17:58):
I don't even remember.
They were probably like halfquarter section you know like A
half section.
Yeah, like smallish Maybe.
Sarah (18:06):
Well, a half section is like Fairly.
Emma (18:10):
I mean, yeah, as you go west you're gonna find some,
there weren't like super, duper,huge, but they I cannot
remember it was so long ago andI don't know like the average
field in southern idaho was thatfor potato production?
For some plot there was a lotof hay fields, a lot of pivot
station stuff so you've soilsampled.
Yeah, I soil sampled with ahand probe.
So everyone that like comes atme my comments.
(18:30):
I'm like brother, I've beenthere, I've been in, I've been
in the trenches of soil sampling.
I get it because they're like oh, you're so spoiled, your
hydraulic pump soil probe.
Sarah (18:40):
I'm like I've been there.
There is a fine line betweentough and stupid oh, really yeah
oh, that might be harsh to theaudience well, you've got to
work smarter, not harder.
Jodi (18:51):
There we go exactly and and the thing is too is like I
think one misconception aboutlike northern, the whole
northern prairies um, peopledon't think about the 6 to 24
inch depth for soil sampling andsame thing with, like testing
for nitrate.
So you might look at us and belike, oh, you guys are so fluffy
in your soil sampling trucks,but that's a huge way for us to
(19:13):
get that six to 24 inch data theknot in my shoulder would
suggest otherwise well, and weneed that data so we can get
that nitrogen data.
Sarah (19:22):
And the irony is when, when we actually need to be
pulling that, in droughtsituations.
Jodi (19:28):
Oftentimes that ground is extremely hard, so you can't
push anything farther thoughyeah, three inches when it's so
dry and this year was dry, yeahbecause you saw, I mean when you
started back in september, likeit was very dry, it was really
dry like after it rained it madea world of difference.
Emma (19:44):
So I know kyle probably struggled more than I did at
some point, I don't know,because kyle got on the group
and was like yeah, this isterrible, and I was like I don't
know what's wrong with yours.
It's been fine, I haven'tnoticed, but I'm sure it was
just his experience like becauseI hadn't had prior experience
so I didn't know what it waslike to have a nice soil core.
(20:06):
I was used to like 18 maxinches and he's like no, they
should be pulling 24.
Jodi (20:12):
So yeah, but that's nice, like getting starting with the
hard stuff so that you don'tknow any better.
Yeah, perfect.
So hopefully next year is notharder.
Emma (20:23):
See, yeah Miracles, it rained and then it was great
again, except corn stubble.
Like I hate sampling on cornstubble.
Sarah (20:31):
Yeah.
Emma (20:34):
I just kind of the no-till corn stubble that all the
stocks are like up in yourmirror and the pickup's just
sitting there like the wholetime and it's just you get out
of the pickup and you got tolike dig all the corn stocks out
everywhere and the exhaust andyou can, like you smell like a
campfire because all your cornstocks are shoved up in your,
your exhaust, because littleprobe thing is just sitting
there like blocking everythingnothing says safety like soil
(20:56):
sampling on no-till residue csossignals it's not on purpose
those are, those are accidental
Sarah (21:06):
so kyle on his soil sampling pickups actually has
that push bar in the front.
I know he likes to use it onsunflowers.
Emma (21:12):
He has it on his white one but not the black one.
Sarah (21:15):
Okay, did you get to use it on the white one at all?
I?
Emma (21:17):
did on the sunflowers.
Sarah (21:19):
Yes, how did?
Jodi (21:20):
it work.
Emma (21:20):
I think it worked fine.
I just I didn't really noticecause it just plowed through it
anyway but it worked to not likeget stuff stuck in like.
When I got out of the field Ididn't notice there was a lot
less stock issues okay, so itwent good awesome the first time
I used it.
I didn't.
I think Kyle was busy orsomething.
I couldn't get a hold of him,so I pushed it down.
(21:41):
And then I couldn't find anypins, so I used a freaking paper
clip.
And he's like I normally don'tdo that, it's like I don't even
pin the thing, I just push itdown.
I'm like brother, I didn't knowthe instructions here.
Sarah (21:56):
Yeah, I mean, I was just assuring that it was secure
that's all.
Emma (22:00):
Did you a favor that's so funny, just macgyver it literal
paperclip yeah, so emma macgyverand you have paperclips all
over because those agvis sampleslike we paperclip all of them
together for a field.
So there's paperclips all overbecause those Agvize samples
like we paperclip all of themtogether for a field.
So there's paperclips literallyeverywhere.
Like if you need something andyou can't do it with a paperclip
, you're probably in the wrongprofession.
Sarah (22:19):
So please tell me that you've got WD-40 in your cab.
Yes, I never used it, though.
Emma (22:25):
What.
Jodi (22:25):
I used it one day.
But then I switched to anon-slotted probe.
Emma (22:30):
That like a really bad.
That was the day.
It was snowing, it was whiteoutconditions.
I hit a rock.
My probe was disgusting.
There was mud water everywhere.
Like I, it was nasty.
Sarah (22:44):
I think I remember seeing some of those pictures because
I sent a video to the probe puss.
Emma (22:48):
You know it's like I don't think I've ever sworn more so
there is this uh internal groupsnap Sorry I mention it all the
time.
What is this?
Sarah (23:02):
And so there's some of us out there that enjoy soil
sampling probably more than weshould, and we turn it into.
We try to make it as pleasantas possible.
We learn from each other.
We have a couple members thatare a member down in South
Dakota.
We have some members out inDickinson, one by Dickinson,
north Dakota, one by Devil'sLake, north Dakota, and then I'm
(23:25):
over here by HillsboroughHalstead in the midst of the Red
River Valley, and Jodi is up atNorthwood, which is just on the
edge of the Red River Valley,kind of going out of the Red
River Valley of North Dakota.
And then we've also got a galwho's up by um basically in
Canada.
Emma (23:44):
Yeah, she lives with the moose.
Sarah (23:46):
Yeah, Northwest North Dakota.
She's very close to theCanadian border, so we've got a
lot of geography differences inthere and we just got Lane in
South Dakota.
Yeah, yeah, you said that andso we just like exchange snaps
all day long and we see whateverybody's doing and so, yeah,
when, when emma got toexperience soil sampling in the
snow, I was like, wow, that's alot of mud in that cab it was
(24:09):
impressive.
Emma (24:11):
I told Kyle I will never be doing that again.
I will be on the combines rearend if that means I never have
to sample the snow again, whichprobably isn't realistic.
Sarah (24:19):
But I told him next year, if I have to do this, I won't
be that was just a really badday so yeah, you gotta have it,
you gotta, you gotta have thosecharacter building days it makes
the good ones really good.
Emma (24:34):
It really does.
I really appreciated the summerafter that day because I hit
that rock on my passenger sideand I didn't see it because the
wind and the snow was blowingand I just thought it was dirt.
I ran over it and my wholepickup just like boom boom and I
was like I didn't see likeeverything, like it was bad.
And then my exhaust is sittingthere like and I'm like I was
(25:00):
hot boxing myself because theexhaust broke off and it's right
by the hole, like the soilsampling holes right here.
The exhaust separates rightthere.
So I was hot boxing myself.
I had to keep the window down,like cracked for the rest of the
day yeah, while it was snowing,yeah so, and then we had to
drive home.
We literally pulled out of thelast field because we were like
(25:20):
we literally can't do anythingabout this and it was being
unsafe to stay there more.
So we were in the pit of theworst of the blizzard that was
happening that day.
And then the wind was like, oh,you thought you were getting
out of here.
Live shoddy, say otherwise.
So we drove home, we got backon the interstate we're I, I
(25:41):
don't know.
I was literally so scared.
And then my exhaust.
I couldn't hear myself thinkbecause it was just like and the
cab like a little rice burner.
Jodi (25:48):
It was terrible so that was a nightmare in itself.
I was gonna say this probablydid not help to like quell any
of your dreams about soilsampling, yeah um, do you want
to share any of your soilsampling dreams?
Because I?
I asked this because you arenot the only person that has
dreamt about either like fieldscouting or I can't even fathom
(26:09):
the nightmares I'm gonna haveabout scouting.
Sarah (26:11):
I don't even want to know you're an agronomist when you
have bad dreams about kochia andWD-40 in your soil sample probe
you guys laugh because you knowI'm right it's a part of the
territory yeah, it's justterrifying.
Emma (26:24):
Well, the day before I hit the day, like the week prior to
the snowstorm event, I had adream that I was like driving
around soil sampling and my tirefell off or something.
I honestly can't remember mydream, like the nightmares that.
It was nightmares.
I can't even remember what Iwas dreaming about anymore, but
they were scary and I alwaystold the group about it and
they're like Emma, I think youneed to go to therapy.
(26:44):
Jenna's like are you okay?
Sarah (26:47):
every now and again, emma likes to come onto our snapchat
group and share with us whather agronomy dreams are.
Emma (26:54):
They're very vibrant dreams they're not scouting
dreams yet, though.
It's just soil sampling, so Ican't imagine what the bugs are
going to do to me the wire worms, oh.
Sarah (27:06):
I don't think we.
Are you an entomologist typeperson?
Emma (27:08):
No, I just hate bugs, like the feeling of bugs.
Jodi (27:14):
No, thank you, you know, for like scouting.
I think you're in a really goodplace, yeah.
Emma (27:19):
I mean we do a lot of like wire worm stuff and I haven't
seen a lot of other.
Jodi (27:23):
Yeah, so I used to work with a guy from like missouri
and they would do corn tasselingto tasseling for um seed corn
and they would go up to thetassels and, like the tassels
will be full of aphids.
And of course you got todetassel it.
So your hands are like full ofaphid juice the whole time I
would cry.
Emma (27:43):
I would not I always hear about the detasseling kids and
I'm like y'all stronger than me.
Jodi (27:50):
Have you worked on like on a detasseling crew yet?
Emma (27:52):
No, I haven't and I don't think I will, because I'm like I
walking through cornfields meoff, like just getting so itchy
and like everything like I'veworked in cornfields before,
like I've done a lot of datastuff with people before, we had
a whole day that we had to gopick corn, like for data
collection, and I was so itchyfor like a week so I told Kyle,
(28:14):
when he has to go scoutcornfields, forget I exist.
It's a good learning experience.
I just prefer to not when thecorn leaves are scratching out.
It's fine.
We used to run throughcornfields all the time when we
were kids.
Sarah (28:31):
I don't like doing scouting at corn either.
Emma (28:35):
Short corn is fine.
Jodi (28:37):
I've been slicing the eye.
Yeah, it's not good.
You got to wear like goggles.
Emma (28:42):
You got to go in there looking like a chemist?
Yeah, pretty much, so it's notmy cup of tea.
Jodi (28:51):
I hear you.
I'm good there are softer cropsout there.
Emma (28:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I just I can't rememberspecifics about the dreams that
I had.
That's going to make me mad.
I think I might have saved upmy Snapchat memories honestly
because it was so cooked that Iwas like dude.
You need to record that.
Jodi (29:08):
Have you had similar dreams still about any of the
other jobs that you've done inagriculture?
Emma (29:14):
Oh yeah, I've had dreams about dying in tractors and
stuff like that.
Sarah (29:19):
Oh, no, no, that's terrible.
Emma (29:21):
I have nightmares about work or, like the typical, being
late for work.
Kind of you know, it's likewhen you're a kid and you dream
about Missing the school bus.
Or you have to get on theschool bus naked.
Sarah (29:34):
Sorry but.
Emma (29:38):
My brain is fried.
I don't know why, but well, itsounds like your.
Jodi (29:42):
Your dreams about soil sampling are at least like
doesn't involve you dying, right?
No?
Emma (29:46):
it's just like weird stuff that, oh, I think I had a dream
about like phantom probes, likeI kept probing and the like it
just came back empty everysingle time.
I was getting so mad and like Ihad a dream about being in g,
garrison or something, but Ididn't know, like my brain.
I woke up and I was like howdid my brain know that Garrison
was a place?
Because there's one field thatwe sample called Garrison and I
(30:08):
didn't know it was an actualtown in North Dakota, because I
don't pay enough attention to belike, oh yeah, that field's
named Garrison because it'sinarrison crazy so I woke up,
but I remember that I was havinga dream, and I like had to look
on google maps to find outwhere I was going, and it
pointed me right to garrison,like, where garrison is on an
actual map.
My head remembered that, and soit was like you're going to
(30:31):
garrison, but it was a littleoff, you know, I was like how
did I know that, though?
Because I've never looked forgarrison, like I knew it was a
field name, but why did it takeme exactly right there?
Jodi (30:41):
The brain's amazing.
You probably looked at a maplike 10 years ago and like had
some sort of like nugget when wehave all this stuff pulled up
and you're just looking at mapseverywhere.
Emma (30:55):
That's like the only thing I can think of that it would
have popped up Crazy.
Jodi (31:01):
I love it.
I love it, yeah, so.
Emma (31:06):
I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on more of my
nightmares.
Maybe I'll make it a TikTokseries.
Tiktok is back.
It was like a toxicex-boyfriend.
It's going to dump you onenight and be like Shadi.
I miss you.
The next one the bestexplanation.
I didn't even notice, I wassleeping the whole time it was
(31:28):
banned.
Like wake up and I get onealert and I'm like oh, that
pisses me off.
And then you log on like threehours later because you have a
crippling tiktok addiction andyou keep checking the app,
anyway you know.
But and then all of a suddenlunchtime it's back up.
Here you go.
Didn't even lose any money offit, man, it wasn't even gone
long enough to miss it.
(31:48):
They hyped that up for a monthfor nothing they need.
Sarah (31:52):
I think it was a marketing stint, no marketing.
Emma (31:56):
People would never do that .
I don't think so.
It seems illogical, I know.
Sarah (32:01):
But oh goodness, okay, so you are.
You're you're kind of in theagronomy world right now and
you're planning on being in theagronomy world through through
the next year.
Before we go, I am going to askhow you know you?
You're doing soil sampling, yougot to do crop scouting.
(32:22):
What do you think is going tobe your most favorite part of
agronomy by the time you'reworking for Kyle for a year?
Emma (32:30):
I think when I get to tie it all in together on fields
that I've like created maps for,to making roundabout on
scouting and seeing where alllike the issues came from, and
then like finally knocking it inthe butt, I mean like that was
the issue, or being able to seelike that's what that affects,
or that's why that's a red zone,or these are the issues that
were only in the red zones, andhere's what the protein looks
(32:52):
like on it.
I love connecting the dot it.
Just that's why I'm here, ohman you're gonna love that.
Sarah (33:00):
The next year it's gonna be great.
Well, part of the soil samplingand the map making is that Emma
has been using our software,and so on the next episode we
will be talking to her a littlebit more about that and her
experiences with precisionagriculture so far.
It's gonna be a greatconversation.
This was a very funconversation to have with you,
(33:20):
just getting a chance to meetyou a little bit more and learn
a little bit more about you.
So with that, we're going tobid everybody adieu for this
episode and at GK Technology wehave a map and an app for that.
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